On May 7 and 9, 2015, this year’s Pilipino Cultural Night production Ang Pag-uwi (The Journey Home) followed a fictional, extended family as they traveled by boat to the Philippines from the United States after a nuclear fallout. The group believed that it was worth the journey to find out if they would reach the Philippines or end up sailing forever searching for a better future. The story was written by the English 103/203 AK class under the supervision of head writer CJ Navalta. The students performed two shows, a Preview Night and Gala Night, to an audience of their peers, family members, and PCN alumni. On Gala Night, after the show, the Kababayan Learning Community celebrated three Friends of Kababayan Scholarships and 22 graduates and transfer students. Students were awarded graduation stoles and program patches. The Kababayan Learning Community also awarded the departing Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant for 2014-2015, Edward “Tim” Nubla, with his own stole and program patch.
Ang Pag-uwi is the 10th Annual PCN and the first instructed by Janice Sapigao, following Liza Erpelo’s nine years of teaching the course. Grace Burns will begin teaching English 103/203: Applied English Skills in Cultural Production in Fall 2015 as well as English 104/204 in Spring 2015.
A limited number of the Ang Pag-uwi hooded sweatshirts ($30) are still available, and the DVDs of the Gala Night show ($15) will be on sale in a few weeks. Please contact Janice Sapigao at sapigaoj@smccd.edu or x7161 if you are interested in purchasing either of these items. All proceeds from the show go toward future productions and activities for the Kababayan Learning Community and its very active and dynamic student-initiated and student-run programs: Filipino Student Union and Kapatiran Mentorship Program.
This show would not be possible without the help and support of several important people: Kababayan Learning Community advisors, Grace Burns, Liza Erpelo, Melanie Espinueva, Kent Gomez and Nate Nevado. Many thanks to Theater Events Manager Joshua Harris, Dance Professor Amber Steele for teaching and providing a space for PCN students’ dance rehearsals; Kevin Chak in the Bookstore; Amanda Bortoli and the students in Graphic Arts/Production; Rob Williams for your support during National Poetry Month events; Cherie Colin in Marketing, Communications, and Public Relations; the Associated Students of Skyline College, and our deans and their assistants: Mary Gutierrez and Kennya Ruiz, Donna Bestock and Kathy Fitzpatrick, Joe Morello and Sandra Hatzistratis, and Angélica Garcia and Nadia Tariq. Thanks for your support.
Article by Janice Sapigao | Photos by Venus Cayabyab and Liza Erpelo
