MODULE 4: IN THE OCEAN OF EMOTIONS PHILIPPINE

DRAMA

The 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.
Eventually, when the Spaniard came, these indigenous dramas were
discarded and were change into mainly two categories: the comedy or
komedya and the zarzuela or sarsuela. These dramas were used to
capture the imaginations and hearts of the Filipinos, whom the
Spaniards have just colonized.

Before the stage plays began though, there were also predramatic
forms present in Philippine theater before. There were loas,
declamaciones, and oraciones (or declamations and orations) that
usually involved only one person and were not as dramatical as a stage
play.
The komedya was developed into different kinds. One of the most
popular ones is the moro-moro, which are plays that depicts the lives,
loves, and wars of Moors and Christians. Two more kinds, indigenized
by the Filipinos, are the comedia de capa y espada or secular
comedy and the comedia de santo or religious comedies. Some of
these comedies are still found in the country, namely, Paraaque City
and Illigan City.

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 Asojo 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 poularity, the Teatro Zorilla was inaugurated as
the home of zarzuelas. Of course, Filipinos also indigenized the
zarzuela and called it sarsuela. It became a mix or music, prose, dance,
dialogue, and a discussion of contemporary subjects.
 Philippine theater has evolved in many ways in the face of
modernization, but it always goes back to what Filipinos want:
fun, music, dance, and contemporary issues that we all can relate
to.

A Timed Reading is when you perform the characters in a play per

group out loud through dramatic reading.

Common mistakes in Dramatic Reading:

1. Reads the wrong word or wrongly reads a word;
2. Does not perform with the right voice (a boys voice for boy
character and a girls voice for a girl character) or emotions;
3. Stalls or take time before starting; and
4. Does not pronounce a word properly.

Another play that deals with contemporary social issue The World is an Apple
By: Alberto Florentino. Characters: Gloria, Mario, Pablo

Creativity is an important part of anyones personality. When you role play or

perform in a stage play, you exercise your creativity and put yourself in situations
that you otherwise will probably not experience in your own life.

A poem is meant to be recited out loud, 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.

Here are steps that you can follow in staging an amateur play.
1. Find a play
2. Find a group who you want to work with.
3. Assign specific tasks to each of your group mates.
4. Make a timeline of what you want to accomplish
5. Stick to your plan.
6. Finally, enjoy the presentations.