It was a successful staging of the O’Layra: Princesa cang Dagat at the University of the Philippines Visayas Auditorium last April 13, 2013 after viewers overflowed to catch the staging of the production.
The story was based from a radio drama by Antique writer Russel Tordesillas which was originally aired over DYKA (Radyu Kauswagan Antique). The students under the Communication and Media Studies of UP Visayas used the story as a dance adaptation to highlight Western Visayas culture.
The story by Tordesillas was inspired by local folk tale regarding a fabled golden boat used by supernatural beings that traversed the waters of Panay and how O’Layra, locally believed to have truly existed as a tamawo or enchanted princess, journeyed into the world of mortals and resided on a Bubog tree located in Carit-an, Patnongon town in the Province of Antique.
The original script for the production was written and directed by Professor Kevin Pison Piamonte from the Division of Humanities of the College of Arts and Sciences.
The O’Layra was selected as an adaptation piece in order to help spread the story and popularize local and traditional tales of Western Visayas.
The staging also brought to public consciousness the allure of esoteric myths which has rapidly diminished as a result of globalization and modernity. The students under the subject CMS 145 (Advertising Campaign) hoped to have reignited the interest of the viewers on stories that were previously significant among people in local communities but are now forgotten.
The successful staging of O’Layra was attained because of its production team composed of: Robert Rodriguez, Choreographer; Crista Sianson-Huyong, Composer & Musical Director; Roman Sanares, Production Designer; and Kristine Javier, Costume Designer.
(Archived News May 2018)