THEATER AND
PERFORMANCE ART
PHILIPPINE NATIONAL ARTISTS
THEATER
NATIONAL ARTIST
FILM & THEATER
• Lamberto V. Avellana, director for theater and
film, has the distinction of being called "The Boy
Wonder of Philippine Movies" as early as 1939.
He was the first to use the motion picture
camera to establish a point-of-view, a move that
revolutionized the techniques of film narration.
Avellana, who at 20 portrayed Joan of Arc in
time for Ateneo's diamond jubilee, initially set
out to establish a Filipino theater.
• Together with Daisy Hontiveros, star of many UP
plays and his future wife, he formed the
Barangay Theater Guild which had, among
others, Leon Ma .Guerrero and Raul Manglapus
as members. It was after seeing such plays that
Carlos P. Romulo, then president of Philippine
Films, encouraged him to try his hand at
directing films. In his first film Sakay, Avellana
demonstrated a kind of visual rhythm that
established a new filmic language.
NATIONAL ARTIST
THEATER & MUSIC
• Honorata "Atang" Dela Rama was formally
honored as the Queen of Kundiman in 1979,
then already 74 years old singing the same song
("Nabasag na Banga") that she sang as a 15-year
old girl in the sarsuela Dalagang Bukid. Atang
became the very first actress in the very first
Tagalog film when she essayed the same role in
the sarsuela's film version. As early as age seven,
Atang was already being cast in Spanish
zarzuelas such as Mascota, Sueño de un Vals,
and Marina. She counts the role though of an
orphan in Pangarap ni Rosa as her most
rewarding and satisfying role that she played
with realism, the stage sparkling with silver coins
tossed by a teary-eyed audience. Atang firmly
believes that the sarswela and the kundiman
expresses best the Filipino soul, and has even
performed kundiman and other Filipino songs
for the Aetas or Negritos of Zambales and the
Sierra Madre, the Bagobos of Davao and other
Lumad of Mindanao.
NATIONAL ARTIST
THEATER & LITERATURE
• Rolando S. Tinio, playwright, thespian, poet,
teacher, critic and translator, marked his career
with prolific artistic productions. Tinio's chief
distinction is as a stage director whose original
insights into the scripts he handled brought
forth productions notable for their visual
impact and intellectual cogency. Subsequently,
after staging productions for the Ateneo
Experimental Theater (its organizer and
administrator as well), he took on Teatro
Pilipino. It was to Teatro Pilipino which he left
a considerable amount of work reviving
traditional Filipino drama by re-staging old
theater forms like the sarswela and opening a
treasure-house of contemporary Western
drama. It was the excellence and beauty of his
practice that claimed for theater a place
among the arts in the Philippines in the 1960s.
NATIONAL ARTIST
THEATER
• Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero is a teacher and theater
artist whose 35 years of devoted professorship
has produced the most sterling luminaries in
Philippine performing arts today: Behn Cervantes,
Celia Diaz, Laurel, Joy Virata, Joonee Gamboa,
etc. In 1947, he was appointed as UP Dramatic
Club director and served for 16 years. As founder
and artistic director of the UP Mobile Theater, he
pioneered the concept of theater campus tour
and delivered no less than 2,500 performances in
a span of 19 committed years of service. By
bringing theatre to countryside, Guerrero made it
possible for students and audiences in general to
experience the basic grammar of staging and
acting in familiar and friendly ways through his
plays that humorously reflect the behavior of the
Filipino.
NATIONAL ARTIST
THEATER
Daisy H. Avellana, is an actor, director and
writer. Born in Roxas City, Capiz on January 26,
1917. She has elevated legitimate theater and
dramatic arts to a new level of excellence by
staging and performing in breakthrough
productions of classic Filipino and foreign plays
and by encouraging the establishment of
performing groups and the professionalization
of Filipino theater. Together with her husband,
National
Artist Lamberto Avellana and other artists, she
co-founded the Barangay Theatre Guild in 1939
which paved the way for the popularization of
theatre and dramatic arts in the country,
utilizing radio and television.
