This Bicolano theater group brings grassroots stories — and disaster relief — to communities

SINING BANWA. Cast members perform in ‘Higit sa Pag-ibig: The Musical,’ one of the multi-arts group’s most successful productions. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/Zachary Oliver Gonzales. Veteran actor Julie DM Vega of Albay theater group Sining Banwa says it’s time for local governments to invest in their artists and help ‘bring art directly to the masses’ Sining Banwa (SB) is a community theater collective in Albay, Philippines, founded in 2011 to support local artists and promote Bicol culture through grassroots theater and community engagement. The organization has provided art relief programs to calamity-stricken communities, particularly after Super Typhoon Rolly in 2020, helping with recovery efforts and trauma processing through art. SB aims to integrate theater into the educational system in Bicol, advocating for creative spaces for artists and emphasizing the importance of local government support for the arts. This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors. ALBAY, Philippines – Sining Banwa (SB) began in 2011 as a free space for budding Albay artists to create art and stage progressive productions outside the classroom. Since then, this homegrown collective has evolved into a powerhouse of Bicol culture — using performance not just to entertain, but to bring communities together. Veteran theater artist Julie DM Vega emphasizes that SB’s soul is rooted in original, grassroots theater that were breathed to life through deep community immersion. For 15 years, the troupe has unearthed and amplified raw, multi-cultural stories that capture the true pulse, pain, and resilience of the region. (READ: 8 plays, 1 reality: Bicol theater unpacks hard-hitting local issues) “SB is a home for the very communities whose lives we put on stage,” said Vega. “It gives artists the space to sharpen their craft while anchoring every performance to the real, urgent lives of the people they serve.” Built entirely from the ground up, Sining Banwa was powered by volunteer actors and a crew who personally bankrolled their early productions. In return, some communities they helped gave them harvested rice, sweet potatoes, and fresh vegetables to keep the troupe fed and afloat. “In those early years, our volunteer members kept the lights on,” recalled Vega. “When we brought our plays to the communities and stood with them in their struggles, strong networks were forged. Grateful locals would send us crops which sustained us through our toughest moments.” VLF BIKOL. Julie DM Vega performs in the 2026 Virgin Labfest Bikol, portraying a drag artist-activist who is the child of a desaparecido. Photo by Reinnard Balonzo/Rappler Remembering SB’s leanest years, Vega highlighted the sheer grit that kept them moving forward when funding was nonexistent. “We once reached a point where no one had money for a decent meal,” Vega added. “We gathered wild leaves we weren’t even sure were edible just to have something to go with our rice. It’s funny to look back on now, but those extreme sacrifices remind us of our roots and keep us deeply motivated.” Art relief programs Extending its impact beyond performance art, Sining Banwa launched programs such as Pagtugdon, a Bicolano term for a bird landing or perching, symbolizing the collective’s deep rootedness in the communities it serves. “By our fifth year, we reflected on our core identity as a community theater,” Vega explained. “We knew we had a responsibility to step up, especially during times of crisis.” ART HEALING. Sining Banwa helped numerous calamity-stricken communities across Bicol through its art relief programs following Super Typhoon Rolly in 2020. Photo by Sining Banwa In 2016, the theater company started providing art relief programs for calamity-stricken communities, particularly as Bicol is regularly battered by storms. In 2020, when Super Typhoon Rolly (international name: Goni) left Bicol with at least 20 people dead and almost P1.1 billion in agricultural damage, SB was among the first groups to respond amid government delays. “When Rolly hit, lahar heavily impacted our partner community in Busay, Daraga,” Vega said. “The actors and crew were on their feet to save whatever we could salvage from houses that were almost covered in lahar.” REBUILDING COMMUNITIES. Alongside creative disaster response initiatives, Sining Banwa members collected supplies and provided manual labor to rebuild storm-damaged homes in Bicol in 2020. Photo by Sining Banwa When the group launched a donation drive to help more people, contributions unexpectedly surged to over P400,000 in cash donations, allowing the project to expand to nearby communities, neighboring towns, and adjacent provinces. The group also assisted in relief operations in Tabaco City and Catanduanes province. “After providing relief goods and hot meals in Busay, we also helped in some areas of Tabaco City and gave victims construction materials to rebuild their homes. It continued until we reached Catanduanes, where we helped a community that couldn’t be reached immediately by other relief groups due to its geographically isolated location,” she added. GRASSROOTS RELIEF. Walking for more than half an hour through difficult terrain, Sining Banwa members brought assistance to isolated communities cut off from immediate government aid. Photo by Sining Banwa After trekking for nearly an hour on foot to reach their target communities, the volunteers worked with residents to help process trauma through art and community-building (READ: Bicol artists bring art relief to traumatized Kristine survivors). “We weren’t there to pretend or act as if we would save them from what they experienced, so we partnered with them to help them realize their own strength despite going through so much. While the residents were packing relief goods, we had time to conduct art relief programs for children — something the government rarely provides after disasters,” Vega pointed out. Beyond typhoon recovery, SB also mounted several productions in 2025 to help a village engulfed by fire in Pilar, Sorsogon. That same year, all proceeds from their PedXing: Collab series were donated to disaster victims in the town of Tiwi in Albay (READ: Higit sa Pag-ibig: The Musical’ reveals the pain of Bicol’s flooded, red-tagged communities). GIVING LIGHT. As Christmas approached in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Rolly, Sining Banwa distributed lamps to disaster-stricken families. Photo by Sining Banwa Bigger stage Fresh off acclaimed shows and expanding productions, Sining Banwa is setting its sights on a bolder ambition: forging a unified regional stage by embedding theater and community arts directly into the Bicolano educational system (READ: Why Bicol theater revived a century-old epic). “Our vision is to see theater fully woven into the academic curriculum, and brick by brick, that dream is taking shape,” Vega proudly told Rappler. “Our school networks have rallied behind us — bringing their students to our plays and opening their gates for us to perform. Theater is no longer just an extracurricular; it is becoming a vital engine for learning.” ELECTION EDUCATION. Sining Banwa actors stage a play about elections during the 2025 Pista nin Teatrong Bikolnon as part of their voter education drive. Photo by Zachary Oliver Gonzales Looking back on SB’s journey, Vega envisions a future where local theater doesn’t just survive, but thrives. She urged local leaders and communities to address the chronic shortage of creative spaces for grassroots artists. “What we are truly fighting for is the creative freedom and physical space to hone our craft,” she emphasized. “It is high time that local governments and communities invest in their artists, empowering us to bring art directly to the masses.” Reaffirming their ties to the grassroots communities that have always been their lifeline, SB vows to continue staging fierce, truth-telling stories that inspire a stronger, more resilient Bicol. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading