PETA-Philippines Solidarity Trip

Educating Through Theater – PETA

        Our final two days in the Philippines were spent with PETA (you can check them out at www.petatheater.com). PETA is acronym for the Philippine Educational Theatre Association.  The organization began in 1967 and is in it’s 43rd theatre season.    Their purpose is to “perform and educate.”  They have a vision of “theatre in service of common good.”

Artist-teacher-cultural members of PETA educate Filipinos on social change and development through theatre. They do this through facilitating workshops (both nationally and internationally) and running projects and programs that teach Filipinos technical theatre skills alongside education on issues of the Republic. For example, their Children’s Theater Program trains young Filipinos and their educations to be successful in performance, while also focusing on child’s rights and youth participation.

        PETA also networks with other theatre organizations in the Philippines and internationally.  They make theatre available to schools and the greater community (including other provinces in the Philippines) through their mobile shows, and make their shows available to those who cannot afford them so that their form of education can be accessible to all Filipinos. 

PETA has written, directed, and performed about 300 plays, the way true Filipino theatre should be, and strongly believes in producing productions that are “quality theatre”.  We were invited to attend their adaptation of Asian poet and playwright Rabindranath Tagore’s “Post Office.”  The story is of a young boy, Abel, who is nearing death but is determined to live fully in spite if never being able to leave his windowsill.  He does this dreaming of the arrival of his letter from the King and sharing his visions with those who cross the path in front of his home.

The play centers on themes of children and death.  For children of the Philippines, it expresses the capacity of the human spirit to dream of a life of happiness and to be alive in what they do despite the realities of poverty and disaster that make death a close neighbour. 

The play was in Tagalog, and although I was able to understand most of it, there were moments where I was lost in translation.  Yet in those moments where spoken language was a barrier to me, the layout of the performance, the body language of the actors, and their facial expressions were still more than enough to carry Abel’s story.  As French and English speaking D&P participants, this expression beyond words was important for us and a testament to the exceptional quality of PETA’s productions.

We had been visiting PETA at the PETA Theatre Centre, what has been called a “landmark theatre in Art and Culture” in the Philippines.  D&P was one of the patrons who supported the creation of theatre and PETA’s move to the heart of Quezon City in 2005.  Our farewell program with all the host partners we had been in solidarity with over our two weeks was at this theatre, hosted by artist-teachers of PETA.   It was a time for everyone to share in what they learned from one another over our visit and to look to the future and building the movement of development in Asia.

I am blessed to be a part of this movement for social change and development.  I have seen what Filipinos are doing for other Filipinos to create a better Philippines.  And I have been educated by PETA that we should cultivate our talents to serve the better good.  Their achievements as a catalyst for social change provide an example of this for other educational theatres across the world.

Katrina Laquian

Ready for some Street Theatre?

Ever thought about trying STREET THEATRE but don’t know where to start?

Street Theatre is a fun, creative way to raise awareness and share your message – plus, people love to see something interesting going on while they wander the downtown on a Saturday afternoon. All you need is a few people, an afternoon and a public location.

The theatre is the hook, and you have volunteers with the petitions ready. By the end of it you will want to do Street Theatre again and again.

To get you started here are two YouTube video clips which show you a Street Theatre performance in Toronto (March 2010) and the “Kernels of Truth” play from our No Patents on Life campaign at World Youth Day in 2002.

You can read more about the March 2010 Street Theatre in Toronto through this post here.

Street Theatre tips

Any successful performance has certain key roles. For a Street Theatre performance these roles are a Narrator, Actors and Educators.

Narrator:

Good street theatre has a “voice” or narrator to give context to the acting. The “voice” should be someone who does not mind speaking like they are someone’s “moral” voice. Their voice should carry, by talking loudly without intimidating or insulting observers.

Actors:

This role in street theatre involves acting by creating evocative images. The role is not to confront or challenge people, but rather to use emotional arguments to help them “see” the problems you are presenting. Actors are generally confident, and able to communicate through imagery. Each time you do the skit you will get better and better.

Educator:

In street theatre some people are “educators”. Their role is to diffuse tension and to speak with people who want more information. They can describe the campaign, hand out flyers and offer the petition for people to sign. Usually, educators have  a good understaning of the issue and share it with others.

You can download this info in our ”Street Theatre Package” here.

Street Theatre: Saturday night in downtown Toronto

When I was first informed that I would be doing street theatre in Toronto as part of a Global Connections weekend, I instantly began dreading the experience. I had been involved in different drama productions in high school, but the thought of performing some sort of theatre production on the streets of a big city was extremely intimidating.

My attitude slowly began to shift as our small group of students passionate for social justice started planning the short skits and tableaux that would be used in our street theatre. I was excited, but still wary of the experience to come.

Positioned at Yonge-Dundas Square in downtown Toronto, surrounded by aggressive advertising and crowds of people, we were able to gather over 100 signatures for the Development and Peace campaign against agrofuels.

It was so powerful to proclaim our message to the people passing by, and I was incredibly proud to shout, “Life before Profit!” at the end of each skit.

I absolutely loved doing street theatre, and found it was a fun and unique way to raise awareness about important issues. While I was involved in the acting and not in collecting signatures, it was so encouraging to see people stopping to watch, talking to members of our group for more information, and signing our petition.

Street theatre was a much more effective tool than simply handing out pamphlets. We were able to capture the attention of curious onlookers, many of whom were new Canadians who had experienced conflicts over agrofuels in their home countries.

Despite my initial uneasiness, participating in street theatre was one of the highlights of my weekend in Toronto, and I would definitely do it again.

Anna Weber, Regina, Saskatchewan