portfolio
Dominique
La Victoria
PLAYWRIGHT | DRAMATURG | EDUCATOR
Award-winning Filipino theatre-maker based in Glasgow, Scotland
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Let's make theatre together!
BIO
ARRIVAL
I have ten years of professional experience in the theatre industry. From the Philippines, my journey in theatre has taken me all across the world, allowing me the opportunity to collaborate with different kinds of artists. This diversity is my strength, I am excited to bring this experience to my new home.
I have just moved to Glasgow, Scotland, where I hope to join the inspiring industry of theatre in the UK. I hope to continue doing work that I am passionate about.
I am looking forward to meeting and collaborating with like-minded creatives to produce new and exciting work in theatre.
Get to know my work below and don't forget to get in touch!
PLAYWRITING
I am open for playwriting commissions.
I hold a double major in BFA Creative Writing and BFA Theater Arts from Ateneo de Manila University, whereupon graduation I received the Loyola Schools Award for the Arts in Creative Writing (Playwriting). I proceeded with my MA in Dramaturgy and Writing for Performance at Goldsmiths, University of London, graduating with Merit.
I have written plays in English, Tagalog, and Cebuano, and has been published in bestselling anthologies in the Philippines. I have also taught playwriting courses in two universities in the Philippines.
You can find my work staged frequently by companies around the Philippines, and even part of lessons in literature and drama in schools. I have twice won the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature (considered the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize in the Philippines).
Have a look at a list of my plays below, along with some quotes from the press.
PLAYS
Ang Bata sa Drum (The Boy in the Drum)
In the mountains of Kitanglad, a child punished in the strangest of ways finds comfort speaking to his older sister.
2016
“Among the few straight dramas in this year’s lineup, this two-character play from Dominique La Victoria is perhaps the most affecting.”
Recipient of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature
Third Prize, One Act Play, Filipino Division, 2017
“Rendered as a slice-of-provincial-life, simplicity is this text’s weapon: it allows for the innocence in these children, while making the brilliance of their realizations believable.”
Chipline
The lives of three children in Dahilayan are disrupted when they learn that a zipline park is about to be constructed on their favorite playground.
2013
“I must commend the festival for bravely including Dominique La Victoria’s Chipline, a one-act play in the Cebuano language. Yet another proof that this country’s wealth of talent is not concentrated mainly in Luzon”
“The dialogue is honest and searching, refusing easy didacticism and resonating with very real moral choices facing people trying to make a difference (and not only in politics).”
Ligtas ang Bansa | Sit Down!
Inspired by George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, two women deal with a scandal involving a presidential candidate whose public relations image they worked hard to perfect.
2019
Kung Paano Ako Naging Miss Fiesta Sunshina BaranGAY San Marinos
(How I Became Miss Gay Fiesta Sunshine San Marinos)
A gay pageant hopeful from a typhoon-stricken village in the Philippines readies for the biggest night of his life.
2023
"The undisputed star in this threesome of theatrical delights is undoubtedly the last, and the one with the longest title. “Kung Paano Ako Naging Ikatlong Miss Fiesta Golden Sunshine Barang-Gay San Marinos” by Dominique La Victoria."
Other Plays
Toward the Fires of Revolution
Adapted from Odd and Ugly by Vida Cruz
In this Beauty and the Beast story set in the Philippine revolution against Spain, a country girl carrying banned books seeks to clear her father's debt to a forest-dwelling Kapre. A fairy tale the Guardia Civil never saw coming.
An excerpt of this play was read at the Soho Theater in London in 2018 as part of a showcase of works by MA Dramaturgy and Writing for Performance Students of Goldsmiths, University of London.
This play was performed online via zoom in 2021 by Malaysian Theater Company Panas Panas Theater as part of their Women's Play Marathon
Recipient of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature
Third Prize, Full Length Play, English Division, 2018
Mana, Mana (The Inheritance)
Folklore and family grievances collide when a sister comes home to evade a monstrous inheritance.
Featured in the Ateneo Theater Lab: 2014 Playwriting Thesis Plays. Direction by Ed Lacson Jr.
Can Mangoes Grow in London
Queueing for immigration in Heathrow is stressful enough. What happens when a fruit is thrown into the mix?
Staged reading in September 2018 at Little Nan’s Bar in Deptford, London, as part of Uncharted Waters. Featuring the talents of Earle Figuracion and Delphine Buencamino.
DRAMATURGY
My approach to dramaturgy is grounded in exploration, collaboration, and communication. I offer a variety of services to theatre-makers looking for bespoke dramaturgical insight.
IN THE REHEARSAL ROOM
FOR YOUR THEATRE COMPANY
I will engage your mission and foster community to your theatre. I provide a helping hand in drawing and conceptualising your vision for each season. I also assist in the mindfulness and skill development of company artists, ensuring that we are all well-equipped for theatre production.
I will assist in moving your play forward in the direction which best suits your vision, through unique methods of questioning, ideation, and exploratory exercises. I will be with you every step of the way, to see your play from the inside and the outside
FOR YOUR AUDIENCE
FOR A PLAYWRIGHT WITH A NEW SCRIPT
I will help curate the production to enhance their experience of watching the play: crafting promotional tools, facilitating talkbacks, mounting lobby exhibit displays, and providing supplementary materials to engage the audience before and after the production.
my aim is to help you find your voice, understand your intentions, and support the play you are writing. Together, we will look for a common vocabulary to discuss your play in, and through writing exercises, workshops, and ideation, we will extend the boundaries of your play and your thoughts
Take a look at my work below, and don't forget to get in touch!
