Tanghalang Ateneo, the longest-running theater company of the Loyola Schools, Ateneo de Manila University, is celebrating its 36th season this school year 2014-2015. It has grown from a fledgling band of student players to one of the country’s leading school-based theater companies.

Its 36th season lineup of three productions revolves around the theme “Navigating Identities,” or about one’s need to define himself and his significance in the world.

The opening production is Han Ong’s “Middle Finger,” translated into Filipino by Ronan B. Capinding and directed by Ed Lacson Jr. It runs Aug. 1-2, 5-9, 12-16, 19-22 at Ateneo’s Fine Arts Black Box Theater.

“Middle Finger” is an adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s modern classic “Spring Awakening.” Set in the United States, the play centers on four young Filipino-American high school students who seek their identities in a world dominated by the repressive authority of adults. This play was first produced by Tanghalang Ateneo in 2007.

Following “Middle Finger” is Glenn Sevilla Mas’ “Rite of Passage,” adapted by Mas from Ma. Milagros Geremia-Lachica’s “Sa Pagtubu kung Tahud/Upon the Growing of the Spur.” The play, directed by Ronan B. Capinding, runs Nov. 27-Dec. 13 at Ateneo’s Rizal Mini Theater.

“Rite of Passage” is a Palanca-winning full-length play about a young man from the Visayas who wants to escape the monotony of rural life and seeks guidance in navigating his teenage years, but finds none from his family.

The play was first produced by Tanghalang Pilipino for the Virgin Labfest, the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ annual festival of new plays, in 2005.

The last production for the season is Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot,” translated into Filipino as “Paghihintay Kay Godot” by the late National Artist for Theater and Literature Rolando S. Tinio. Directed by JK Anicoche, the play runs Feb. 5-21, 2015, at Ateneo’s Fine Arts Black Box Theater.

“Waiting for Godot” to be staged in both English and Filipino, is about two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, who go through the motions of patiently waiting for the arrival of a mysterious Godot.

Glenn Sevilla Mas is the current artistic director of Tanghalang Ateneo. He also teaches various subjects in theater at the Ateneo de Manila University.

For inquiries and reservations, call Acel Go 0916-4802195 or e-mail [email protected].

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