NATIONAL ARTIST
THEATER
• Playwright, director, actor, and theater organizer Severino
Montano is the forerunner in institutionalizing "legitimate
theater" in the Philippines. Taking up courses and
graduate degrees abroad, he honed and shared his
expertise with his countrymates.
• As Dean of Instruction of the Philippine Normal College,
Montano organized the Arena Theater to bring drama to
the masses. He trained and directed the new generations
of dramatists including Rolando S. Tinio, Emmanuel
Borlaza, Joonee Gamboa, and Behn Cervantes.
• He established a graduate program at the Philippine
Normal College for the training of playwrights, directors,
technicians, actors, and designers. He also established the
Arena Theater Playwriting Contest that led to the
discovery of Wilfrido Nolledo, Jesus T. Peralta, and Estrella
Alfon.
• Among his awards and recognitions are the Patnubay ng
Kalinangan Award from the City of Manila (1968),
Presidential Award for Merit in Drama and Theater (1961),
and the Rockefeller Foundation Grant to travel to 98 cities
abroad (1950, 1952, 1962, and 1963).
NATIONAL ARTIST
THEATER DESIGN
• Salvador Bernal is a theater designer who has designed
more than 300 productions distinguished for their
originality since 1969. Sensitive to the budget limitations
of local productions, he harnessed the design potential of
inexpensive local materials, pioneering or maximizing the
use of bamboo, raw abaca, and abaca fiber, hemp twine,
rattan chain links and gauze cacha.
• As the acknowledged guru of contemporary Filipino
theater design, Bernal has shared his skills with younger
designers through his classes at the University of the
Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila University, and
through the programs he created for the CCP Production
Design Center which he himself conceptualized and
organized.
• To promote and professionalize theater design, he
organized the PATDAT (Philippine Association of Theatre
Designers and Technicians) in 1995 and by way of
Philippine Center of OISTAT (Organization Internationale
des Scenographes, Techniciens et Architectes du Theatre),
he has introduced Philippine theater design to the world.
THEATER ARTS
AS A FORM OF ART, UNIQUELY EMPLOYS A SPECIFIC LANGUAGE THAT
APPLIES TO VISUAL AND AUDITORY ELEMENTS, TECHNIQUES, AND
CONVENTIONS.
ITS ELEMENTS ARE VARIED AND COMPLEX, AND MAY INCLUDE THE
PHYSICAL PRESENCE OF THE ACTORS, THE COLORS AND SHAPES OF
THE COSTUMES AND SCENERY, SOUND AND MUSIC, DRAMA, AND
THE IDEAS AND EMOTIONS EXPRESSED BY THEPLAYWRIGHT,A MONG
OTHER THINGS, THAT DYNAMICALLY INTERPLAY WITH EACH OTHER
WITHIN SPECIFIC TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL FRAMES AT EACH POINT
OF PERFORMANCE (WILSON 1991:7)
PERFORMANCE
IT IS BASED ON DRAMATIC TEXT STAGED
USING TECHNIQUES OF THEATER
PRODUCTION AND ENACTED AND
INTERPRETED BY ARTISTS, DIRECTORS,
DESIGNERS, AND OTHER PERSONNEL
BEFORE AUDIENCES WHO ARE SITUATED
IN THE SITE OF PERFORMANCE.
THE ELEMENTS OF DRAMATIC THEATRICAL
PERFORMANCE
PLOT
REFERS TO THE
ARRANGEMENT OF EVENTS
WHICH HAS A BEGINNING,
MIDDLE, AND END.
CHARACTER
IT IS THE PRINCIPAL MATERIAL
OF THE PERFORMANCE AND
THE CENTRAL FOCUS OF THE
PLOT.
THOUGHT
IT REFERS TO THE MAIN IDEA
OR CONCEPT THAT THE
CHARACTERS DRAMATIZE.
