KASANAG 1904

History of the USA Little Theater 

Source: Cultural Center of the Philippines Encyclopedia

 

The USA Little Theater is the resident theater company of the University of San Agustin (USA) in Iloilo City. The beginnings of the group can be traced back in 1964 when Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero conducted a seminar among theater enthusiasts in the USA. This activity led to the organization of the USA Little Theater (USALT) in 1965 through the efforts of Fr. Eduardo Perez, OSA, the Rector of the USA. The group had the following aims: to help the students appreciate English language and literature; to tap the dramatic talents of the students for cultural productions, and to foster camaraderie among the students. The first Board of Directors was composed of Fr. Perez, General Director; Sinforosa Yasa, Chairman; Enrique Pio Campos, Stage Adviser; Pilar Zaldarriaga, Speech Adviser; Fr. Rafael Lopez, OSA, Adviser for Literature. In 1970, Fr. Perez transferred to Colegio de San Agustin Bacolod and the supervision of the group was placed under a new director, Rolando Agnas. In subsequent years, the position of Artistic Director was created which was occupied by Eddie Hacildo, Radigunda Montero, Dennis Batacandolo, Emilio Sudaria and Edward Divinagracia. Since 2010, Eric Divinagracia has served as Artistic Director.

During the first five years of its existence, the group has already staged a total of 34 plays mounted by 19 directors, who were mostly faculty members of USA. In its inaugural year alone, the group already presented nine plays. Among these were Angel Magahum’s Bumaliskad ang Paya (The Turning of the Husk), Glenn Hughes’ Red Carnations, Guerrero’s Three Rats, and Millard Lampell’s The Wall. The staging of Western and Filipino plays continued in the succeeding years with the mounting of  Antole France’s Raiders to a Dumb, 1966; Guerrero’s The Question Mark, 1967;  E. Starkey’s Mind Over Matter, 1967; Rupert Brooke’s The Stranger, 1967; Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, 1967; Joaquin Calvo Sotelo’s La Sombra Pasa (The Shadow Pass), La Muralla (The Wall), 1967; Susan Glaspell’s Suppressed Desires, 1967; William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, 1968; Oliphant Dawn’s The Maker of Dreams, 1968; Jose Maria Peman’s The Red Hut and the Marshall, 1968; Thornton Wilder’s The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden, 1969; and Arthur Kopit’s Oh Dad, Poor Dad, 1969. In the 1970s, USALT produced 24 plays; in 1980s, 10 plays; and 1990s, 16 plays. Despite the decrease in the number of plays, there was a significant change in the kind of plays that the group mounted. Since the 1980s, there was a gradual shift towards plays written by Filipinos and in Filipino and West Visayan languages. Among these plays were USA faculty member Dennis Batcandolo’s original Ilongo play El Amor Solo es para Los Jovenes—Ang Paghigugma Indi Para sa mga Tigulang (Love is Not for the Old), 1982; Paul Dumol’s Paglilitis ni Mang Serapio (Trial of Old Serapio), 1990; Armand Sta. Ana’s Tatlong Maria (Three Maries), 1994; Rene Villanueva’s May Isang Sundalo (There Was a Soldier), 1994; and Jose Dalisay Jr.’s Pagsabog ng Liwanag (Scattering Light), 1995.
 

In 2003, USALT debuted in Manila with the production of Dagway sang Binalaybay during the Department of Tourism’s Best of the Best of the Regions event in Intramuros, and Belasyon during the Dayon!, a showcase of university and community theater groups from Western Visayas at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Some of the more recent plays of the group are Tarangban, 2008, a dance drama based on the sugidanon (oral epics) of Panay Bukidnon; Siete Pecados (Seven Sins), 2009, a play that featured seven stories from various periods of Philippine history; Padayon sa Panglakaton (Continue the Journey), 2010, performance of poetry on personal and collective journeys; BayaNiRizal (Rizal’s Country), 2011; [gsz7] featuring eight plays depicting contemporary interpretations of Rizal’s characters; Basura Busters (Garbage Busters), 2012, a children’s play about three kids who saved the community from the monster Buyong Basura; and imagine|a|nation, 2013, narratives of volunteerism after typhoon Yolanda.    

 

USALT hosted the Theater for All Program-Iloilo of the 31st UNESCO-International Theater Institute World Congress in 2006. It hosted the 1st Tanghal: The National University Theater Festival and Conference in 2007. Since then, it has been participating in this annual theater event held in various parts of the country. It also participated in the International University Theater Association (IUTA)–Philippines Conference and Workshop in 2013. It also manages cultural events of the University including arts competitions, velada (musical revues), Pang-abiabi (General Orientation), Patron Saint’s Day, KaSanAg sang Paskwa (The Light of Christmas: The USA Christmas Lighting Ceremony) and University Week. It organizes theater gatherings including Company Call in 2007 and 2010 for high school theater groups and Kuris Kuris Theater Jam in 2014 to celebrate World Theater Day. The group conducts its own theater workshops on acting, directing, playwriting, stage and production management, technical theater as well as leadership, team building and strategic planning. It has been conducting the annual Eksena since 2003 which features new plays and serves as a laboratory for homegrown theater work.

 

USALT was selected by the NCCA Committee on Dramatic Arts as a recipient of competitive grants to represent the Visayas in Tanghal. This includes Tarangban in Tanghal 4 (Manila), Café Shakespeare in Tanghal 5 (Bacolod City) and BayaNiRizal in Tanghal 6 – Visayas (Dumaguete).

 

From a theater group that showcased mostly western plays, USALT transformed its repertoire highlighting the culture and realities of the region; Philippine theater and literary forms and motifs; Philippine languages such as Hiligaynon and Kiniray-a, thus contributing to raising the awareness of the Filipino audience to the wealth of Philippine theater and culture.