The Artist Training Division of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) is now accepting applications for the Virgin Labfest (VLF) 18 Writing Fellowship Program. The application deadline is on or before May 16, 2023.

The VLF 18 Writing Fellowship Program is a two-week mentoring program focused on the study and practice of stage writing. The fellows will participate in playwriting and script-critiquing lectures, debates, and workshops. They will also be granted tickets to this year’s festival shows, as well as the chance to participate in a talkback and connect with well-known writers and directors.

This year, the VLF Writing Fellowship Program will be held from June 13 to 25, onsite at the CCP and other alternative venues, and will culminate with a staged reading of the fellows’ works on June 25, 2023 at the CCP.

Interested applicants should be college student or young professional, 29 years old or below. The applicant should not have any play produced by a professional theater company nor any play published in a literary journal. S/he must not have won in any national or international playwriting/screenwriting competition.

Applications should include: duly accomplished and signed Application Form (download here: https://tinyurl.com/VLF18WFPAppForm), and a sample of their stage plays, full or excerpts. The real name/identity of the applicant must not be written on any part of the sample work(s).

Sample work/s should be written in Filipino or English, submitted in pdf format (12 points, double-spaced, 8” x 11” paper). The maximum total number of pages of the submitted sample stage play/s is 10 (whether one or two plays).

Applications must be submitted via email to the artist.training@culturalcenter.gov.ph with the subject “VLF18WFP Application – Surname.” Only complete application requirements will be considered.

Announcement of accepted applicants is on May 30, 2023. A minimal registration fee of P2,500 will be required of all accepted fellows. Fellows must be present for the entire duration of the program, rehearsals and performance for the Culminating Showcase.

The Virgin Labfest, an annual festival of unpublished, unstaged, untried and untested works of playwrights, directors and actors. Co-produced by the CCP, Tanghalang Pilipino and the Writer’s Bloc, the country’s biggest theater festival has gained a reputation of producing provocative and outstanding ‘virgin’ plays mostly which have been recognized by the Palanca Awards for Literature.

For inquiries on the Virgin Labfest 18 Writing Fellowship Program, interested individuals can reach the CCP Artist Training Division via phone at 8832-1125 local 1605 (look for Kris Reyno) or via email at artist.training@culturalcenter.gov.ph.