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Prison Dancer

The Musical

Nov 29, 2023

Babs Asper Theatre 1 Elgin Street Ottawa Canada

Pierre Angelo Bayuga, Daren Dyhengco, Julio Fuentes, Renell Doneza, and Dominique Brillantes. Set and Props: Joanna Yu; Costumes: Joyce Padua; Lighting: Michelle Ramsay. Citadel Theatre (2023) © Nanc Price

Dominique Brillantes, Josh Capulong, Stephen Thakkar, Julio Fuentes, Norm Alconcel, Chariz Faulmino, Pierre Angelo Bayuga. Set & Props: Joanna Yu, Costumes: Joyce Padua, Lighting: Michelle Ramsay. © Dahlia Katz

Diana Del Rosario, Daren Dyhengco. Set & Props: Joanna Yu, Costumes: Joyce Padua, Lighting: Michelle Ramsay. © Dahlia Katz

Julio Fuentes.Set and Props: Joanna Yu; Costumes: Joyce Padua; Lighting: Michelle Ramsay. Citadel Theatre (2023) © Nanc Price

Norm Alconcel, Josh Capulong, Julio Fuentes, Pierre Angelo Bayuga, Renell Doneza, Dominique Brillantes and Daren Dyhengco. Set and Props: Joanna Yu; Costumes: Joyce Padua; Lighting: Michelle Ramsay. Citadel Theatre (2023) © Nanc Price

Renell Doneza, Byron Flores, Josh Capulong, Julio Fuentes, Daren Dyhengco and Pierre Angelo Bayuga. Set and Props: Joanna Yu; Costumes: Joyce Padua; Lighting: Michelle Ramsay. Citadel Theatre (2023) © Nanc Price

Family programming Music Pop R&B Theatre Musicals Holidays

In-person event
English
Ages 14+
Approx. 1 hour and 30 minutes with intermission

Performance options	Start time	Language	Availability
Wednesday, November 29, 2023	11:00 am	English	Seats available

““This one is going places, folks; go see it so you can tell people you did before it inevitably hits Broadway.””
Edmonton Journal

An NAC English Theatre Revival of the Citadel Theatre Production

How did the redemptive journey of Filipino prisoners create a global phenomenon?

In 2007, a video of 1,500 inmates in a Filipino prison dancing to Michael Jackson’s Thriller was posted to YouTube, and quickly became one of the first viral videos on the internet. The “Dancing Inmates of Cebu” are the unlikely inspiration behind an ambitious, perspective- altering and joyous musical by Filipino-Canadian creators Romeo Candido and Carmen De Jesus, celebrating its world premiere at the Citadel Theatre in May, 2023.  

Romeo and Carmen have painted a fictional portrait of the people behind this phenomenon through Prison Dancer, an award-winning transmedia project spanning stage and screen that has literally moved audiences to their feet to witness and celebrate a community coming together in harmony through the power of song and dance.

Paying tribute to pop, house, and R&B while shamelessly reveling in its deep love for sentimental ballad and drag, Prison Dancer is a brave musical about redemption, highlighting how a prisoner named Lola brings purpose and joy to a group of inmates ready to feel the rhythm together.

Talkback:
Wednesday, November 29
Stay in your seats for a post-show question-and-answer session

American Sign Language (A.S.L.) Presentation:
Friday, December 1 at 7:30 p.m.
To book $15 tickets for the ASL Interpreted Performance on December 1st, use promo code PDASL.

“Every member of the twelve-person, all-Filipino cast is a bonafide triple threat. The vibrant full company ensemble numbers radiate star quality and are especially exciting to watch." - Broadway World

Content warnings: This play contains some strong language and mature themes, including reference to criminal activity, drug use and addiction, as well as sex. There is also brief violence depicted onstage (see trigger warning for more details).

Trigger warnings: Gunshot, murder

Reserve now to guarantee availability!

$ 12 / student (HST included)

Financial assistance

Arts Alive has limited financial aid available for schools in need which may cover, for example, the cost of workshops, tickets, or transport to matinees. Schools may request financial assistance on their registration form, and will be asked to briefly explain their financial need. An Arts Alive representative will follow-up with all schools requesting financial assistance.

Reserve Now

Adults & chaperones

1 Free adult per 15 students

Free admittance for special needs assistants

$ (HST included) for additional chaperons At the discretion of the National Arts Centre

Payment deadlines

3 weeks before the performance

Full payment is required by the payment deadline. The NAC reserves the right to cancel any orders submitted but not paid for by the payment deadline.

Seating

There are no reserved seats for NAC student matinee performances.

Instead of tickets you will receive a letter of admission and groups will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis at the performance.

The letter of admission will be issued upon receipt of full payment.

If you have any questions, please contact us at education@nac-cna.ca

Artists

Music and Lyrics/Book by Romeo Candido

Music and Lyrics/Book by Romeo Candido

Romeo Candido is an Emmy nominated director and Canadian Screen Award winner with experience in film, television, theatre and music. He is currently the showrunner for both the upcoming Kpop television musical series GANGNAM PROJECT and Season 9 of the wildly popular The Next Step. Directing credits include Working Moms, Popularity Papers, and the Emmy nominated Circuit Breakers. He wrote episodes for CBC’s smash comedy Son of a Critch and the sci fi epic Another Life. His CSA nominated musical series Topline, which he serves as creator, writer, director and composer currently plays on CBC GEM. He is a member of the Filipino electronic music crew A LA UNA.

