About KOLABorador Co.: Creating Theatre That Is Felt, Witnessed, and Lived

At the heart of Lamay in Malaya is KOLABorador Co., a collective of independent Filipino artists committed to creating what they call machinations—their own language for devised theatre.

Rather than starting with a fixed script, KOLABorador Co.’s works emerge from conversations, memories, literature, and lived experience. These fragments are collectively shaped into performances that speak directly to the Filipino psyche, often interrogating cultural memory while aiming to inspire, empower, and—when necessary—unsettle. Their theatre is not designed to comfort audiences from a distance, but to invite them into an encounter.

Why Grief, and Why Now?

For the collective, Lamay in Malaya was born out of loss that was deeply personal. In the past year, the theatre community lost several figures the group profoundly admired—three of them close collaborators and friends. Their deaths left an emotional weight that seeped into both artistic practice and daily life.

Creating Lamay in Malaya became a way to honor those who passed, while also acknowledging grief as something communal rather than solitary. The company recognizes that mourning is not limited to death alone. It also exists in the quiet spaces where we grieve former versions of ourselves, abandoned ambitions, and imagined lives that never came to be. These subtle, often unspoken losses shape identity just as powerfully as bereavement.

Why Immersive Theatre?

For KOLABorador Co., immersion is not a stylistic choice—it is a necessity.

Grief, they argue, cannot be experienced from afar. It is physical. It inhabits bodies, shared spaces, silences, and moments that demand presence. As machinators, the collective believes theatre must be encountered and witnessed, not merely observed.

Lamay in Malaya pushes beyond traditional theatrical boundaries by inviting audiences into an experiential journey. Viewers are guided through multiple spaces, moving alongside performers, choosing where to linger, and determining how deeply to engage. The experience does not promise resolution or emotional closure. Instead, it asks audiences to sit with grief—to feel it, reflect on it, and honor it as an inevitable companion to love and being alive.

The People Behind the Experience

The production is brought to life by an ensemble composed of:

Cast
Tara Cabaero, Kathlyn Castillo, Raphne Catorce, Chic De Guzman, Anna Deroca, Tess Jamias, Wenah Nagales, Jona Paculan, Gino Ramirez, Nazer Salcedo, and Joshua Tayco

Artistic Team

Repetitur / Scenography & Styling: Mark Daniel Dalacat

Lighting Design: Third Salamat

Sound Design: Zsaris

Dramaturgy: Vic Villareal

Additional Styling: John Abul

Production Management
Kathlyn Castillo, Tess Jamias, Wenah Nagales, Boom Gonzales, Rafa Mediavillo

Marketing
Tara Cabaero, Erica Prado, Boom Gonzales, Rafa Mediavillo

Stage Management
Faith Rianne Baclig, Erica Prado, King Velasquez, Kyrie Samodio, Jien Santiago, Gena Suelto

Together, they form a collective practice rooted in care, collaboration, and shared vulnerability.

In Lamay in Malaya, KOLABorador Co. offers more than a performance. They create a space where grief is not rushed, silenced, or solved—but held. In doing so, they remind audiences that mourning, like love, endures—and that to feel deeply is itself a radical act.