But for all its reach, PETA – and this includes all other drama groups – does not have the following of the zarzuela of the Twenties and Thirties, or even the moro-moro of the small towns. Of course, these stage attractions did not have to compete with television and films – this conversation with Chris Millado, Fernando Josef, and myself points this out.
The stage is a shaper of culture and, therefore, the nation – a function which most Filipino leaders do not recognize.
Chris Millado is a product of the theater programs of the University of the Philippines and the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA). He went on to earn his Masters in Performance Studies at New York University and became a member of the faculty of the Ateneo de Manila University and a visiting professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa where he taught Philippine Culture and Politics.
He has also been the recipient of the Bellagio Artist Residency Award, the Rockefeller Artist in Residency, the UP Creative Writing Center Fellowship, and the Palanca Prize for Literature, among many others.
Fernando C. Josef is vice president-artistic director, Cultural Center of the Philippines and chairman, Concerned Artists of the Philippines.
As an educator, Fernando has been involved in the training of cultural workers in the Philippine High School for the Arts, the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of the Philippines, De La Salle University and the Department of Education. He had also worked with several NGOs, and in the planning and execution of many cultural festivals. I know him best, however, as the actor who brought to life the main character in Tree, the theater adaptation of my novel of the same name.
Chris directed it. Rody Vera who wrote the script will be the subject of a future interview.
This is self-serving, but Tree as presented by PETA two seasons ago rekindled my interest in the theater. Although I knew its plot like I know the lines on my palms, seeing it acted on the stage moved me just the same.
F Sionil Jose: All through the Marcos regime, I was watching the PETA plays. They were making speeches. Shortly after the war, Bertolt Brecht wrote a poem called "To the Next Generation." My favorite quote from that poem...
Fernando C. Josef : "Shouting about injustice hoarsens the voice."
Every time I have a character mounting the soapbox, I tone him down. How is PETA now?
Chris Millado: I still closely relate with them. Once a PETA member, always a PETA member.
Fernando: The board of PETA had an evaluation of one entire season and we saw that we were doing propaganda. We came up with three major objectives. The organizational aspect, the personal development of the members relative to the others. The production should relay messages in very artistic ways. Before the killing of Ninoy, Lino Brocka was witch-hunting. Pero nang mamatay si Ninoy sabi niya, "Now we have to do something for this country."
Chris: I came from UP. When I was introduced to PETA, I thought that the PETA plays were all the same. Then I found out it was formed by the politics under Marcos, by international influences, about space, the outdoor plays; it would have helped if it had aspects that go into the interior lives of characters. Pieces were developed that went into the micro aspect of life as much as the broad strokes like what was happening at that time.
Fernando: Banat nang banat, anti-Marcos slogans, etc. We would get a warning. Makikita minsan sa rehearsals namin mga taong umaakyat sa taas na hindi naming kilala.
Chris: You can’t actually define borders of theater. It actually went out of the theater and started to organize sa probinsya. Doon lumaki, to the point that it was not just a theater company anymore.
Fernando: It provided the "alternatives" because of the muzzled media. But there are guiding principles, "the reflection of the needs of the greater majority of the Filipino people." Actually, even before Ramos and Cory started using the term "people empowerment" PETA was already using it. Theater was being used for education, for liberation.
Chris: But its core membership remained burgis.
What PETA was trying to do is not new. In the 1950s Severino Montano set up Arena Theater with basically the same purpose. He tried to make actors and actresses of the Ilokano farmers. Did you ever learn from our history? The complaint from people like Luis Taruc is that the NPA never learned from the Huk’s mistakes. The youth – have they read the writers from the ‘20s and the ‘30s?
Fernando: PETA is history-based. There’s no claim that we’re pioneering. After every season we sit down and even though it always hurts, pinag-uusapan namin yung maganda o yung hindi. There was a group of dance educators which PETA sent to the Cordillera – Jojo Atienza and Maribelle. So when they returned to Maynila, what were their learning experiences? "May mali!" Our decision was to look for local resource persons na marunong ng kanilang dance at tutulungan silang gumawa ng basic exercises for the interpretation of the creative movement pieces na gagawin sa region na yun. So, nawala ang cultural imperialism.