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Book by Carmen Leilani De Jesus

Book by Carmen Leilani De Jesus

Carmen Leilani De Jesus (she/her) is a 2nd generation Filipina writer, artist and culture worker whose origins in musical theatre began in the original Canadian cast of Miss Saigon in Toronto. In collaboration with Romeo Candido, Carmen co-wrote the film Ang Pamana: the Inheritance, Prison Dancer: The Interactive Webmusical and Prison Dancer: The Musical. Carmen believes in the power of storytelling, music and movement to transform trauma, cultivate resilience and discover pathways to liberation and healing in community, and brings this to her work as an educator and executive trainer. She resides in Northern California, on Coast Miwok territory, with her loving partner M. Rako Fabionar and their son Phoenix Orison.

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Directed by Nina Lee Aquino
Directed by Nina Lee Aquino

Nina Lee Aquino is an award-winning Filipino-Canadian director and dramaturg who has tirelessly advocated for the representation and flourishing of IBPoC voices in Canadian theatre. She was the Founding Artistic Director of fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company and former Artistic Director of Cahoots Theatre. She has directed world premieres and revivals at theatres across the country and has won a multitude of awards including the Ken McDougall Award, the Canada Council for the Arts John Hirsch Prize, the Margo Bindhart and Rita Davies Cultural Leadership Award, as well as a Toronto Theatre Critics Award and Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Direction for School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play (Obsidian Theatre), in addition to two Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Sultans of the Street (Young People’s Theatre) and paper SERIES (Cahoots Theatre). During her tenure, Factory cemented its reputation as a national leader for the development of new work and emerged as a leading training ground for the next generation of diverse Canadian theatre creators.

In addition to serving as the Founding Artistic Director of fu-GEN Asian Canadian theatre company, Nina Lee Aquino is credited with a string of firsts in Asian Canadian theatre: she organized the first Asian Canadian theatre conference; she edited the first (two-volume) Asian Canadian play anthology, and she co-edited the first (award-winning) book on Asian Canadian theatre.

Nina Lee Aquino is currently President of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres.

Over 10 seasons at Factory Theatre, Nina programmed world premiere and Toronto premiere productions from playwrights such as David Yee, Anusree Roy, Marjorie Chan, Yvette Nolan, Kat Sandler, and Jeff Ho, among others; programmed bold and imaginative re-interpretations of classic Canadian plays from Judith Thompson, Colleen Wagner, David French, Linda Griffiths, Daniel MacIvor, Anosh Irani, and Claudia Dey. She fostered relationships with some of the best theatre companies from across the country and brought their productions to Factory Theatre.

Following the March 2020 pandemic shutdown, Nina fully embraced the new digital theatre medium, commissioning and directing new digital and audio theatrical works at Factory and with post-secondary institutions and festivals. Notable digital works include House: The Isolation Version by Daniel MacIvor (Factory Theatre), acts of faith by David Yee (Factory Theatre), Defined by Bone by Mayumi Lashbrook (CanAsian Dance), rabbit hole by David Yee (Ryerson University), and You Can’t Get There From Here, an audio drama series (Factory Theatre).

Nina Lee Aquino co-wrote Miss Orient(ed) and her monologues have been published in Beyond the Pale (edited by Yvette Nolan) and She Speaks (edited by Judith Thompson).

Nina has taught and directed at educational institutions such as Humber College, University of Guelph, University of Toronto Mississauga-Sheridan College, Ryerson University, York University, and the National Theatre School. She is an honorary member of the Canadian Association for Theatre Research and was recently appointed Adjunct Professor at York University’s Department of Theatre. Her leadership has extended into mentoring theatre students and emerging artists. She was also the 2019 winner of the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Margo Bindhart.
NAC media featuring Nina Lee Aquino
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Produced by Ana Serrano

Produced by Ana Serrano

Ana Serrano is the President & Vice Chancellor of OCAD University, Canada’s largest and oldest art, design and media university. Prior to that role Serrano was Chief Digital Officer of the Canadian Film Centre and Founder of the CFC Media Lab. Serrano has directed the development of over 130 digital media projects, mentored over 50 start-ups, and has received numerous awards from the digital media, film, and theatre industries in North America including a Digital Media Trailblazing Award in 2015 from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.

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Produced by Carla Serrano

Produced by Carla Serrano

Carla Serrano is the Chief Strategy Officer of Publicis Groupe and Chief Executive Officer of Publicis New York. In her current role, she draws on her background in strategy, integration and leadership to incorporate transformative thinking in all aspects of Groupe agency operations and across all four solution hubs. In 2019, Serrano was named one of Crain’s most powerful women in New York.

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Music and Lyrics by Romeo Candido
Book by Romeo Candido and Carmen De Jesus
Directed by Nina Lee Aquino
Featuring Norm Alconcel, Pierre Angelo Bayuga, Dominique Brillantes, Josh Capulong, Diana Del Rosario, Renell Doneza, Daren Dyhengco, Chariz Faulmino, Byron Flores, Julio Fuentes, Jovanni Sy, Stephen Thakkar
Musicians Jeremie Guitierrez, José Garcia, Kierscey Rand Regozo, Leighton Rodney
Music Director, Additional Scoring, Piano Arrangments Kierscey Rand Regozo
Set and Props Designer Joanna Yu
Costume Designer Joyce Padua
Lighting Designer Michelle Ramsay
Sound Designer Owen Hutchinson
Choreographer Julio Fuentes
Fight Director Richard Lee
Original Fight Director Morgan Yamada
Dramaturgy Rick Boynton
Associate Choreographer Keiran Bohay
Audio Coordinator Wayne Hawthorne
Stage Manager Gina Puntil
Assistant Stage Manager Alysse Szatkowski
Apprentice Stage Manager Angela Mae Bago
Produced by Ana Serrano and Carla Serrano
Prison Dancer's Tita & Tito Founding Circle of Co-producers Gail Asper, Vicenta Gaspar-Yoo, Jennifer Ouano and Jonathan Reinis

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