{"id":74401,"date":"2024-02-09T12:35:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T19:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=74401"},"modified":"2024-02-09T14:44:45","modified_gmt":"2024-02-09T21:44:45","slug":"brown-out-night-brings-filipino-culture-to-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2024\/02\/09\/brown-out-night-brings-filipino-culture-to-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"Brown Out Night brings Filipino culture to stage"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Play reception<\/strong>: Attendees participate in Brown Out Night for the play Kisapmata on Feb. 3, 2024 at Vertigo Theatre. Brown Out Night was inspired by Black Out Night founded by Slave Play playwright Jeremy O. Harris. (Photo by Janille Delos Reyes\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T<\/span>he Filipino community basked in food, laughs and entertainment Saturday during Brown Out Night for the play Kisapmata in The Studio at Vertigo Theatre.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kisapmata playwright Bianca Miranda especially invited audiences with Filipino backgrounds and members of racialized communities like Black, Indigenous and other people of colour to watch the performance. This concept was inspired by <\/span>Black Out Night<\/span><\/a>, founded by Slave Play<\/a> playwright Jeremy O. Harris on Sept. 18, 2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kisapmata packed a 130-seat theatre, with a majority of Filipino folks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know if anyone’s ever done a ‘brown out’ night. We were inspired and so grateful that this exists,\u201d Miranda said. \u201cBrown Out Night is about celebrating our culture and welcoming folks to that space to whom I truly relate. There’s just something about being in a group of racialized folks and having the opportunity to speak my mind.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Born and raised in the Philippines, Miranda is a performer, theatremaker, and arts administrator based in Mohkinstsis Treaty 7. Inspired by a song from Filipino rock band <\/span>Rivermaya<\/span><\/a>, Kisapmata \u2013 which means \u201cblink on an eye” \u2013 tells a love story about two queer Filipino women.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aside from love, longing and letting go, the play also accentuated Filipino culture through food, music and the family dynamics that Miranda wanted to celebrate with fellow Filipinos. Tagalog punchlines and songs are imbued in the dialogues, prompting giggles and sniffles from the crowd.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI guess sometimes, we\u2019re making ourselves palatable for white folks, and we don’t even know it,\u201d she said. \u201cThis night is an invitation to rest your shoulders and take a deep breath. If you want to laugh at that like a Filipino joke, then laugh out loud. You<\/span><\/p>\n

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Mic burner:<\/strong> Kisapmata’s sound designer, Sallie Salcedo, participates in a karaoke session during Brown Out Night for the play Kisapmata. (Photo by Janille Delos Reyes\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

can look around and feel at ease that you’ll hopefully not feel judged.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>However, according to Miranda, the event is not exclusive to Filipinos or other racialized communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf a white (person) has purchased a ticket, there are questions on the ticket page: ‘What do you bring into the space?’\u201d Miranda said. \u201cI’m always grateful when people are open to going on the journey with us. That’s really all I can ask for.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The crowd was invited to a reception after the play. Filipino delicacies like spring rolls, barbecue, and pancit bihon were served, followed by a karaoke session, which raised the room\u2019s adrenaline and gave the audience members a chance to socialize.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity for strangers with common goals to get together and achieve belongingness,\u201d said attendee Marichu Antonio. \u201cThese people are looking for communities where they can be themselves and be proud of themselves. It doesn\u2019t mean that we don\u2019t have to mingle with other racialized groups, but it\u2019s empowering, and I think it\u2019s crucial to keep these activities going.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Antonio is a member of the<\/span> Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion<\/span><\/a>. She\u2019s also a social justice and human rights advocate. Meanwhile, attendee Diana de Gracia found a space to celebrate her culture through the event. De Gracia grew up in Singapore and has lived in Canada for the last 10 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had a lot of internalized racism,” De Gracia said. “Seeing this play and just seeing them so proudly talk and celebrate about food and culture, it was just so satisfying to see that kind of representation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo be surrounded by other Filipino talent is so inspiring for me, and it makes me so hopeful for the future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kisapmata\u2019s sound designer, Sallie Salcedo, is grateful to bring the Filipino community together through theatre.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI find there hasn’t been enough representation of black and brown communities,\u201d Salcedo said. “Having a celebration like this to bring out the community is super important. I hope other productions follow along and do the same thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The play is in a co-production with <\/span>Chromatic Theatre<\/span><\/a> and will run until Feb. 18.<\/span><\/p>\n

After successfully drawing the curtains for the night\u2019s performance, Miranda has big aspirations for the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI’m incredibly privileged and honoured. It’s wild how the community shows up for me, and I feel very blessed,\u201d she said. \u201cThe night is sold out, so I feel like that is so telling that people crave these spaces. So hopefully, we can do it again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Brown Out:<\/strong> The play Kisapmata holds a special Brown Out Night performance on Feb. 3, 2024, in the Studio at Vertigo Theatre in Calgary, Alta. Brown Out Night was inspired by Black Out Night, founded by Slave Play playwright Jeremy O. Harris on Sept. 18, 2019. (Photo by Janille Delos Reyes\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Filipino community basked in food, laughs and entertainment during Brown Out Night for the play Kisapmata in the Studio at Vertigo Theatre in Calgary on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024.\u00a0 [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":865,"featured_media":74402,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S3 Brown Out Night JDR","footnotes":""},"categories":[1590,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-74401","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts","8":"category-entertainment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/865"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74401"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74729,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74401\/revisions\/74729"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}