My apprehension is that we will always be creating a culture of discontinuity. Historically, yang mga Kastila nawala. In the folk and vernacular tradition, there is continuity. This can be achieved if the people who are doing cultural work are aware of tradition. Ka Luis Taruc said they were never consulted by the NPA. The guerilla tradition dates back to the Spanish regime, even farther.
Chris: We actually had a different strategy. The radical movement was moving towards centralized leadership. PETA was moving the other way. It was actually accused as maka-populace. In fact, it became like that. Ang laki laki laki ng network. It began to forget its core competency which was performing theater.
Fernando: Laging tingin ng region makakagawa ka lang ng theater production if you put up a huge set. But we were able to tell them, "You only have to be resourceful. Indigenous materials could be used for sets. Wala kaming auditorium, wala kaming ilaw." We were able to talk some sense to them. Under a tree, in the ricefield, the basketball court, you can perform.
Chris: Noong matanggal si Marcos, we were at a loss! The war is over, what are we going to write about?
Fernando: People began to look closely into their lives.
But actually, the problem would never have arisen because injustice continues.
Fernando: The search for injustice, napunta sa microcosm. Tree is almost like a synthesis because it deals with macro and at the same time, with micro in the family.
In South Africa after apartheid, in Indonesia after Sukarno, the basic problems of humanity, the moral dilemmas are continuing.
Fernando: The effective expression of oneself should be in an artistic way. But only on subjects that are relevant to the development of the person, the smaller community and the bigger human society. It is like building a small community while doing theater.
Chris: I needed experience. Growing up in Negros I was exposed to a lot of town fiestas. What I’ve always liked to create is the indelible experiences of people. When we did Tree, always the idea is to produce an experience for the people. The moment they walk into the theater, spend two hours there until the moment they step out, every thing should be complete not only visually but also sensually. You cannot reproduce it unlike books or publications, on film. Theater comes closest to life.
Nanding, what was your first theater experience?
Fernando: I played the role of a doctor in elementary school, a Christmas play. My first play in PETA was Chekov’s. I played the role of a scientist. I felt nothing. Yung mahirap ka, kailangan mong mag-evolve. I began to realize what it meant to be poor.
My earliest experience in theater was the comedia during the town fiesta. The Christian and Moro wars. Wala pang speaker system noon. I listened to what the prompter was saying, nagmumura sa Ilokano. The comedia was acted out by the children of peasants. Walang dramatic training. How do you foresee the theater as an instrument for shaping Filipino culture?
Fernando: May prompter sa ilalim.
Chris: I think theater is the best way to engender citizenship. In terms of critical thinking, breaking assumptions of how people look at the world, it’s one of the best tools for empowering citizens with life as the central role. It still remains the best way of dialoguing with the community. I’ll always feel affirmed every time people get "disturbed" by the piece both in a good and in a bad way, in an aesthetic way. Theater is a gift, it becomes shared property by the whole community. The people, will they like it? Would it make people feel that they have meaning in their lives?
Once you present it to the public, every damn fool has the right to comment on it.
Chris: It comes with the territory.
But there are some people who don’t want to be criticized.
Chris: There are not too many theater reviews, their run is too short. George Bernard Shaw noon mga reviews grabe ang mga confrontation scenes! That’s part of the function of the theater community. Do not even run from it because it’s a part of it. In Dance, nawawala na rin.
Fernando: Sa theater ngayon, kulang ang feedback from outside the production, sometimes it collapses on itself. What is theater? It was through theater that I began to realize, ang pagka-Pinoy ko. We have to look back into our past and find out what the old traditions are, and what’s new. Pag-aralan natin kung ano yung magandang Asian-Filipino cultural heritage, our interaction with other Asians. Nurture it. Maybe also learn from Mindanao. Synthesize and identify kung ano ang direction in the context of realities now. That’s our focus now. Asian cultural heritage.
A word of caution, we are not Asian in the sense that the Japanese, the Chinese and the Hindus are. The two great religions of Asia, Hinduism and Buddhism, didn’t touch us. That is why we don’t have the classical culture of mainland Asia. What we have is folk culture. I’m Ilokano, I think of the Ilokanos as a tribe. In that sense, the dividing line between the so-called indigenous Filipinos and us is wiped out. Tagalog is not the real national language, it’s still English because English is the language of government, of commerce, of major newspapers and the universities. But stage should be in the language of the region.
