Renowned Filipino writer Alberto Florentino will be honored on September 26 at the Philippine Center Kalayaan Hall on Fifth Avenue, New York City. The special affair organized by the Philippine Consulate General will feature a reading presentation of Florentino's poignant Christmas ONE-ACT OR ONE-SCENE), "Oli Impan," under the direction of Miguel Barganza II.
The Consulate General will present to Mr. Florentino the Presidential Merit Award and the Philippine Consulate General's own Dakilang Pilipino Award.
Alberto Florentino, a contemporary of Nick Joaquin, Jose Garcia Villa and NVM Gonzalez, is considered a top Filipino playwright.
His first play, 'The World is an Apple,' won the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature (ONE-ACT PLAY) in English) in 1954 when Florentino was only 21 years old. The play was also voted the most popular/most performed play in the Philippines and is known to be among the Philippines' top 10 plays and top 5 literary works.
Mr. Florentino was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) in 1960, along with Benigno Aquino, Jr. and 8 others. In six decades Mr. Florentino also earned acclaim as a playwright for the stage, a script supervisor for 10 Filipino TV drama, specially for "Balintataw" which ran for 5 years (from 1967 to 1972)
Mr. Florentino was active as a publisher and editor of the Peso Books which published the works of 6 major Filipino writers who became National Artist for Literature. He was also a professorial lecturer at the University of the Philippines, a columnist for Ermita, several national magazines, a scriptwriters for 7 movies, and anthologist. His plays speak of social issues, poverty and resilience – and how innocent and beautiful thoughts can survive in an impoverished world.
"Oli Impan" ("Holy Infant"), is a short short play (lasting 15 minutes on stage and 6 pages in a book, won a special award in the Arena Theater of Dr. Severino Montano (Philippine Normal College) together with another Florentino's play, Cavort with Angels). The short play is set in Binondo, Manila, which became a notorious slums area since the end of World War II. "Oli Impan" is the poignant story of two children caught in the violent eviction by the city mayor (Antonio Villegas) who forcibly relocated thefamilies to a distant site five days before Christmas of 1958. The play's director is Miguel Braganza director, the head and moving spirit of IN'ARTES Musical Theater Workshop.
Source: Good News Pilipinas
No comments:
Post a Comment