By Leo Ortega Laparan II published at SCU F4 Section in the Manila Bulletin January 28, 2005 Time was when the audience would just have to make do with sitting on their designated seats inside the theater and be content with being mesmerized from their solid spots by their favorite stage stars acting their hearts out. Now, with just four to six stools to be utilized by the same number of people, large pieces of cloth of different hues, one live musician, a conductor/mediator, and practically no elevated stage at all, one can ponder on what life has taught and still has to teach mortals in this world. Thanks to the arrival of improvisational – or playback – theater on Philippine shores. INSTANT PLAY “Playback or improvisational theater,” starts Edward Dantis, founder, president and artistic director of the Manila Playback Theater, Inc., “is a form of theater art in which some members of the audience tells his or her story, which is to be performed by our troupe right then and there. There are no scripts and no rehearsals at all. This flourishing theater form in the Philippines, according to Edward, was actually initiated in New York City, United States of America by Jonathan Fox during the theatrical exploration years. Locally, it all started when a company of “playbackers” from Hong Kong participated in PETA’s women’s conference in March 2003. It was when Edward was asked to document the duration of the empowerment process and the Hong Kong troupe resisting the idea that opened new doors for him. They asked him to join the confab as an active participant, which led him to a consuming passion of pursuing in learning the form and eventually adapting it for his own troupe. “When I encountered the theater form, I absorbed the ideas, then coordinated with the Hong Kong folks until I was able to attend the conference in Japan Last September,” Edward shares. Back home, after enthusiastically talking about playback with his theatrical peers, conducting workshops, searching for people interested in propagating the form in the country, and then officially registering to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Edward and friends made MPTI the first organized playback company in the Philippines and an official member of the International Playback Theater Network. AUDIENCE SERVICE “Playback theater is the one and only form my colleagues and I have come across with and experienced that devotes to a single person and to his or her own story that is heard, respected, and performed in the best way that we can,” declares Edward. “It is true that the audience can relate to traditional theater, but its performance remains on the stage, which is quite far from the audience. The actors move within a different context.” Which is opposite from what the playback form offers. Edward describes, “In playback the audience is of almost equal footing with the actors during the performance. Hindi ka audience na nanonood lang; here, you also become a taker of what is being performed. Karanasan mo o ng kasama mo ‘yung nakikita mo, so there’s a sense of collectivity. The spectators don’t veer themselves away from the performers like ‘Ay, artista ‘tong mga ito.’ The actors only become actors during the performance of the story. But after that, they “go back to normal,” so to speak, ready to listen to the next story.” He adds that since it is the stories of the audience themselves that are acted out, the effect is immediate in playback theater. Aimed at developing and popularizing the playback concept in the country, the nine-strong MPTI engages in the theater form basically to serve the audience – a venue for empowering people by making their stories surface and their voices heard, and thus provide a healing and transforming environment for communities and individuals. Benefiting from this vision-mission of the MPTI is the Samaritana Transformation Ministries, a non-governmental organization assisting women in prostitution towards a transformed life, and with which the troupe staged one of its first performances. “Sila ‘yung mga dating nasa kalye at bars and were into prostitution,” tells Edward. The workshop with the women of Samaritana proved to be a different experience compared to other workshops done by the company as it had been more obvious that te playback form may be and can be used as a tool for healing transformation. “It’s the feeling of being able to empathize with common experiences of grief, happiness and longing that makes all of us in the group look at life in a different angle, coming from outside our studio. So, whatever the other professional theater groups say, whether they recognize us or not, magtutuluy-tuloy pa rin kami” affirms Edward. On the other hand, for those who desire to use the form, the company offers continuous workshops and rehearsals. Free performances are presented to the public every first Friday of the month at the Playback Studio in Quezon City. On February 4 and 5, Manila Playback will be performing for communities and typhoon victims in real, Quezon. Then some time in August, MPTI is also being asked to assist in organizing the Asian Playback Theater gathering in Singapore. FURTHERING PLAYBACK’S LOCAL DEVELOPMENT MPTI also sends scholars for further playback studies to international theater organizations. This year, Edward has been accepted and invited to attend the New York School of Playback Theater’s Winter Seminar and Training at Saugerties, New York come February 12-20 under the auspices of Fox. HE will also represent MPTI at the 2005 International Playback Theater Symposium in Tempe, Arizona on February 25-27. “Through constant communication with the International Playback Theater Network, I was granted this scholarship. They asked us for updates on how the theater from is currently being developed in the Philippines,” relates Edward. “Then, they took a look at the track record basing their granting of the scholarship on our local playback theater works for the past two years.” Edward’s engrossment with the theater form saw him and company conducting workshops with the urban poor, college students in different schools, and the aforementioned Samaritana. “We also used playback during the campaign period in last year’s elections to encourage the people to exercise their right to vote and do it wisely,” he recounts. Seeing their seriousness with the art, the IPTN was finally encouraged to grant scholarship to the only Philippine delegate, together with other affiliates around the world. “In New York, we will restudy the theater form by going back to its core – its origin, how it is practiced, etc. Then, I will share with them the various experiences that the local group has had here in the Philippines so as to situate our country in the international playback world. When I come back here, I will echo the workshop to the communities, so definitely, ibabalik ko lang din dito ang lahat ng mapag-aaralan ko roon,” Edward explains when asked what will happen during the course of his availing scholarship. As of late, his travels are made possible through the genrosity of GMA 7, Phlippine Airlines and Bulacan Governor Josie dela Cruz. Edward appeals, “We believe that the said training will help strengthen and further enhance the work of MPTI here in the Philippines. We will be very grateful to those who would like to help us in this endeavor.” (Note: the scholarship did not push thru since I was not granted a visa inspite of the requirements I submitted. -Edward)
