The Director
TIBO was born STEVEN PRINCE PATRICK C. FERNANDEZ in Manila on January 19 to parents Dean Segundo P. Fernandez and Julieta Castillo. He is the eldest of 10 kids.
He attended the University of the Philippines elementary and high schools and graduated with a degree in English at the Mindanao State University in Marawi City. He earned his M.A. in Philippine Studies (with a gold medal recognition) majoring in the Humanities (minors in Comparative Literature and Anthropology). He is the country's only Doctor of Fine Arts degree graduate (major: Creative Writing) from a Philippine University, the De La Salle.
It was his exposure to Maranao and Mindanao cultures after tumultuous years at the U.P. High School when his interest in indigenous southern cultures grew. These experiences in the South nurtured the creative compositions that have been performed, published, and discussed in numerous venues here and abroad.
Most of the over 40 plays and productions he has authored and directed have been critically acclaimed and performed in extensive tours around the country and in over 100 cities around the world.
His most recent citations are in the Who's Who in the 21st Century (1st edition) and the 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century (1st edition) of the Cambridge International Biographical Centre. He is also cited in the Fookien Times' 2004 Philippine Yearbook as a "Defender of Our Heritage." The CCP awarded him with a Pilak for his outstanding cultural work. He won first place in the 2006 Palanca for his one-act play MingMing. He is Full Professor at the MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology and currently Artistic Director of the Integrated Performing Arts Guild (IPAG).
Tibo is married to IPAG lead dancer Leilani. They have a one-a-half-year old daughter Sophia.
