Conversation with CCP’s Dennis Marasigan

DENNIS Marasigan — the current Vice President and Artistic Director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines — wears many hats.

He is a multi-awarded director, writer, lighting designer, producer and has mentored over 800 production credits for theater, film and television.

He has also held key positions in government institutions and cultural organizations. And last but not least, Dennis is also an actor.

We were officemates once-upon-atime at the CCP. Having said that, I took the opportunity to chat with him online about his new position and what is in-store for the CCP this year and beyond. Here is that conversation.

Congratulations Dennis on your appointment. From all the experiences you have gone through over the years in different capacities, what do you bring to the table as the new CCP VP and Artistic Director?

I was an employee of the CCP for over 19 years before I left in 2006, meaning there have also been 16 years that I was not officially connected with the CCP. You might say that I come with some amount of institutional memory and experience, yet I also am coming in relatively fresh from having spent those sixteen years working freelance. The combination of these factors make my coming back relatively easy, yet I’d like to think I also bring to the table new ideas and fresh perspectives.

You have seen world wide trends in the arts shift, specially during the pandemic. How has it affected the CCP and its artistic planning for 2023 and beyond?

My return to the CCP coincided with the slow but steady return of live performances after years of Covid-related lockdowns, and the planned rehabilitation of the CCP main building for at least three years. Artistic planning for 2023 and beyond has to take these into serious consideration. Thus, we are visibly expanding the reach of our programs and projects not only within the CCP complex but also to other venues and locations all over the country.

We are also targeting specific audiences through targeted activities to enable us to be more efficient and effective in achieving our vision of making arts and culture relevant to as many Filipinos as possible.

Can you tell us what are the 2023 CCP events we should watch out for, and how does one get more information and participate in these activities?

This year sees the return of many CCP programs and projects onsite and face-to-face, as they were before the pandemic lockdown period.

Our flagship projects — CCP Pasinaya Festival, Virgin LabFest, Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival — will be back full onsite, even while certain components will be made available online to reach more audiences.

We also mark milestone years for the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (50th anniversary) and the Philippine Madrigal Singers (60th anniversary).

Many of our performances will be done in other venues, such as the Metropolitan Theater, Samsung Performing Arts Center, and the Philippine International Convention Center.

We also debut a new series of performances we call Out-of-the-Box to be presented at the CCP Black Box Theater, the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez.

Our outreach and exchange programs are also back in full swing, with performances, workshops, and educational activities lined up in various parts of the country. We also have digital versions of the CCP Collection and the Encyclopedia of Philippine Art.

To learn more about these, visit the CCP website at culturalcenter.gov.ph.