DRAMATURGY
Nekropolis by Guelan Varela-Luarca, directed by Charles Yee
Tanghalang Pilipino Actors Company
Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez, Cultural Center of the Philippines
In a city where people slumber through the sound of gunshots and screens flicker with one breaking news after another, 10 characters try to survive and make sense of their lives. Amid the chaos, they seek to numb their senses with drugs, with sex, with God. Don’t we know this city to be our own?
2023
A loud disclaimer at the front door set the tone for the play—evidence that the playwright, director, dramaturg, and actors did not pull any punches.”
“Luarca's final salvo on the dystopian theme had viewers shaken to their core as they were plunged into a setting hauntingly accurate to how a developing country is being governed lately.
La Victoria and Yee as guests on CNN Philippines - New Day to promote Nekropolis
Indayugang Banal: A Superpowered Komedya by Carlo Vergara, directed by Tuxqs Rutaquio
Maiba 18 Productions, De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde
DA Theater, Benilde Design and Arts Campus
Ancient Gods disguised as modern superheroes unearth old grudges, and as new evil arises, fans post and livestream the heroes' every move.
2022
"Each surprise will leave your mouth wide open."
Light of the City. Directed by Ian Segarra and Keiko Yamaguchi
BRDG, shows in Kyoto and Toyooka
When a city disappears, four strangers journey carrying their stories to connect, move forward, and rebuild.
Inspired by Grave of the Fireflies.
2021
Recipient of the ARTS For the Future! Grant
2021
Makbetamaximus: Theatre of Destruction and M.45
directed by Khavn de la Cruz, Tanghalang Ateneo, online
A 30-day deconstruction of William Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth” as translated by National Artist Rolando S. Tinio. M.45 boils, bubbles, & burns a bitches’ brew that pushes the boundaries of theatre both live & online.
"Not only does Khavn take a chainsaw to this classic text (though he’s hardly the first to do so), but he also confronts our ideas of what should or shouldn’t be considered theater."
“Batang Mujahideen” is still magnificent, astutely crafted theater."
Batang Mujahideen (Child Soldier) by Malou Jacob, directed by Guelan Varela-Luarca
with additional text by Guelan Varela-Luarca and the Tanghalang Pilipino Actors Company
Tanghalang Pilipino Actors Company
Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino, Cultural Center of the Philippines
The fate of Fatima, a 7-year old Yakan girl, intertwines with the March 2000 Abu Sayyaf kidnapping of a priest, teachers and students in Basilan. After witnessing an act of brutal violence, she vows silence and joins the ranks of mujahideen, disguising herself as a boy and training for the day she can confront her father’s killer.
2020
Blending historical fiction with real-life accounts, Batang Mujahideen pieces together a story of people grasping for peace and freedom in an island haunted by violence and filled with hope.
“Batang Mujahideen is still magnificent, astutely crafted theater."
Philstage Gawad Buhay Awards
Aliw Awards
Winner, Outstanding Stage Direction: Guelan Varela-Luarca
Winner, Outstanding Lighting Design: D Cortezano
Winner, Female Featured Performance: Lhorvie Nuevo
Winner, Best Play
La Victoria and Luarca as guests on CNN Philippines - New Day to promote Batang Mujahideen
DRAMATURGY: COMMUNITY DISCOVERIES
A bespoke workshop for community-oriented theater groups
seeking to develop new and exciting performance material inspired by local stories and narratives.
This unique learning opportunity brings the study and practice of dramaturgy to the forefront of community and audience building. We learn creative processes that develop stories, tellings, and reflections that come from the participants themselves and the communities they belong to.
Developed meticulously over the course of three years of online and onsite seminars, workshops, and creative work, this experience can be tailored depending on the needs of your theatre-making collective.
This workshop is ideal for community-oriented theatre groups looking to foster connection and a deeper understanding of their shared heritage through the collaborative practice of theatre.
Do you think this workshop might be just what your group needs? Get in touch now for more information.
PANELS AND CONFERENCES
2022
Shakespeare: The Contemporary and the Postmodern Stage
Sorbonne Université, Paris
Presented a paper titled Makbetamaximus: Theatre of Destruction
Staging the world's longest Macbeth under the world's longest lockdown
To Double Business Bound: Shakespeare as Academic And Artistic Practice
University of the Philippines, Dilliman (online)
Panel Moderator: Shakespeare as Creative Practice
Cutting and Editing Shakespeare for Performance by Abigail Rokison-Woodall and
Shakespeare as Source Test: Creating New Work from Old by Tracy Irish
2021
People, Power, Politics, Pandemics and Other Perils in Southeast Asia
Canadian Council for Southeast Asian Studies, University of British Columbia (online)
Presented a paper titled Re-thinking the Role of the Dramaturg in the Digital Space as part of the Archipelagic Imagination and Decolonial Aesthetics panel
2020
Theatre Study Abroad in Relation to Establishing the Academy of Philippine Theatre
National Commission for Culture and the Arts – National Committee on Dramatic Arts
Presenter and Panelist
PUBLICATIONS
Upcoming! Care-based Dramaturgy: Reflecting Terrorism Crisis Through Performance Presentation, not Representation (2024-2025)
The Methuen Drama Handbook of Performance and Social Action: Performance and Social Action: The Staging Ground for Better Worlds
Edited by Andrew Martinez
The Borders Our Arks Can Cross: Reflections on Leeroy New's Arks of Gimokudan Map (2023)
Center for Sustainable Practice in the Arts Quarterly. Issue 39: Border Ecologies.
Guest Edited by Giselle Garcia
Third Virgin Labfest Anthology: Selected plays from Virgin Labfest 2013-2016 (2017)
Published by the Cultural Center of the Philippines - Intertextual Division. Edited by Rody Vera
Featuring Ang Bata sa Drum