Denise Mordeno Aguilar

Denise is a cultural worker, arts educator, and multi-disciplinary artist from Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. Her practice is rooted in theatre, cultural development, and community-based arts, with a focus on process-driven, embodied, and collaborative forms of creative work. She works as an independent creative practitioner, leading and supporting initiatives that engage communities, artists, and cultural institutions across diverse contexts.

She served as Artistic Director of Pasundayag Community Arts Production, Inc. (2017–present), where she led the development of community-based performances and cultural programs in Mindanao. She currently serves as Interim Chair of Lubas sa Dagang Bisaya (LuDaBi) – Sanga sa Dakbayan sa Cagayan de Oro, and is a member of the West Misamis Oriental Historical & Cultural Society. She previously served as Secretary of the National Committee on Dramatic Arts (2020–2022) and as Arts and Culture Director of La Salle University Ozamiz (2022–2025).

As an actor, director, dramaturge, and creative director, Denise has led and contributed to a range of significant artistic projects. She is the Creative Arts Director of Kalma: Use Your Creative Voice, a local arts month initiative held in February 2026, and served as Assistant Director and Acting Coach for Lawig Balanghai (2025), staged during the International Balangay Conference. In 2024, she directed Guerrilla, which was awarded Grand Champion in a regional competition. In the same year, she worked as Dramaturge and Project Implementer for Speak, Body: Fly! Calligraphy of Beings, in collaboration with Japan Foundation Manila.

Her work extends to international platforms, including participation in the Asian Youth Theatre Festival (2022–2023). During the pandemic, she collaborated as a performer in Tahanan, a project of Japan Foundation Manila. In 2019, she was part of the Philippine delegation of performers at the Gyeryongsan Mountain International Dance Festival. She was also selected as one of two Philippine representatives to the Asian Performing Arts Forum in Japan (2017), engaging in cross-cultural exchange and collaboration. Beyond performance, she has served as a consultant for arts and culture-related initiatives with GIZ Philippines and The Asia Foundation, contributing to projects addressing conflict-induced forced displacement in Mindanao.

Since her return to the Philippines following her scholarship at the Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI) in Singapore, Denise has been an active facilitator for the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Cultural Mapping Program and has conducted theatre workshops across the country. Her pedagogical work includes serving as Theatre Arts faculty for SANAY GURO (NCCA and La Salle University Bacolod) and as Lead Facilitator for the Hanas Program in Culture and the Arts. She has conducted mentorships and residencies with community-based theatre groups and artist networks, including Alphonsian Repertory Theatre (Manila), artist communities across the Visayas (Dumaguete City, Bacolod City, and Bohol Province), Hiyas Alim in Lanao del Norte, and the VELADA Mobile Theatre Project at Bicol University.

Denise creates at the intersection of theatre and spirituality, using embodied practice as a way of returning—tracing her way toward her Manobo/Higaonon lineage through process, listening, and lived experience.

Read Part I of her Q&A 

Read Part II of her Q&A 

Contact Denise

Recent works:
1. Project Lead / Creative Director, Kalma, use your Creative Voice!, Philippines’ Arts Month local celebration in Cagayan de Oro City (2026)
2. Assistant Director and Acting Coach, Lawig Balanghai (2025)
3. Speaker, "Me in the Now" whether ART is dead, Mindanao Equity for Creativity and the Arts (MECA), Inc.; Online (2021)
4. Performer, TAHANAN, Japan Foundation Manila Center for Japanese Culture, Tanghalang Ateneo, Kasing Sining and Teatro Guindegan; Online (2021)
5. Director, Peglau, Pasuyandayag Community Theatre / Kuris Theatre Festival 2021; Facebook (2021)
6. Facilitator, online theatre workshops for teenagers (Dec 2020 – Jan 2021)

Last updated: 29 April 2026