Prepared by Mr.

Andrew Megano
 Theater is a cultural by-product
that originated from performed
rituals.
IT IS ALSO AN ARTFORM THAT
NEEDS TO BE CONSUMED AS
ENTERTAINMENT. THUS, IT
NEEDS AN AUDIENCE.
890B.C.
1520
People consider the
deities,
their prior
gods and goddesses as to
the development of
theatre as we know it
today.
1. Caao
or Kanyaw (Cordillera Autonomous
Region)
Officiated by a shaman or Mumbaki, Caao or
Kanyaw involves
where the entrails are read through a process
of divination that is performed for:
HEALING
BIRTH OF A CHILD or COMING OF AGE
WAKES and BURIAL CEREMONIES
WEDDINGS
2. Kashawing
(Lake Lanao in Mindanao)
Ensures during rice
planting and harvesting, and is
still
observed and performed.
Involves reenactment of the
pact
made by the ancestors and of
the
community and the unseen
1521
1898
 The shamanistic rituals and dances were

During the second half of the 19th century,

theatres

proliferated in Manila.
Theatres featured puppet shows, short plays, magic
shows,
bullfights and the like.
Severino Reyes (also the author of Lola Basyang) and
Hermogenes Ilagan, who wrote sarsuwelas in Tagalog
were the most distinguished playwrights of their day
A modern-day production of Severino Reyes 1898 zarsuela Walang
Sugat
with Honorata Atang'
dela Rama (1987
National Artist for
Theater and Music) as
their most celebrated
leading actress
2.COMEDIA
A play in verse, which dramatizes
events involving monarchs, sultans
and caliphs in kingdoms of Europe,
Africa, and the Middle East.
Depicts conflict between Muslims and
Christians.
1. Comedia de Santo or
celebrations.
religious
It centers on the life of Christ or
of
any saint.
2.Secular Comedia (The Moro-moro)
Moro derived from the Spanish word for moor,
North
the African Arabs who ruled parts of Spain from 8th
15th century. A typical moro-moro story

.
3.SENAKULO/CENACULO
A passion play, was written in 1704
by

Its narrative was culled entirely from the biblical

account of Christ's passions and death on
the
cross, adapted into verse form and translated
into
Performed during Lent and in some cases, may
local language.
last for three days.

In some areas, the Senakulo was tweaked

to
convey Christs suffering as a metaphor for
Early 1900s
1946
With the coming of the Americans, Filipino
playwrights who had just experienced the
Philippine Revolution of 1898 against Spain
now find themselves confronted by
with the issuance of the
Sedition Law.
 One-act plays that came to represent a deep
and
profound
Plays yearning
under for freedom.
the Drama Simbolico:
Juan Abad's Tanikalang Guinto or Golden Chain
(1902)
Matapang Cruz's Hindi Ako Patay or I Am Not
Dead (1903)
Aurelio Tolentino's Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas
(1903)
Lino Castillejo and Jesus Araullo
authored "A Modern Filipina,
the
first Filipino play written in
English
LEFT: The Manila Grand Opera House
RIGHT: The Zorrilla Theater
Another form of theatre that originated
in
France and was popularized by the
Americans.
Became popular in the Philippines
during the 1920s.
LEFT: The Nicholas Brothers, tap dancing pioneers
RIGHT: The Ziegfeld Follies
LEFT: National Artist for Theater and Music, Atang dela Rama
RIGHT: Catalina Katy Dela Cruz, the Queen of
Bodabil
1942
1945
 1950s,
Martial Law and
up to the Contemporary
Times
A scene depicting Mr. Leo Martinez as Mozarts rival Antonio Salieri in
Repertory Philippines 1998 production of AMADEUS