Fernando: That’s right. Unang national theater festival naming 1992. Yun yung ginawa namin. Yung sa Mindanao, lenggwahe sa Mindanao.
Chris: Recently they showcased different plays from Western Visayas. There is not even one language for Western Visayas. One presented in Hiligaynon, literary sarsuela of Magdalena Jalandoni, the lingua franca of Bacolod na Ilonggo. Naapektuhan kahit the way the actors perform if they speak Tagalog.
That was the difficulty with Fred Guerrero’s plays because he wrote them in English and somehow, unless the play is about the middle class...
Chris: Most of Wilfredo’s dramas are domestic. Yung katutubo approach was our key or password. Repleksyon ng pangangailangan ng nakararami. That was what guided us.
Fernando: Wala akong appreciation for indigenous culture before. Ngayon nakita ko na gusto kong hanapin kung ano ang values na galing sa North, Mindanao, sa pagiging Katoliko from my western education, that is my totality now.
A word lang, ha? I’m not denigrating indigenous culture, yun ang capital mo. The mud on your feet, we don’t have any of the classical cultures in Asia. Dance for instance, the Baratya Natyam... it takes about six years to master an Indian classical dance, the tabla – the Indian drums. They look very primitive. It takes about six years to master the tabla. Always consider this – the tinikling, all it takes is five minutes.
Fernando: But the kulintang takes years.
The gamelan, walang panalo ang kulintang sa gamelan. There’s about 12 of them, no notes, years ang mga tumutugtog ng gamelan. I’m not saying that we don’t have mga very fine folk art, weaving in Mindanao. Talagang mahusay yun. Even some of the Ifugao weaving. T’boli weaving that approaches the classical tradition.
Fernando: These classical traditions have very rigid schooling of many years, I think came about folk tradition and adapted by a court. Wala tayong court, wala tayong royalty.
This is why even our food is simple compared to the imperial kitchen which refined Chinese cuisine. I heard the lam-ang in Ilocano, masyadong fantastic, slapstick. The Odyssey, 2,000-3,000 years ago. Homer refined the folk tales and the folk epics of Greece. An artist came and made use of that material so that he elevated the folk art to another level. Even in our paintings, many of the genres of fiesta scenes, that’s folk tradition.
We also haven’t developed our visual arts in the manner that the Chinese and the Japanese have developed theirs.
Fernando: Our focus is Gandhi. Asian ang ating focus.
We cannot reject the west anymore. It’s part of our history. My best example of the modernizing process is always western technology but Japanese spirit. We adopt the technology, much of it is Western technology, in dramatics, but the Filipino spirit is always there. What are your bench marks for modernizing?
Fernando: The latest big word called globalization is like modernization. The "McDonaldization" of the world. Culture is seen as business collaboration between high-tech telecommunications like publishing, its largely labor intensive and the processes in theater, rehearsing a play still takes four weeks. If you think of a whole industry, which sells culture as a business and just look at it as a way to sell products, talagang endangered ang mga performances.
Chris: What does globalization do? It tries to flatten everything. It robs you of your sense of self, it binds creative expression to sell to the general instead of the specific. Isang bad word is katutubo. When I say katutubo, I think it is not going back to ethnicity. It should be tapping into indigenous imagination and creativity. The second bad word is ancestry, its connections make us very strong. Connections to kinships is the notion of environment for mobilization. These three concepts in artistic expression – we can come up with a very potent response to this specter called globalization. That’s how we look at Asia, what is our kinship with Asia, rather than being Asian.
The only way we can avoid being swallowed up is to strengthen our own culture. You cannot stop McDonald’s from coming in. The thing to do is look for the strengths of the west and find out how you can utilize them. Western technology but Filipino spirit. Is there really a strong Filipino spirit? This is where you come in.
Fernando: Ito yung takot ko talaga ngayon. Hirap na hirap na kami sa cultural work to develop a very strong sense of appreciation ng sarili nating kultura. Educate especially the young. We have our own art and culture that may not be too visible but are very important in shaping our identity.
Chris: We’re not lacking in spirit. In the Sinulog – this festival was organized by the civil society of Cebu. Practically puno ng thousands of performers. I saw 30-50 groups composed of 300 people per group, moving in unison, doing the most complicated things. I’ve seen spectacles in other parts of the world, but I’ve never seen anything like this. Ang problema nasa political leadership.
