More than 40 college- and university-based as well as community-based theater groups participated in Kilos Sining sa Paaralan (KSP), a theater education program held Feb. 6-March 7 to celebrate National Arts Month (February) and World Theater Day (March 27).

The program had three major components: Danas-Dula, where participants watched productions staged by participating schools and professional groups; Sanay-Danas-Dula, discussion sessions on how to evaluate/review the shows they’d seen; and Usapang Teatro sa Unibersidad at Kolehiyo, a symposium on theater-making processes.

The event was organized by Tanghalan ng Mag-aaral, a network of university- and college-based theater groups; Guro sa Sining ng Bayan, a network of teachers advocating for theater as an education tool; and Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Pangkultura sa Kamaynilaan at Karatig Pook, a network of theater groups and artists.

“The aim of KSP was to give students and teachers a way to learn about theater-making through actual engagement, as in act/action, as in kilos,” said Alyansa founding chair and KSP coordinator Glecy Atienza.

“The term ‘kilos sining’ was used by dramatist Severino Reyes to mean ‘actors,’ or ‘doers of performances.’ We evolved the meaning from ‘one who moves art’ to ‘one who uses art to move people to action,’” Atienza explained.

Subsidized tickets

The program subsidized tickets for approximately 300 students to watch from a selection of 30 productions.

Aside from shows by school groups, participants watched professional productions like Philippine Educational Theater Association’s “Three Stars and a Sun”; puppet theater group Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas’ “A Bread of Salt”; Tanghalang Pilipino’s “Buwan at Baril sa Eb Major,” a staged reading recital performance by TP’s resident pool of actors; and the historical musical “Mabining Mandirigma.” Interactions with the cast and creative team were held after the shows.

Across the country

The program also featured the results of the Likha Dula-LakBayan project: a play devised by a collaboration of representatives from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao under the direction and supervision of Sipat Lawin Ensemble artistic director JK Anicoche and dramaturg Ness Roque-Lumbres.

The devised production is the output of this year’s Tanghal National University, College and Community Theater Festival, organized annually by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. It premiered in Bacolod (Visayas), was staged in Cagayan de Oro (Mindanao), before being performed in Manila (NCR). It was also mounted in Los Baños (Luzon).

The resulting production featured vignettes of different scenes, the cast asking the audience what their wishes for the country were, and concluded with a rendition of the national anthem in different Filipino languages and dialects.

The Usapang Teatro sa Paaralan symposium, meanwhile, was held at Tanghalang Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Among the speakers who shared their experiences in creating theater were Amihan Bonifacio-Ramolete of Teatrong Mulat; Romualdo “Raffy” Tejada of Harlequin Theater Guild, De La Salle University; Sir Anril Tiatco of Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas; Jerry Respeto of Ateneo ENterteynment para sa Tao, Bayan, LAnsangan, at DiyOs (Entablado); and Frederick Castro of University of the East Drama Company.

For details, visit 2016 Kilos Sining sa Paaralan on Facebook.