Hello once again, everyone. We hope everyone’s doing well this 20th anniversary season – in the spirit of which we’re doing exactly what’s called for when daylight saving time comes around: springing forward! To those who are receiving this bulletin for the first time because they recently knocked on the Sinag-tala door asking for more information about the SFTPAA, welcome! Please continue to invite everyone to visit – as many of you have – our website at www.sinagtala.org , because it’s a great way to connect with the Sinag-tala Family, and there’s nothing we love more than adding seats to the family table. So here goes:
1. BIG THINGS COMING UP THIS SUNDAY. Is it a volunteer outreach gathering, a production meeting, a brainstorming session, a homecoming? How about all of the above? Many of you already know that everyone’s encouraged to join us this coming Sunday, March 15, at the Belle Cooledge Community Library, 5600 South Land Park Drive (corner Fruitridge Road), Sacramento for what our intrepid planners Cristine Lacerna and Karen Sinnung promise will be a fun gathering even as we tackle some forward-looking stuff. Of course, everything will revolve around planning the celebration of the Sinag-tala Theatrical Revue’s 20th anniversary, and because all of you are stakeholders in one way or another, it’s only fitting that we turn to you for your input and participation. For those who find acronyms intriguing, some items you’re going to learn about are FAST, AART AND TAAG (Families and Alumni of Sinag-tala, Adopt A Returning Talent, and the Twentieth-anniversary Alumni Advisory Group). You’ll also get a glimpse of the exciting ways production volunteers get their kicks (many us aren’t nerds), and the alumni get to put on advisor hats. And there will be refreshments! Remember – March 15, 1;30 PM registration, Belle Cooledge Library, Fruitridge and South Lan park Drive, Sacramento. See you there!
2. CSUS/SMAC ARTS RESOURCE FAIRE. Speaking of seats at tables, we’ll have a few available at ours from 8:00AM to 4:00PM on Saturday, March 21, when CSUS and the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission will be jointly holding an Arts Resource Faire at the CSUS University Union. The event is held each year for arts educators and teaching artists seeking information about the educational and student enrichment opportunities that various arts organizations offer. We need volunteers to take shifts of any length at our information table, as well as to set up in the morning and pack up later. Please let me know if you’re available and would like to help, or if you have ideas as to how we can effectively share wour work with the attendees.
3. SEEING IS BELIEVING. Like proud parents but without intending to over-romanticize, we jump at every chance to say, “There – see – that’s one of ours!” That’s what you would have felt like saying if you had seen Alaia Lacerna, Edith Montemayor and Alexia Baltazar at their respective schools’ dance company concerts last month. Alaia, who performs with Sheldon High School’s Universal Rhythms dance company and Edith and Alexia, who are in Franklin High’s Fusion dance group, pulled out the stops and showed us not only their talent in various dance disciplines but the very impressive training that some school dance programs are delivering these days. In our seats we mentally recall that these young people have ties to Sinag-tala then later during the drive back home we brag about how, in some small way, Sinag-tala might have touched their lives. It should also be mentioned that both concerts featured guest companies, among whose choreographers, master teachers and founders were such Sinag-tala alumni as Richard Pasalo, Simon Magsuci, Joe Larot and Kim Altamero. Note also that in the Fusion concert, Janet Montemayor, Monica Montemayor and Amir Mabalay danced with one of the guest dance groups, which Edith Montemayor herself founded and taught: the Franklin High Tinikling Club! Congratulations to all of these heart-warmers!
4. HEARING, SEEING AND BELIEVING. The Kick-off Fundraiser for the Filipino American Fiesta of Sacramento that was held on March 6 at the Rizal Community Center, like more and more local Filipino community entertainment events, could have almost been mistaken to be a Sinag-tala show. At least half of the performers on the line-up, not to mention the members of the production staff, were – yes – Sinag-tala people These included Those Kids (Daric, Ciara and Caite Carvajal), Kenny Kaulupali, Isabel Kaulupali- Nisay, Marikar Sinnung, Katleyn and Jim Torres, Ed Educayen, Beat Statics (founded and choreographed by Niko Lacerna), Apollross Reyes, Reyna Armour and Press PLAY (including Simon Magsuci, Richard Pasalo and Leah Robillos). Dick Mazon, Marcy Basila, Jennifer Bambao, Maxi Villones, Kathy Pflaum, Lee Pflaum, Margie Pasalo, Remar Pasalo, Cheryl Hutchins and Fred Aquino were among the Family who staffed the event. Congratulations to us for contributing to the community and to the Filipino Fiesta for an entertaining evening!
