Summary
Highlights
Nicanor Tiongson introduces the lecture on Philippine theater, aiming to describe its diverse forms, evaluate its function in relation to Filipinos' welfare, and reflect on its prospects amidst globalization, the dominance of film/TV, and socio-political conditions. He defines "theatre" broadly as any mimetic performance, regardless of complex staging, and "history" as the diachronic development of cultural traditions. The lecture outlines four main categories of theater: indigenous, Hispanic-influenced, American-influenced, and modern original plays.
This section delves into indigenous theater, which includes mimetic rituals, dances, and dance dramas still vital among cultural minorities. These performances solicit blessings for life events (birth, marriage, death), celebrate tribal activities (hunting, harvesting), and involve shamans, sacrificial offerings, and mimetic actions. Examples include the Ati-Atihan festival and various mimetic dances imitating animals or battle scenes. These dramas are deeply integrated into indigenous life, depicting natural phenomena, beliefs, and values, and strengthening community bonds.
The Spanish colonial period (1565-1898) introduced theater as a tool for proselytization and control. Key forms include the Comedia, a long verse play adapted from Spanish romances, often depicting conflicts between Christians and Moors. There are secular (epic stories of love, honor) and religious (lives of saints) types. The full-blown religious play, Sinakulo, dramatizes Christ's passion during Lent. Spanish-influenced playlets, like Christmas and Lenten plays (e.g., Panunuluyan, Via Crucis), embellished Catholic liturgy. These plays often propagated colonial mentality and a passive attitude toward suffering.
Introduced around 1879, the Zarzuela was a popular, often three-act musical play focusing on social themes like love, corrupt politicians, and social vices. The Drama, a usually one-act play in prose or verse, explored aspects of contemporary Filipino life (divorce, gambling) within a love story framework, eventually evolving into radio dramas and telenovelas. Sub-types included the Drama Romantiko (melodramatic), Melodrama (rich vs. poor, infidelity), Drama Komiko (comedies of mistaken identity), and Drama Simbolico (seditious plays against American colonization). The seditious dramas, which overtly attacked American colonizers, are considered a high point in Philippine theater development.
The American colonial period (1901-1946) introduced cultural forms that Americanized Filipino tastes and aspirations. The Bodabil (vaudeville), a potpourri of songs, dances, and comedy skits, became popular. Western plays, particularly Shakespearean tragedies and comedies, were introduced through the education system. While these forms exposed Filipinos to new dramatic theories and styles, they also reinforced colonial bias, promoting the "American Dream" and imitation of Western artists.
After independence in 1946, American cultural dominance continued. Filipinos in English classes staged Greek classics and Western plays. Early Filipino playwrights also wrote in English. Realism, with psychological and social tendencies, emerged. With rising nationalism in the late 1960s, Filipino language gained prominence, first in translations and then in activist plays addressing issues like US imperialism, feudalism, and government corruption. During Martial Law (1972-1986), theater artists either continued staging foreign plays or created original works with radical socio-political themes, often using allegories, symbols, and minimal sets to evade censorship. Examples include documentary plays, absurdist plays, and those using ethnic arts to address Mindanao's problems.
After the 1986 EDSA Revolution, a new democratic space allowed for wider subject matter and forms. Realism returned, emphasizing individual psychology and national social evils. Western-type musicals were indigenized, and dance dramas utilized ethnic music and movements. Traditional forms were imbued with contemporary messages. Challenges facing contemporary theater include globalization, which has both enriched and reinforced colonial bias, and the dominance of film and television. Theater offers an alternative by grappling with pressing social/psychological issues, providing engagement rather than escape, and speaking truths often censored in mainstream media. Lastly, the current socio-political conditions (war on drugs, memory, truth) have prompted theater artists to react, using theater as a volatile art form for social commentary and change.
Philippine theater today exhibits vitality and urgency, exploring a wide range of characters and relevant issues, from exploitation and human rights to political corruption and historical dilemmas. It is increasingly depicting native experiences, interpreting realities, and expressing Filipino needs and aspirations through diverse dramatic styles rooted in ethnic traditions and enriched by foreign contributions. This evolution brings Philippine theater closer to becoming a truly national theater, for and by all Filipinos, serving as a barometer for social change and a marker of identity.