The Virgin Labfest (VLF), the theater festival of untried, untested, and unstaged one-act plays, is now accepting applications for its Writing Fellowship Program (WFP). Applications can be submitted until April 30, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (Philippine Standard Time).
Interested applicants must be college students or young professionals aged 18 to 29, whose works have not been produced by a professional theater company or published in a national or international literary journal. Moreover, they should not have received any of the top prizes (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) in any national or international playwriting or screenwriting competitions.
Aspiring writing fellows must submit a fully accomplished application form through tinyurl.com/VLFXXIWFPApplicationForm, together with one to two original sample plays written in English or Filipino.
Submissions must be in PDF format (font size 12, double-spaced, 8.5 x 11 inches) and must not contain identifying marks. The total length of all submitted works must not exceed ten (10) pages. All works must be solely written by the applicant.
Complete guidelines are available at tinyurl.com/VLFXXIWFPApplicationGuidelines.
Once the application form is submitted, all applications are considered final. Only the candidates with complete and compliant applications will move forward in the screening process. Selected writing fellows will be announced on May 20, 2026.
Organized by the Artist Training Division, under the Arts Education Department of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the two-week mentorship program will be held from June 16 to 28, 2026, with hybrid online and onsite sessions via Zoom and at the CCP Complex.
Selected writing fellows will attend lectures, discussions, and workshops on playwriting and script critiquing to further their passion and practice of dramatic writing for the stage. The mentorship program also provides them the opportunity to engage in talkbacks with established playwrights and directors.
The program will culminate in a showcase of the writing fellows’ works as stage readings on June 28, 2026 as part of the 21st edition of the VLF WFP. The Virgin Labfest 2026 runs from June 3 to 28, 2026, at the Tanghalang Ignacio B. Gimenez, CCP Complex, Pasay City.
For inquiries, contact the CCP Artist Training Division via email at ccp.vlfwfp@gmail.com. Visit the CCP’s official website (https://culturalcenter.gov.ph) for more information on its current and upcoming events, lectures, and workshops. To get updates on its programs, follow the CCP’s pages across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
