Barefoot Theatre Collaborative launched in 2022. Its first production, Mula sa Buwan, arrived when pandemic anxiety was still fresh and gathering in an intimate venue was still a risk. 

That first show opened the door to what Barefoot has since become: one of the most acclaimed independent theater companies in the Philippines, with productions like Mula sa Buwan, Bar Boys, and The Last Five Years drawing sold-out houses along the way.

As the Industry Shifts

Theater's greatest strength — intimacy, human proximity, the live exchange between performer and audience — is also what makes it a constantly moving target. The landscape keeps shifting, and so does the audience: what stories are worth telling, and what kind of experience is worth someone's money and time on a given night.

That's the question Barefoot keeps returning to. Rather than staging what's expected of an independent theater company, they've had to stay deliberate about why they're building a production in the first place — not only how a story gets told, but why it's the one worth telling right now.

The answer, as PR Manager Mikee Alvero puts it, is in the name itself: "Stay grounded, connected, and shift the way we do storytelling."

The Story Comes First

Barefoot Theatre Collaborative isn't tied to a single genre or source — the company has staged original work alongside adaptations like The Last Five Years, We Aren't Kids Anymore, and Anthropology. What drives the choice is simpler than genre or origin: what story is worth telling, and will it resonate.

The leadership is helmed by leaders both inside and out of the industry, forming the engine behind productions that aim to resonate with the Filipino audience.

"If the story will not connect with the audience, if it does not resonate with them in any way or form, then we feel like we failed as storytellers," Mikee says. That accountability to the audience, as the people the work is made for, is Barefoot’s North Star.

Next on their slate is Gabriela: The Musical, another original production that Mikee describes as deeply personal to the company. Set in 18th century Ilocos and told through myth, magic, and mystery, the musical reintroduces Gabriela Silang — the Philippines' first Filipina revolutionary — as a co-author of the revolution from its very beginning, rather than a figure whose story starts only after her husband's death. Written by Pat Valera with music by Myke Salomon and co-directed by Mikko Angeles, it stars Gab Pangilinan in the title role. The production begins on November 13, 2026 at Hyundai Hall, Areté.

The Booth Problem, and How PayMongo Solved It

While the stage is where the magic is witnessed, what's beyond it is how it's made possible. This includes all the moving parts that help the company to continue its operations.

For Barefoot, the Front of House booths are where a significant portion of non-ticket revenue is generated — souvenir programs, shirts, stickers, collectibles, beverages. It's also where a cashless-leaning audience runs into a problem if the payment infrastructure isn't ready for them.

"Most of the time, they don't pay in cash," Mikee says. "Whenever they see that there is a payment option — QR or card — they're very happy to know that. Because most of the time, people don't carry cash anymore."

The unique value PayMongo brings, though, is on the ticketing side. Barefoot uses it to process manual ticket sales, both at the booth and online, which helps lower the risk of fraudulent transactions and lets the ticketing staff verify a purchase immediately. It also enables the company to accept credit card payments for tickets without plugging into a separate ticketing platform or setting up its own ecommerce store.

With PayMongo, the ticket and merchandise booths offer credit card acceptance and QR payment options, making it simple enough to operate under pressure, in a crowded lobby, without making errors. "It has really smoothened things out," Mikee says.

Operations Coming Together

The operational value of PayMongo extends beyond the booth itself. Barefoot uses it to distribute and track payments and expenses across a production without everything running through a single point of access.

PayMongo's tiered access is what makes that possible. Select staff members — like the ticketing team — can verify ticket payments and pull the numbers they need without being given access to Barefoot's primary bank account. Everyone gets the visibility their role requires. 

For a producing company running lean, with a small team wearing multiple hats across a production, that layered access is a meaningful safeguard. It keeps oversight tight without slowing anyone down.

Theater & Sustainability

Barefoot's ambitions don't stop at producing great shows – the company is trying to build what a career in Philippine theater could look like.

The industry's reputation is honest: it's hard to sustain a living doing theater alone. Most theater practitioners balance it with commercial work, teaching, or other income streams. Barefoot hopes to improve that equation, at least within the ecosystem it controls.

"We hope we can give that opportunity to people—to do theater and be compensated more," Mikee says. "We honor the creativity, time, and value that each person gives." Alongside the pursuit of creative excellence, Barefoot is setting a foundation in place that strives for fair pay, timely payments, a safe collaborative environment, and conditions that allow artists to keep working.

This puts a new layer of importance on creating a frictionless pathway for sales. Each transaction they're able to make at the booths not only contributes to funding the next production, but in providing income for their employees.

That’s the big picture they’re aiming for: make great Filipino theater, make it consistently, and make it in a way that can better sustain the people who make it possible. While theater companies navigate a shifting cultural landscape, economic pressures, and fluctuating consumer spending power, Barefoot remains committed to building a more viable, supportive future for local artists.

Less Barriers

Barefoot Theatre Collaborative represents a use case that PayMongo's merchant tools are built for: a business that operates in high-traffic, time-sensitive physical environments so purchase "maybe's" turn into a "yes."

Meanwhile, the dashboard ties the whole operation together, giving the Barefoot team the reporting infrastructure for cleaner internal tracking and easier auditing across every production.

What PayMongo provides, at its core, is the same thing Barefoot provides to its audience: the removal of that barrier between intent and experience. For a company that strives to create good theatrical experiences, having payment infrastructure that keeps pace with that purpose is exactly the right fit.

Barefoot aims to create space for everyone to walk away with a meaningful experience, and PayMongo is in the business of supporting that mission.

Barefoot Theatre Collaborative is a PayMongo merchant based in the Philippines, producing original Filipino theater and musicals. Follow them at @barefootcollab across all platforms.