5. GRATITUDE IN THE MIDST OF THE ECONOMIC SHORTFALL. With many nonprofit arts organizations suffering the effects of the recession, the SFTPAA is very lucky to be in good health. It’s the support that we continue to receive from different sources that we owe this to. Lately, we’ve been able to participate in grant programs that have not only been generous in offering funding opportunities to us but have been working hard to preserve certain levels of government and private philanthropic support for the arts. The City and County of Sacramento have approved funding for Cultural Arts Awards and Planning grants to SFTPAA, and the Sacramento Region Community Foundation is currently considering our application for an Experiential Arts grant. We plan to submit a Marketing Grant proposal to SMAC in the coming weeks. Both of these regional organizations work tirelessly to sustain the local arts community by harnessing resources from, and doing advocacy work with, the philanthropic community and the government. We extend our sincerest thanks to Rhyena Halpern of SMAC and Priscilla Enriquez of SRCF, and their respective staffs, for all that they do.
6. TOURING ENSEMBLE AUDITIONS. Booking invitations have been coming at us at a furious pace and believe it or not, we’ve had to regretfully turn down some already because our touring ensemble performers themselves have had difficult personal schedules. But we do have to gear up, so please spread the word that we will be holding touring ensemble auditions on Saturday, April 4, beginning at 1:30PM at the Sinag-tala Studio. Those who have performed with the 2008 ensemble or in Sinag-tala 2008 need not audition but must show up an register. Anyone wishing to perform with the ensemble for the first time must register and audition. The audition will consist of singing a song of the applicant’s choice, either without accompaniment or with CD accompaniment. We may hold dance auditions later but all applicants (dancers included) must go through the April 4 singing auditions first. Appointments are highly encouraged but not necessary. If you’re interested, kindly e-mail us ASAP. Resident artists who would like to be on the audition panel should let me know by March 20. The panel will be limited to 4 members.
7. GOT MATERIAL? We are constantly on the look-out for interesting artistic material for use in our training curriculum and/or building our performing repertoire. Songs, compositions, poems, essays, short stories, scripts, dance concepts and anything else “performable” created by Filipino artists is welcome. When it comes to songs, we strongly prefer topical material, in any Philippine language or English, that lends itself to theatrical staging as opposed to merely being sung concert-style or karaoke-style. Original material by Sinag-tala alumni or any local Filipino artist would be great. CDs, scores, manuscripts, DVDs and all other media are welcome. We are in special need of imaginative Filipino hiphop music and children’s material. Our mailing address is 2241 Arliss Way, Sacramento, CA 95822. We will also accept items by e-mail, except videos.
8. GOT COSTUMES? Because they aren’t that easy to construct or acquire, we also welcome donations of native Philippine costumes. Whether you or a family member already has one in the family wardrobe, or if you’re planning a trip to the Philippines and have access to a donor, here are some things we’d be very pleased to acquire: balintawak dresses, Maria Clara blouses and skirts, ternos, camisa chino (long-sleeved peasant style), tribal garments from indigenous tribes such as the Cordilleran peoples, T’boli, Manobos, Tausog, Badjao, and others. We also welcome headdresses, jewelry, accessories and musical instruments. Sounds like we’re asking for a museum – but why not? Let us know, please.
9. GOT SUPPLIES? Here’s another wish list, but specifically for items that we need for the Studio and related activities: paper towels, toilet paper, copier paper (letter and legal size), blank business letter envelopes, fine- and wide-tipped permanent markers, wide-tipped dry erase markers, blank CDs, CD sleeves or jewel cases, staplers, anti-bacterial hand detergent, sanitary wipes, first-aid supplies, fabric freshener spray, dust pans, window squeegee, paper plates, drinking cups, aluminum foil and plastic sandwich bags. To be continued. We realize that we ask a lot, but we also give a lot and need a lot to do that. And in tough times, we ask. If you’d like to drop anything off at the studio, let us know and we’ll make arrangements. Better yet – bring your donation to the volunteer outreach event/production meeting/alumni homecoming on March 15 (see item #1 above).
There’s always more to tell you about, but we’ll save some of it for next time. Stay tuned. If you need a good mantra for the rest of the year, try this: Let it shine in 2009! Shine … Sinag … get it? If not, you have all the more reason to stick with us. Take care and thanks as always for being there for us!
Sonny Alforque
CEO & Artistic Director
Sinag-tala Filipino Theater and Performing Arts Association
