Thumbs up

A night that transformed the stage into a world of make believe and artistry, mesmerizing the whole audience. Such experience happened last October 26, 2019 as Sigbin was staged in Cebu at the Siddhartha Theater of Guang Ming Institute of Performing Arts Cebu. Merging the performances of three theater groups in the Visayas, such theatrical experience is all the more colorful because of three peculiarities of the places. The Kasing Sining of Bohol, the Youth Advocates Through Theater Arts (YATTA) of Dumaguete, Negros Oriental and the Guang Ming Institute of Performing Arts. The three groups are members of more than twenty school-based and community theater groups in Central Visayas.

The traveling theater show is funded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCAA) through its 2019 Competitive Grant in the Arts Committee.

Uniquely a Bisaya traveling show, represented by a creature that is distinctively Bisaya and that every Bisaya child has heard of or even seen in the past, a story handed down from generation to generation. More than oral and textual, a story becomes vivid and engaging when performed before our eyes. 

One of the mythological creatures in the Visayas and believed to have teleportation powers, Sigbin has become the inspiration of the three one-act plays that are somehow connected and features the mythological creature and how it relates to today’s society.

Everyone who grew up in the rural areas might have heard of Sigbin, a mythological creature from our local folklore. They are said to come out at night to suck the blood of victims from their shadows. They are also described to walk backwards with their heads lowered between their hind legs and to have the ability to become invisible to other creatures, especially humans. They resemble a hornless goat, but has very large ears, which it can clap like a pair of hands and a long flexible tail that can be used as a whip.

Sadly, many of the younger generations have not heard of this creature that haunted our childhood. Displaced from their natural habitat due to deforestation, they are forced to live in the urban areas and survive among the humans, coping with the difficulties of living in the modern world. With the advent of technology and foreign culture flooding the nation, many of our local and ethnic traits and treasures have been forgotten, Sigbin being only one of them. Through theater arts, our local Cebu theater aims to bring this beloved and feared creature back to life by telling its story!

“Sigbin”, an allegorical play that portrays the impacts of deculturalization in the modern society and the importance of preserving our cultural heritage. A saving factor is that we have initiatives, though sporadic at times, that aimed at reliving our local stories. Sustaining it is another story, an uphill challenge. 

After the show, together with my theater colleagues Rudy Aviles and Allan Nazareno, we were toured by Master Yg Shih to the high end, state of the art facilities of the Guang Ming Institute Arts Cebu. I was deeply touched by the immense generosity and humility of Master Shih. The institute is truly a haven for aspiring theater artists. For Cebu to be center of arts and culture, we need avenues for artists to convene for artistic expression and promotion.

Long live “Sigbin”, Hail to our local stories. Salute to the men and women behind the staging of our identity as a people. It’s a big thumbs up!