About

The Chikahan Company (ChikaCo for short) is a new Filipinx American theatre company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. ChikaCo was founded by its three Co-Artistic Directors:  Ely Sonny Orquiza, Krystle Piamonte, and Alan S. Quismorio. They have a long standing history of relationships rooted in community theatre and all come with various degrees of experiences on and off stage. Together, they merge years of administrative and creative experiences as well as intergenerational and institutional knowledge to inaugurate a contemporary enterprise. 

Mission

Exploring Filipinx history, politics, psychology, and diaspora through the craft of theater and the performing arts, ChikaCo strives to develop the unique voices of and uplift the robust Filipinx narratives and artistries, and advocate its influence to the American theater.

Vision

To reclaim and to reveal the multifaceted experiences of the Filipinx community in the San Francisco Bay Area. To amplify the complex and dynamic narratives that have long been pushed to the margins and to actively challenge the stereotypes about our kababayan (people), our kuwento (story), and our kasaysayan (history).

What does Chikahan mean?

Chika is Filipino slang for either something that is not entirely true (gossip, rumors, etc.) or new information that friends are expecting to hear from you. Chikahan is the term for the conversation or chit-chat involving the chika.

Through our work, ChikaCo invites audiences and artists to conversations about the perceptions and issues of the Filipinx experience, to dispel what’s not entirely true and to present authenticity as a way to introduce our languages, culture, history, and stories into the mainstream.