Cecilia I. Gaerlan
Cecilia Gaerlan is a Bay Area playwright/novelist/activist based in Berkeley, California. She created the Bataan Legacy Project to address the lack of information about the role of the Filipinos during World War II in the Philippines and to seek justice for the Filipino veterans whose rights as soldiers were rescinded in 1946. The project includes a multi-media presentation with live interviews with WW II veterans, a full-length play, In Her Mother's Image, a one-man show Breach of Faith-The Men of Bataan and anthology of stories from WW II survivors.
She received an Honorable Mention in the Stage Play Script Category of the Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition in 2005 for her play The Hand of God (about St. Francis of Assisi) and in 2010 for her play Magnus Laurent (Lorenzo de Medici). She is the founder of Artis Mundi, a multicultural theatre arts group that uses the power of theater to achieve social change through works based on history.
She is a recipient of a Theatre Bay Area CASH Award in 2002 for her play, Brilliance within the Darkness, about the blind Spanish composer, Joaquin Rodrigo (composer of the guitar masterpiece Concierto de Aranjuez.) She is the author of several plays on a wide variety of topics such as the United Nations (commissioned by City College of San Francisco for the U. N.'s 50th anniversary), child prostitution and the Chinese Cultural Revolution. She has recently adapted for the stage, In Her Mother's Image, her debut novel about a mother and daughter set in the Philippines during World War II. She is currently developing Breach of Faith - The Men of Bataan, based on research and interviews with actual veterans of World War II in the Philippines.
In addition to being a playwright and novelist, Cecilia is also an experienced travel organizer. She has been organizing bicycle trips in the US and Europe since 1987. She designs jewelry under Bijoux de Cecile. Her interests include classical music (J.S. Bach fanatic) and old movies (pre-code).
She is married to Jeff Shuttleworth, a News Reporter for Bay City News Service, who is her source of unwavering inspiration and support.
You may contact her at info@ceciliagaerlan.com.
CLICK to see Bataan Legacy film clip
CLICK to see Cecilia presenting Bataan Legacy
CLICK to See In Her Mother's Image (HD) on You Tube
She received an Honorable Mention in the Stage Play Script Category of the Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition in 2005 for her play The Hand of God (about St. Francis of Assisi) and in 2010 for her play Magnus Laurent (Lorenzo de Medici). She is the founder of Artis Mundi, a multicultural theatre arts group that uses the power of theater to achieve social change through works based on history.
She is a recipient of a Theatre Bay Area CASH Award in 2002 for her play, Brilliance within the Darkness, about the blind Spanish composer, Joaquin Rodrigo (composer of the guitar masterpiece Concierto de Aranjuez.) She is the author of several plays on a wide variety of topics such as the United Nations (commissioned by City College of San Francisco for the U. N.'s 50th anniversary), child prostitution and the Chinese Cultural Revolution. She has recently adapted for the stage, In Her Mother's Image, her debut novel about a mother and daughter set in the Philippines during World War II. She is currently developing Breach of Faith - The Men of Bataan, based on research and interviews with actual veterans of World War II in the Philippines.
In addition to being a playwright and novelist, Cecilia is also an experienced travel organizer. She has been organizing bicycle trips in the US and Europe since 1987. She designs jewelry under Bijoux de Cecile. Her interests include classical music (J.S. Bach fanatic) and old movies (pre-code).
She is married to Jeff Shuttleworth, a News Reporter for Bay City News Service, who is her source of unwavering inspiration and support.
You may contact her at info@ceciliagaerlan.com.
CLICK to see Bataan Legacy film clip
CLICK to see Cecilia presenting Bataan Legacy
CLICK to See In Her Mother's Image (HD) on You Tube