A theater group from Biñan, Laguna, YPC Stage, is reaching a wider audience with a set of three one-act plays now staged in Metro Manila.

Titled Mapanakit! Mga Dulang Bittersweet, the production opened last week at the Ignacio B. Gimenez-Kolehiyo ng Arte at Literatura Theater (IBG-KAL Theater) at the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City, marking a notable milestone for the regional arts scene.

Directed by YPC Stage founder and artistic director BJ Borja, the show was first staged in Biñan in December 2025. Its run in Diliman, from July 25 to Aug. 8, is intended to bring three deeply human stories to a broader audience while giving a Laguna-based company a larger stage in the capital.

All three plays were written by Palanca-winning playwright Eljay Castro Deldoc, who encouraged YPC Stage to mount three of his works after seeing the company’s showcases of short plays by emerging playwrights in 2024.

“He’s active in community theater in Sorsogon, so I invited him to collaborate with us,” Mr. Borja said of how the partnership began. “Noong June 2025, nag-text siya kung anong gagawin natin. Ang dami niyang pinadala at napakalawak ng mga tema (In June 2025, he texted asking what we would do. He sent us a lot of his plays and they all had different themes).”

The group ultimately selected three one-act plays that are part of Mr. Deldoc’s upcoming book of the same name, Mapanakit.

While the Biñan staging featured local community actors and was, according to YPC Stage, well received, the Diliman run combines them with seasoned theater performers.

Mr. Borja said the approach was patterned after National Artist for Theater Tony Mabesa, who often mixed community actors and professional actors in university theater productions.

“YPC has been around for 20 years doing community theater in Biñan, funded through the local government, but we also thought, how can we make this self-sustaining?” he said, explaining why the group sought to bring its work outside Laguna with the help of professional actors.

The three plays

BusinessWorld watched the production during the matinee on July 25.

The first play, Ang Liknayan ng Ating Mga Katawan, Mr. Deldoc’s Palanca-winning work from 2023, stars Biñan actress Jury Sanchez and seasoned theater actor Ross Pesigan as a student and teacher with a troubled relationship.

Ms. Sanchez was convincing as the precocious yet dangerous star student, who confronts her teacher under the pretense of conducting an experiment in the chemistry lab. Mr. Pesigan, as the teacher, was believable in his rejection of the student’s controversial views, although the play moved too quickly past the impact of her actions on other students in favor of the heartbreak element of the story.

Mr. Borja said he initially had doubts about whether the play would work because of its heavy use of scientific language, but he said audiences tended to become immersed in it.

The second piece, Ilihan at Kalingaw, is a myth-based forbidden love story inspired by Bicolano folklore. Set in a mythical realm, it follows Ilihan, the poet-historian of the Buringkantada tribe, played with near-regal ferocity by theater star Gab Pangilinan, who is tasked with recording the stories that the elders deem worthy of memory.

When the council learns that she has secretly written love poems for Kalingaw, played by Biñan actor Euden Moje, they must decide whether to stand by her work and face punishment or flee before it is too late.

Of the three, it requires the most world-building for full immersion and may test the patience of viewers unfamiliar with the differences among the mythic tribes. Still, it has the clearest message: love, too, deserves a place in history, especially in a production that places memory and storytelling at the center of what communities choose to preserve. Ms. Pangilinan’s performance gives the play particular force.

The final piece, Ganito Ang Pinangarap Kong Kasal, delivers a deeply emotional conclusion that is likely to draw gasps from the audience.

It centers on France and Noel, a gay couple who have been together since college, and Kris, their confidante, closest friend, and constant third wheel, who has witnessed their private love story despite initially having a crush on Noel.

Compared with the other two plays, this one lands hardest because it begins with relatable queer realities, including pop culture references such as Jolina Magdangal’s music and the three friends navigating life while keeping the relationship private. Seasoned theater actor Phi Palmos as France and film and TV actor Kokoy de Santos as Noel play a sweet, affectionate couple, while Biñan actress Loudette Barias adds warmth and charm as Kris.

As gender norms and social pressures strain the characters and their friendships, the play becomes increasingly chaotic, moving through party scenes, confrontation scenes, and wedding scenes that linger after the audience leaves the theater. At the very least, it is likely to spark heated discussion over the characters’ poor decisions.

“The last play can make anyone cry because love is something universal. It’s something we all experience,” Mr. Borja said of ending the set with that piece.

“Mapanakit talaga ang pagmamahal (Love can be very painful). It can be bittersweet talaga. And after experiencing all these things, dapat matuto tayong lahat (we should all learn from them),” he said. “We wanted the first play to open the idea, the second to cool it down, and the third to really bring out emotion.”

YPC Stage shows that there is value in examining Filipino stories about love and heartbreak. Despite some inconsistencies, including each play running nearly an hour and the length being felt, the production is a bold effort that underscores how regional theater companies can broaden their reach without losing the local roots that shaped them.

The creative team makes strong use of the blackbox-style theater, with production designer Carlo Pagunaling, lights designer Gabo Tolentino, sound designer Arkel Mendoza, creative director Carlo Cannu, and technical director John Paul De Paz all contributing to the staging.

The three one-act plays introduce Biñan’s talents alongside more seasoned performers, and hopefully this will not be the last such collaboration.

Mapanakit! Mga Dulang Bittersweet runs until Aug. 8 at the IBG-KAL Theater at the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City. Shows are held on weekends at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are available via For more information, visit or the Facebook and Instagram accounts of YPC Stage. — Brontë H. Lacsamana