Gracetine Magpantay

Gracetine is a freelance theater arts practitioner, TV actor, and an educator-scientist. My journey started through an acting opportunity in 2013 in the musical Sanctuario. Every year since then, I've been involved in theater productions and took on different roles in the center stage, backstage, artistic team, and production team. In 2016, I had an opportunity to lead a musical theater group UP Broadway Company at the University of the Philippines Los Banos. During my term as Executive Director, we had projects such as AGRA: A New Musical, a play that fuses agriculture and performance, Centerstage! a musical open mic, theater workshops, and a listening booth for community service. In 2021, I became an Intern at Tanghalang Pilipino Actors Company and was taught by Director Dennis Marasigan, Music Director TJ Ramos, and the senior members of the company. I co-wrote the DZRH Tele-radio show Tara, Peeps! This year, I had the chance to act for the hit GMA Network TV series Apoy sa Langit, which is directed by Laurice Guillen. My goals as an artist-scientist are to keep a balance between the two hemispheres of my brain and explore the synergistic relationship of science and arts to contribute to the society through a holistic approach. My dream is to be a Director-Playwright. To do this, I hone my skills in different fields in the theater through workshops, books, online lessons, and volunteering in different productions. By having experience in various departments in the theater, I expose my self to the dirty work and learn to empathize with my co-workers. I believe that this is one of the best ways to be a good director. As a scientist by profession, I decided to take formal education on theater theory and research so that I may learn to do the art responsibly, as informed as possible, in context, and with respect if I were to fuse it with science and development goals.