Fernando: In the Western Visayas festival, they were already translating all their pieces to Tagalog. They were trying to pander to what has been perceived as acceptable to the CCP. Mawawala yung racial concept so they reverted back and we did it purely in Ilonggo. At the end, they were so proud na ginawa nila in Ilonggo. I think CCP is in the position to affirm certain best practices in the localities. This little town, Sigma in Capiz, did a production completely with non-professionals. They practically mobilized the whole community. When people own the process, it becomes an anchor of pride and an affirmation of the best practices of the community.
It gives them a sense of community which is also very important.
Chris: Having performed in an international center like the CCP, it connects them to the larger nation. Now, they’re not just Sigma in Aklan, now they’re part of the Philippines, the bigger tribe.
How does one provide the audience satisfaction? All major cities have "This Week in Sydney," "This Week in Hong Kong," weekly bulletins are funded by advertisers and distributed free in airports, hotel lobbies.
Fernando: We realize the CCP mandate of reaching out to the broadest public. Problema pa rin is strength, the only way this could happen is to have government subsidize the tickets. I appreciate socialist countries which subsidize the arts.
The ramp – I suggest that you build an overpass so that people who come by bus or jeepney can get right off and walk.
Fernando: And a bus station inside the CCP complex, we were able to bus in the elderly, children, even mga anak ng military, mga taga Muslim community in Bliss. Ticket price is one thing, it’s quite another to dress up, travel 2-3 hours in traffic... food is so expensive in that area.
How can you make theater Filipino without being chauvinistic?
Fernando: Something has to be done about creating things that have resonance with the people, make theater irresistible to them the way Shakespeare was irresistible during his time. But he wasn’t competing then with film or television.
Shakespeare was also appreciated by the masa. The ancient Greek plays were attended by all Greeks also.
Fernando: The alternative is to offer them an experience that they will find worth their time and the little money that they can spare.
Chris: You improve the quality within the artistic discipline. And that’s not happening now with our kind of programs. Short periods ang productions.
Tulad ng Himala. When my review came out, wala na.
Fernando: Most of our actors are very young and we lose them the moment they get married. What will happen to our oldies? No health care, no benefits are offered.
Ask my wife. Her suki was complaining. "Yung anak ko nasa stage, walang kita. Dadalhin pa niya yung mga kaibigan niya sa bahay kakain."
Fernando: One of our best actress is Nonie Buencamino. Now, does she really want to stay in the theater? But she has kids! She’s sending her daughter to college. With her salary of P10,000 per production? Which takes like four weeks to rehearse? Will she be able to do that? When she wrote for television and film she’s not in control of her schedule.
Chris: Malungkot. Mahirap. We’ve lost so many good people.
Fernando: Nobody matures, you lose your master teachers, people passing on their skills to the next generation.
Chris: In theater, this is really happening. In dance hindi pa masyado kasi teachers find a possible way of putting up ballet schools. In visual arts, not as much because they can earn lots of money by selling their paintings.
Ang Kiukok is very wealthy now.
Chris: Music? They’re the most established in terms of industry. They have rates, agreements, contracts. They are not spoiled. They know what to demand, there is no awards where you recognize excellence. How do you establish standards of excellence?
Name three people who should be recognized.
Chris: Tony Perez, Tony Mabesa established the whole notion of university theater. He was actually the one who introduced the curriculum of theater arts for the first time.
Fernando: Nestor Hortilla.
Chris: Irma Adlawan and Nonie Buencamino. They’re master teachers. Ideally, what I would like to do is to get the top members of the community. You build your whole season around them. Then, they mature, they train other people and they’re paid a salary that they can live on. They work on it for the rest of their lives.
Fernando: What we can offer them as payment for work for one year they can get in one day. Ganoon ang discrepancy ng bayad. Are you depressed? Well, pareho lang sa writing.
Chris: The legislators, the national government – they don’t see the goal of the artist in terms of development. They only see us as entertainers.
No president has ever seen that, not Gloria, not Fidel, not Cory.
Fernando: The Marcoses, ironically.
How would you like the Philippine stage to be?
Fernando: I would have a group of 10-12 very good actors sustained by monies do a full season. I’ll have a theater company that challenges the masses so they can heighten their experience in terms of theater. A theater company that has as one of its core programs, a sustained training season to go on a circuit tour of the regions.