TO CONVEY THE PLOT, CHARACTERS AND THOUGHT IT MUST HAVE:
LANGUAGE / DICTION : IT IS THE EXPRESSION OF MEANING THROUGH THE USE
OF WORDS. IT USES FORMAL LANGUAGE TO CONVEY MEANING, ESTABLISH
MOOD, TEMPO AND RHYTHM, AND INTERNAL LOGIC. IT SHOULD BE
APPROPRIATE TO THE ROLE CHARACTER.
SONG / MUSIC : IT REFERS TO THE SPEAKING, DANCING AND SINGING PART IN
THE PERFORMANCE, WHICH INCLUDE SOUNDS OF ACTORS’ VOICES, INCIDENTAL
SONGS & BACKGROUND MUSIC, AND INSTRUMENTAL ACCOMPANIMENT.
SPECTACLE : PERTAINS TO THE VISUAL ELEMENTS OF PRODUCTION THAT
INCLUDE CHARACTERS’ MOVEMENT AND SPATIAL RELATIONS, LIGHTING,
SETTINGS, COSTUMES, AND PROPERTIES AND PROPS.
DIRECTOR
PUTS TOGETHER A VARIETY
OF ELEMENTS SO THAT THE
AUDIENCE CAN SIT AND VIEW
A COHERENT THEATER
PERFORMANCE.
PLAYWRIGHT
WRITES THE STORY IN A
DRAMATIC FORMAT.
THEATER SPACE
IT USUALLY SET ON STAGE, WHICH
HAS FOUR BASIC TYPES. EACH TYPE
HAS ITS OWN ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVANTAGES, AND UNIQUELY
PROVIDES DIFFERENT VIEWING
EXPERIENCES.
FOUR BASIC THEATER STAGES
PROSCENIUM STAGE
ARENA OR CIRCLE STAGE
THRUST STAGE
CREATED OR FOUND STAGE
STYLES IN PHILIPPINE THEATER ARTS
REALISM
REALISM IN THE CONTEMPORARY MODERN THEATER
FOLLOWS TWO TENDENCIES:
PSYCHOLOGICAL : WHICH FOCUSES ON THE PROBLEMS OF
INDIVIDUALS.
SOCIAL : WHICH SITUATES AND ROOTS INDIVIDUAL
PROBLEMS WITHIN THE LARGER FRAMEWORK OF A CLASS
SOCIETY.
PSYCHOLOGICAL REALISM
WILFRIDO GUERRERO “THREE RATS” – WHICH IS ABOUT THE
AFFAIR BETWEEN A WOMAN AND HER HUSBAND’S BEST
FRIEND.
NICK JOAQUIN “A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTISTS AS FILIPINO” –
DEPICTS THE TRAGEDY OF TWO UNMARRIED SISTERS IN THE
SPANISH CITY OF INTRAMUROS, WHO ARE SLOWLY BEING
DEVOURDE BY THE NEW GROWING COMMERCIALISM AND
PRAGMATISM UNDER AMERICA, BUT WHO STUBBORNLY
CLING TO THE GENTEEL, ALBEIT IMPRACTICAL WORLD OF
HISPANIZED CULTURE.
SOCIAL REALISM
ALBERTO FLORENTINO “THE WORLD IS AN APPLE” – SHOWS
HOW A POOR MAN STEALS TO BUY MEDICINE FOR HIS CHILD.
REUEL MOLINA AGUILA “IN DIS KORNER” – TELLS OD A BOXER
WHO SACRIFICES HIS PERSONAL AND FAMILY INTERESTS IN
ORDER TO BUCK THE SYSTEM OF “FIXING” WHICH EXPLOITS
BOXERS LIKE HIM.
COMBINATION OF REALISTIC AND
NON REALISTIC STYLES
MALOU JACOB “JUAN TAMBAN” – FOCUSES ON AN UPPER
MIDDLE-CLASS SOCIAL WORKER, WHO GETS POLITICIZED
WHILE STUDYING HER THESIS SUBJECT, THE STREET URCHIN
JUAN TAMBAN, WHO EATS ROACHES AND LIZARDS. IN THIS
PLAY, THE PLAYWRIGHT USES A CHORUS AS NARRATORS AND
COMMENTATORS TO TIE TOGETHER A SERIES OF HIGHLY
REALISTIC AND MOVING EPISODES.
