Acting on Love
Lovelle and Erwin founded Mabuhay Players with the belief that every young person should have the chance to experience the magic of theater. They noticed that the opportunities available for youth theater required an investment from families that did not lead to any meaningful development in their child’s education and life.
The Story Behind Our Founders
Their Prologue
Lovelle and Erwin met in 2009 at a play Erwin was starring in. An actor herself, Lovelle was impressed and captivated by his performance she went out of her comfort zone and made the first move. From that moment on, their shared passion for theater ignited a collaboration that transcended the stage. As partners in both marriage and creativity, they continued to act and produce plays together, and also produced two little creatives of their own.
Through Mabuhay Players, they want to create ways for families to help their child grow their interest of theater and the skills it can teach them. Their hope is that each child who shows up realizes that they hold the magic within.
meet
Lovelle Liquigan
Artistic Director
Lovelle grew up a very shy child, "always daydreaming" according to her 1st grade teacher. She found confidence in playing basketball and played at the Varsity level. A crossover was made to the theater later in her life. She found many parallels in sports and the arts, and hopes she can instill the essential qualities of details, discipline, storytelling and teamwork to her students.
Among her main goals is to have students realize that these are life skills they can utilize in their lives outside the theater and court. She understands that results and performance are important, and in the same breath, she finds it invaluable that the work is practiced and reinforced. She believes that it is worthwhile to engage with one another with respect, accountability and encouragement, and how that level of intentional interaction can impact positive change within one’s self and community.
She hopes that students recognize that their voice has value, and no matter what our experiences, we learn to let our empathy lead the way. All this while working as a team in a space that is safe, a space where they have the freedom to be who they are, the freedom to make mistakes, and where the only failure is staying down. They will learn to have a sense of humor about themselves while taking their work seriously, and that the journey is the dream.
meet
Erwin Tuazon
Managing Director
Erwin’s passion for theater began when a touring acting company performed for his middle school, and grew even more when he saw his sister play Hermia in Midsummer Night’s Dream for her high school theater. He honed his craft when he moved to Los Angeles, working on various projects in film and television, as well as being a company member of the Independent Shakespeare Co., one of Los Angeles’ most popular theater festivals.
He believes that learning to communicate in front of an audience is one of the most important skills in life and translates to any professional setting. It is his great hope to inspire students in the same way that touring company and his own sister inspired him, and that those students can take the skills of adaptability, empathy, storytelling, teamwork learned from theater and apply them to any of their goals.