21st Century Report

In a n O c e a n o f
o n s: P h i l i p p i n e
E mo t i
D ra m a
The History Philippine “Thcater”
Philippine theater began just

like any other genre of
literature with precolonial
indigenous drama. These
constitute rituals, verbal jousts
or games, and songs and
dances praising their respective
gods.
The History Philippine “Thcater”
Eventually, when the

Spaniards came, these
indigenous dramas were
discarded and were changed
into mainly two categories:
the comedy or komedya and
the zarzuela or sarswela.
These were dramas that were used to capture
the imaginations and hearts of the Filipinos,
whom the Spaniards have just colonized. Aside
from providing entertainment to the people
from the pueblos (and also capturing their
affection), these also serve as teaching tools for
the religion that they brought with them, which
is Christianity.
The zarzuela is a type of theater that is
musical in nature it is both spoken and
sung. The first zarzuela in the Philippines
was staged in 1878 or 1879 and was
written by Francisco Asnjo Barbieri in
1855, entitled Jugar Con Fuego (Play with
Fire). Even Jose Rizal wrote his own
zarzuela, entitled “Junto Al Pasig” and was
staged in 1880.
In 1893, because of its popularity, the
Teatro Zorilla was inaugurated as the
home of zarzuelas. Of course, Filipinos
also indigenized the zarzuela and
called it the sarswela. It became a mix
or music, prose, dance, dialogue, and a
discussion of contemporary subjects.
Nowadays, Philippine theater has changed and incorporated
many modern elements to keep it relevant to its growing
audience. It still attacks contemporary issues and portrays the
real lives of Filipinos here and abroad. But it also went back
to some of its roots such as music and dance. More recently,
Liza Magloto's Rak of Aegis and its unprecedented success
showed that Filipinos are still craving for plays that feature
not only contemporary and important issues, but also fun,
music, and dance.
The playwrights' group called Writer's Bloc has been
actively inviting young playwrights to also have
their unpublished plays staged in a professional
setting, namely, the Cultural Center of the
Philippines or CCP- These playwrights have been
annually staging the Virgin Labfest, an avenue for
new play wrights to submit their plays and have
them staged with professional directors, actresses,
and props.
The event has also revolutionized modern
Philippine theater because not only does it
open up the stage for braver and more
current issues, it also keeps Philippine theater
alive and relevant. Now, every year, the
Virgin Labfest attracts a diverse group of
audiences and the plays that are part of it run
to a sold out crowd.
Another play that deals
with contemporary social
issues is The Adopted
Healthy Baby by Layeta
Bucoy.
Fig. 4.1. Layeta Bucoy
Layeta Bucoy is a multi-awarded playwright who
has won five Palanca awards for Ellas Inocentes in
2007, Doc Resurreccion: Gagamutin ang Bayan in
2009, El Galeon de Simeon in 2011, and The
Adopted Healthy Baby in 2015, which are all in
the Filipino One-Act Play category, as well as Ang
Repleksyon ni Ms. Trajano in the Filipino Teleplay
category in 1998.
She has also staged many plays, adaptations, and
children's musicals, such as Walang Kukurap;
Kleptomaniacs; adaptations of Titus Andronicus
and Bona; Uod, Butete, at si Myrna; Melanie; and
Prinsipe Munti, which is an adaptation of The
Little Prince, among others. She teaches theater
and writing at the University of the Philippines
Los Baños, where she is also a University Artist.
Creative Presentation of a Play
Similar to how a poem is meant to be recited out loud, a play is

meant to be staged and performed. Despite staging an amateur
play, there are still processes to it that you must follow for your
play to be successful. In the end, the audience will be the one to
evaluate you and tell you if they truly like What you have
prepared for them. Here are the steps that you can follow in
staging an amateur play.
1. Find a play. Go through your library, old school books, or
even the internet to look for a play that you may like to stage.
For an amateur play, you may stage one-act plays that will be
easy to manage and execute. If you are lost for a play you want
to stage, you may want to try Rene O. Villanueva's short one-
act plays such as Kumbersasyon, Tatlo-Tatlo, and his wildly
famous May Tsang Sundalo. These are simple one-act plays
that have only one setting: it may be a classroom, a living
room, or a bedroom.
2. Find a group who you want to work with. Find a
group of at least 10 of your classmates who are
willing to work you. Make sure that they have their
own expertise that they can bring to help you stage
your play: acting, lighting, preparing, and making
props, taking charge of the sound system, and
directing.
3. Assign specific tasks to each of your group
mates. Make sure to not overassign or
underassign tasks; assign thern to those you
think are the best in that particular task. As for
you, you may be the director if you wish or the
leader who will oversee all the proceedings of
the production.
4. Make a time line of what you want to accomplish. If your
teacher gives you one month to stage a play, then draw or write a
time line of what you want to accomplish every week. For
example, for the first week, you want to hold auditions for the
final cast. For the second week, you have your round-table
reading of the final script and the props people start making the
props. For the third week, you have daily practices, and the
sounds or lights people start assembling their equipment for the
play. The fourth week is the final and/or dress rehearsals before
the performance day.
5. Stick to your plan. If in case something
goes wrong with your plan, always have a
backup plan or a plan B. The key to a
successful presentation is to always be ready
for anything that may happen.
6. Finally, enjoy the presentation! It is also
recommended that you give your audience an
evaluation sheet, so that you know what you can
improve on for the next presentation. You may
research an example of an evaluation sheet on the
Internet. After your presentation, discuss the
comments in the evaluation sheets with the rest of
your team as a post-evaluation step of the
presentation.

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In a n O c e a n o f

Philippine theater began just

Eventually, when the

Similar to how a poem is meant to be recited out loud, a play is

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