QBd Ink
Suite 320
2001 N. Adams Street
Arlington, VA 22201
Artistic Director: Reme Grefalda
email: rgrefalda@paulweiss.com

THE QBd Ink STORY

FOUNDING MEMBERS: REMY CABACUNGAN, BOB CAPARAS, ROD GARCIA & REMÉ GREFALDA

It is a continuing saga-this QBd ....

What began four years ago as a gathering of 5 individuals intent on being a "producing company" to assist community efforts in stage productions-and billing itself as "Friends of the Performing Artist"-QBd Ink today has "given birth" to a company of resident artists who have taken stock of their talents and these same artists have become responsible for the theatre of tomorrow.

This is QBd today: a loose congregation of extremely talented and committed young adults (and children), as well as the not-so-young who have come together as an ensemble after more than 18 months in a continuing series of performances, enough to test their mettle, their new-found camaraderie and their ability to work as a team.

QBd has "given birth" to a company of resident artists who have taken stock of their talents and these same artists have become responsible for the theatre of tomorrow.

They are not only actors (who are the mainstays), but precious craftsmen, composers, writers, technicians, musicians, artists, apprentices and-best of all-individuals who have no idea why they are involved, but who, nevertheless, "pitch in" with their know-how, their sympathetic ear, and their variety of homespun skills. It is this last group of people who are the life-blood sustaining QBd.

Quo Vadis? You ask.

There is a stronger commitment among us to develop a theatre more relevant to our culture as Filipino-Americans and as Filipinos living in America. We feel a need to have our particular story told and to articulate the collective memory of what gave birth to our present communities.

QBd intends to limit presentations that "look back" to the nostalgia of the familiar culture of our Mother Country, and instead cultivate a "looking in" into our own present day foibles and the intricacies of growing up Filipino when we say we are Americans.

Who will articulate our "stances" or show us how comically endearing we are when we meet as community? Or the "characters" among us who inspire and those who sometimes try our patience? What sort of scenarios might unfold when our teenagers are faced with the fact that their parents' "outdated" values collide with their peers' points of view?

When will mainstream audiences learn to listen to our particular way of talking?

When will we stop trying to hide our being what we are: Americans of Filipino descent and for most of us, truly and proudly, Filipino-Americans?

Who will write our plays, mount our productions, give us space to rehearse, educate our theatre-going families, or bring our lives to mainstream audiences? When will we be confident enough, brave enough to begin?

We believe that the time is Now.

1995 - 1998 Resident Artists

Alfred Arganda, Jr.
Victor Ecarma
Steve Miller
Conrad T. Baugh
Jeffrey Escaño
Jose Montano, Jr
JB Bernabe
Jennifer Escaño
JV Nable
Adrienne Belonio
Ric Estacio
Monica Nable
Ellen Regalado-Carag
Alice Francia
Glenn Navarro
Jay Caragay
Oliver Gacad
Yolie Palacios
Pam de Castro
H.G. Gallichio
Edwin Porciuncula
Strawberry Catubo
Jitters Garcia
Walter M. Prescott
Eldy Chavez
Tony Collins
Karla Garcia
Rich Gardner
Norie Rosero.
Oscar San Mateo
Arnold David
Amir Goudarzi
Bernie Sevilla
Remo de la Pena
Claudine Lema
Stephen Shey
Andrea Del Rosario
Rosa Lema
Dana Spencer
Vellie Sandalo-Dietrich
Ashley S. Macabenta
Salome Tan
Art Duran
Chris Miller
Cielo Tañedo
Raf Toledo
Josef Villanasco

PRODUCTIONS 1995 - 1998

MAMA, MAMA, DO WE HAVE REHEARSALS TONITE?

5 performances
A children's musical theatre showcase written by Reme Grefalda

HACIENDA, THE MUSICAL

7 performances
A love story within the maelstrom of the EDSA People's Power Revolution
Music and Book by Rod Garcia

WHO SEZ I'M A COCONUT?

5 performances
A one-person show about the pains and joys of growing up Filipino-American
by Remé Grefalda

30 DECEMBER 1896

17 performances
A centennial commemorative dramatic piece on Jose Rizal, a prisoner about to face execution by the Spaniards for treason. His crime: his writings.
By Remé Grefalda

OYANG DAPITANA: PAEAN TO A SCULPTURED PIECE

14 performances
A dramatic reading depicting Jose Rizal's days in Dapitan
by Remé Grefalda

HIGANTES (GIANT PUPPETS) STREET THEATRE

DEAR ANAK / DEAR INAY

3 performances
A dramatic reading of correspondences between a mother and a daughter who is a battered military wife
by Remé Grefalda

IN THE MATTER OF WILLIE GRAYSON

By Remé Grefalda
a production scheduled for spring 1999

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