industry. He inspired me tremendously and guided me when
I was a student in UP.
George Tsypin is my foreign designer hero. He breaks
all the rules. He designs with no budget in mind.
Matilda set design rendering
Below: Set design for Bridges of Madison County
What can you say about the state of the Philippine
theater industry today? What do you think is needed
for it to blossom/continue its growth?
Philippine theater will always thrive because of our love
for the performing arts. It is ingrained in our culture and
society and even embedded in our education system. There
is so much talent in our country, and I am so proud of all
the patrons, producers and directors who give opportunity
to all these artists like myself. Our audiences have grown
tremendously for the last decade and I am looking forward
to the day when Manila will be the next destination for live
performances like West End or Broadway.
Having said that, we also need to have more performing
arts institutions for training and instilling technique,
discipline and counseling budding artists. Life in art is never
easy and we need to support the holistic training of all these
artists to become leaders and citizens of our society.
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