Bindlestiff Studio is a rare example of an ethnicity-focused community theater in the city that helps many Filipino artists express themselves. Bindlestiff, a volunteer-run performing arts center in San Francisco, is celebrating the 25th iteration of their page-to-stage production “Stories High.” The studio has been a prominent space for bringing arts to Filipino communities in the Bay Area since 1989.
Located on Sixth Street in the SoMa District, also known as the Filipino cultural heritage district of San Francisco, the studio naturally found its community and officially became a venue devoted to Filipino arts in 1997. According to their website, Bindlestiff is the only permanent, community-based performing arts venue in the nation dedicated to showcasing the work of Filipino artists.
The program, “Stories High,” has been a tradition at Bindlestiff since 1999. It is a workshop series that culminates in a performance that showcases six original short stories turned into plays, which reenact tales of love, loss and liberation to the community.
Bindlestiff’s mission to support Filipino creatives at any artistic level gives opportunities to those seeking community and artistic expression. For many of the volunteers at Bindlestiff, the community and creative opportunities, such as “Stories High,” are what made them return to the theater. Lindsay Ordesta, known as LO, is a volunteer at Bindlestiff and co-producer of this year’s production; she has been with the theater for eight years.
“Because we focus on cultivating and supporting and growing, I think we got a lot of grace for someone like me who never thought I’d be doing this at all, or being on stage ever,” said LO. “I think it’s a labor of love.”
LO thinks of Bindlestiff as a second home. “Having this space and community, it saved me so many times, [from] just the hustle and bustle of my day job.” said LO.
Sharing the same sentiment, Aureen Almario is the artistic director for Bindlestiff and co-producer and set designer for this year’s iteration of “Stories High,” found her community at Bindlestiff. Almario’s first time performing on stage and writing was in 2004, at Bindlestiff.
“When I first stepped foot into Bindlestiff, it was like the first time I ever saw Filipinos doing theater — ever,” said Almario. “To see that on stage for the first time, for me, something clicked and made it feel like it was possible for me to do that.”
Long-time volunteer and Bindlestiff community member, Patrick Silvestre, is another co-producer for “Stories High XXV”. In previous years, he helped conduct various productions at Bindlestiff as a writer and actor and is now co-producing for the first time.
The ever-changing community and performances at Bindlestiff keep it interesting for Silvestre.
“There’s a lot of people that I’ve never worked with, and that’s the reason why I’m here this year,” said Silvestre. “[The production] just kind of brings me back in terms of what I did 20 years ago…I want to volunteer again and provide my own experience and see how I can help out.”
Joyce Yin, a co-producer for this year’s production, discovered Bindlestiff in 2016 when they first participated as an actor in “Stories High.”
“If we can keep the little stuff running, that is our way of fighting back against this really terrible, dystopian nightmare that we are in,” said Yin. “It’s a safe place to be.”
For Yin, having a space dedicated to Filipino artists is a form of liberation and resistance.
“There’s a lot of commitment to serving the community,” said Yin. “We are here to uplift stories of Filipino[s], Filipino Americans — people of the diaspora.”
Bindlestiff’s mission is to give the Filipino community in the Bay Area a place to safely express themselves. For people like Sharleen Ignacio, the space saved their life. Ignacio has been a part of Bindlestiff since 2010 as a volunteer and is now acting in this year’s “Stories High” for the first time.
“Being able to explore different mediums of art, and just getting to know other people and their stories, and coming together to make it work … it can be messy sometimes,” said Ignacio. “Also it’s a privilege to make art, you know, and to be able to do that here, it’s so sacred.”
Ignacio emphasized the importance of Bindlestiff to the Filipino community, saying, “It’s resilience to be out here, making art. To be able to make change and feel things together, cry together, laugh together and create the world that we want to create, on and off the stage — it’s more than just the stage, it’s everything that goes on beyond the theater.”
The 25th iteration of Bindlestiff’s “Stories High” will begin Sept. 11 and run until Sept. 20.
