Part of Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center’s United States of Asian America Festival, Bindlestiff Studio, in collaboration with Velasco Arts, presents Kwento Times Staged Reading Festival celebrates diverse Pilipinx stories by bringing directors, actors, and audiences together to support the early stages of playwriting development. Kwento Times is Bindlestiff Studio's inaugural play reading festival featuring new plays by writing workshop participants from Bindlestiff Studio and Velasco Arts. Each play was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic period, offering a unique and diverse kwento or story.
In person:
Bindlestiff Studio (186 Sixth Street, SF 94103)
Virtual Streaming available upon registration.
$5 suggested donation per reading
Registration: https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/MTQ5MjM2
ASL Interpretation will be provided in the livestream.
FESTIVAL DATES
Sunday May 1 at 1pm
Julie and the Starmaker by Conrad Panganiban
Set to the music of the 90s Fil-Am band, Julie Plug, JULIE AND THE STARMAKER is a story about an 10-year-old girl and her stuffed best friend as they go on a magical adventure to keep her family from being evicted from their San Francisco home. This coming of age Fantasy play features themes of mental health, San Francisco's social and economic disparities, and the definition of home. The journey the characters go on in JULIE AND THE STARMAKER is a remixed version of Alice In Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz and Julie Taymor's Across the Universe.
Sunday May 1 at 3:30pm
Stonefruit by Marissa Martinez
Teo Diaz never knew his parents and dreams of escaping the farm town he grew up in. His best friend, Carrie Cortez, dreams of one day running her family's cherry orchard. Biting at the core of their relationship, Teo and Carrie chase after their dreams, each facing the legacies their parents left behind and the realization that something—or someone—will be lost along the way.
Sunday May 1 at 6pm
Club Level by David MacFadden-Elliott
An upscale hotel plays host to three couples. The first is a an opera singer married to her business manager. The second is a couple of overly-aspirational young lovers. The third is a mother-daughter duo embarking on a dream cruise. Their lives become entangled when they cross paths at the hotel’s club level.
Wednesday May 4 at 8pm
A Box for Blessica by Joselito Cordero
The main character Blessica has mommy issues and Blessica's mother is dealing with what appears to be a haunting happening at the family home which started once Blessica's mother put the house up for sale. Blessica must confront the spirit of a vengeful sister and help put her to rest while repairing her relationship with her mother, family, and boyfriend.
Thursday May 5 at 8pm
There's A Kind Of Hush by Manny Cabrera
Things seem to be going great for Tino with a budding romance and a potential promotion at work. But it comes to a sudden halt after an altercation with someone who thinks he doesn’t deserve to be where he is. Are Tino’s convictions as strong as he thinks they are, or will he cave into the pressure when backed into a corner?
Friday May 6 at 8pm
Three Rules by Ed Mabasa
A couple enters an exclusive Speakeasy whose owners demand flesh and blood.
Saturday May 7 at 1pm
Seminar by Edu Ibazeta
A diwata, a manananggal, a duwende, a tikbalang and a kapre finally got their papers to crossover to the human world. The only thing standing in their way is a mandatory seminar and the two facilitators who can't get the projector working.
***Please note that the entire will be in Tagalog/Filipino. No translations will be provided.
Saturday May 7 at 3pm
The Master's Tool by Jasmine Pulido
Susan, a 33-year old Filipina American woman volunteers to join a racial equity committee at her non-profit institution where she works in IT. As Susan engages with her predominantly white committee, she finds herself becoming a BIPOC token. Susan’s engagement with the committee makes her question her role, and that of her family and friends, in the systems that oppress her.
Saturday May 7 at 6pm
Musika by Matt Dela Cruz
This is a story centered around three generations of Filipinx women who want what's best for one another (and their family), but they can't see eye to eye. On top of this, a health problem of one of the characters in this play takes center stage which causes a further divide among them. As a way to showcase moments during their lives, music from each of their generations are used throughout this play to reveal important events that show connections, divisions and potential re-connections with them.
COVID Protocol:
Audience members must be fully vaccinated and boosted to attend in person event at Bindlestiff. Masks must be worn at all times.
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