MUSICAL PERFORMANCES
BRECHTIAN TECHNIQUES HAVE ALSO BEEN USED FOR FULL-
BLOWN MUSICALS WHICH MAY BE ROCK OR POP MUSICALS
ON CONTEMPORARY THEMES.
ROCK OF AEGIS – A MUSICAL PLAY PERFORMED BY AICELLE
SANTOS PRESENTING THE DIFFERENT MUSIC OF AEGIS BAND
TO DEPICT SOCIAL OR PERSONAL ISSUES.
DOCUMENTARY STYLES
THESE ARE EMPLOYED IN PLAYS DEALING WITH HISTORICAL
EVENTS AND PERSONS, SUCH AS:
AL SANTOS “MAYO A-BEINTE UNO KABANATA” – IT USES
NARRATORS AND SLIDES OF NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS TO TRACE
THE THREE PERIODS OF STUGGLE AGAINST COLONIAL RULE
VALENTIN DE LOS SANTOS FACED.
SHORT PLAYS
IT IS ALSO CALLED DULA-TULA (DRAMA-POEM) SUCH AS:
JOSE F. LACABA’S “ANG MGA KAGILA-GILALAS NA
PAKIKIPAGSAPALARAN NI JUAN DELA CRUZ” – IT TACKLES THE
EVERYDAY LIFE OF AN ORDINARY FILIPINO WITH NO REAL
RIGHTS.
THEATER ARTS IN DIFFERENT REGIONS
NCR
CAR
REGION 1 – ILOCOS REGION
• IT INSPIRES THE THEATER PLAY “DONG AO” A
TRADITIONAL ILOCANO FUNERAL CEREMONY
WHERE RELATIVES AND FRIENDS PAY TRIBUTE
TO THE DECEASED. IN THIS SHORT PLAY, PEPE
SAMSON, THE LEAD CHARACTER IN JOSE’S
NOVEL MASS, IS ALREADY DEAD. DIFFERENT
CHARACTERS FROM THE THREE NOVELS VISIT
THE WAKE AND SPEAK THEIR MIND WHICH
BECOMES THE FOCUS OF THE STORY.
REGION 3 – CENTRAL LUZON
REGION 4A - CALABARZON
REGION 5 - BICOL
REGION 6 – WESTERN VISAYAS
REGION 7 – CENTRAL VISAYAS
SIDD ARTISTS
JUNIOR TROUBADORS
PACE SETTERS
OFFBEAT CONCEPTS PRODUCTION HOUSE
CREATIVE THESPIAN CLUB INC.
REGION 9 – ZAMBOANGA PENINSULA
REGION 10 – NORTHERN MINDANAO
REGION 11 - DAVAO
REGION 12 - SOCCSKSARGEN
REGION 13 - CARAGA
A MONTH-LONG CELEBRATION INVOLVES THEATER
ARMM
KINDING
SINDAW
TYPOLOGY OF PERFORMING ARTS
VISUAL COMPONENT
• WHAT ARE THE DOMINANT THEATRICAL ELEMENTS?
• HOW ARE THESE EMPLOYED IN THE PERFORMANCE?
• HOW ARE THE DOMINANT ELEMENTS AFFECT YOU?
• WHAT ARE THE DOMINANT PRINCIPLES,
CONVENTIONS, OR TECHNIQUES THAT ARE USED IN
THE PLAY OR PERFORMANCE?
DRAMATIC COMPONENT
•WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF
THE CENTRAL THEME TO YOU IN
TERMS OF PERSONAL,
HISTORICAL, SOCIAL, OR
POLITICAL VALUE?
LITERARY COMPONENT
•WHAT IS THE THEME OF THE
THEATER PLAY?
•WHAT ARE THE OTHER SUB-
THEMES THAT AFFECT THE
CENTRAL THEME?
IDEA
•WHAT IS THE MAIN
MEANING OF THE
PLAY?
