 A-pleasant day to everyone. I am Glesy Atienza from the College of Arts & Letters and it is an honor for me to be with you. Your mere presence in this lecture is an indication of your deep commitment to learning to further your work in drama or your thirst for learning in the field of theater. As teachers, educators, or even as ordinary learners for life, we have taken so much work and we have taken so much efforts to widen our knowledge. What paths have we not taken in sharing our knowledge and skills to make life in our communities better for education? Or what paths have we not done? What roles have we not done? This path of theater, which is seldom taken seriously and has long been regarded as a trivial path, has occupied most of our waking hours and has brought it us to put aside the comforts of a stable career in exchange for the risks of life in theater. Theater must have brought us so much thrill, so much challenges, so much meaning in our lives and yes, so much happiness from taking center stage and performances to doing production work behind the stage, to organizing venues and material support for performances, raising venues, raising funds, research work, and all the works. But these jobs are not at all glamorous or well-paying, but still they are able to generate intense interest and provide immeasurable happiness for people. There is an overwhelming experience of well-being, a sense of achievement, and as we say in Filipino, basta masaya. This particular concept of masaya or happiness is something that we want to use in our search for a deeper meaning of theater in Philippine life. At this point in time, can I ask you to join me in an action song as you very well know our life in theater involves action? So we need to get up from our seats and put on our shoes probably and maybe shake off a little of our tense muscles and join me in this action song. Okay lang ba? Oh, si Ge, game ha? Tayo na tayo. Let's get up, let's get up. Okay, the title of the song is Masaya Kaba. Masaya Kaba meaning are you happy? Oh, are you happy? Siguro you can use your shoulder, baby sound off in the comforts of your room or in your homes. Oh, masaya kaba? Igalaw na natin yung uloob natin. Let's shake our head. Masaya kaba? Okay. At this point, we will try to sing a song. Okay ba yun? Masaya ito. Kaya salin na kayo. Okay. The lyrics of the song is very simple. Masaya kaba? Are you happy? And then you will say, Oh, yes. And then I will ask you again, talagabang masaya ka? Are you really happy? And then you will have to convince me. Oh, meaning yes. And I will ask you then, igalaw, move one body part which I will tell you to move. For example, I will ask you to move your shoulder. Then you have to move your shoulder. Okay ba? Okay. You see, we do this in our communities when we ask our audience to warm up and join us in the performance. So let's try it. Okay? Let's do it. So we have to do the lyrics. Masaya kaba? And then you will say, Oh, talagabang masaya ka? Oh, at ipakitalikat. Igalaw natin ang balikat. Let's move our shoulders. Galaw. And then we sound off. Let's do it in a rhythm. Let's clap our hands. Masaya kaba? The experience of happiness or the danas of happiness has brought various heights and depths of meanings to see at your work in all walks of life. In the recent years, happiness has become a major concern among countries. Each one besting the others' claim as having the most G-N-H or gross national happiness, a term which has been created by the young king of Bhutan in the early 70s. Medical sciences have relegated happiness to the fore of contemporary sciences, making it an important subject of research. It has occupied a main agenda in most countries' concern and has become a much sought-after target of success in governance and in the recent past. I found the thought of looking at happiness very interesting because in theater, it has been after all a concern. What would theater be without that feeling of happiness? But this has also prompted me to realize that much has been said about the heights that our theater work has reached in as far as advocacy and social change is concerned. But as far as happiness is concerned, although perinally it is a measure of success, it is something which has not been really studied. Very interesting, isn't it? So I pursued the search of happiness in theater, like Peter Pan's search for that happy thought. After all, this valuable measure of success and achievement in one's work is something that we have all experienced and worked for, though much has not been said about it. I thought it would be easy knowing how common the experience of happiness is in theater. I scored through technical works, technical papers in all fields. And then I came to a conclusion that the search for happiness is all as simple as it looks. In my theater work, it entails a long, arduous and continuous search for truths. Allow me to draw from my experience in theater in the communities. How does one spot happiness? Ano ba yung masaya? Is it the sight of smiling faces? The gleeful clapping of hands? A warm hug? The sound of laughter? Hot meals for hungry performers offered by hospitable communities? Happiness manifests in various moments of theater interactions. To mean entertainment, pleasure, joy of watching or being entertained, or the euphoria which is exclusive to those who are engaged in the experience. Theater, through a collective danas or experience of the imagined and creative space, allows for a special level of excitement and deep sense of joy derived from the magic of something out of nothing. That quality of euphoria exhibits a spectacular quality that lingers only for a moment and prevails in the senses til the next creative experience. Thus, happiness in a theater engagement is addictive as it enlivens the senses like no other stimulant. It is empowering, it breeds confidence, an awareness of possibilities and creates an immeasurable journey for more. In Filipino, several terms pertain to varying degrees of happiness such as masaya or saya which refers to a general danas or experience of pleasure. To what? Say masaya but it insinuates a more direct source of happiness such as a momentary encounter. Libang, which refers to the danas of happiness which takes once attention from asad experience for a fleeting moment or the lugod which may refer to the happiness derived from the pleasures of the flesh or the basal instincts or the ligaya which may sound like the saya but it exudes a deeper base of pleasure especially when transformed into the more encompassing concept and the noble version kaligayahan. What is happiness? You see, biologists have indicated manifestations of happiness marked by physical and chemical changes in the body endorphids, dopamine, adrenaline, scrotinin, melatonin, chemicals which acts as neuro-transmitters and impact on the brain, the heart and other organs to make people alert and happy. A molecular biologist from Slovakia, Ladislav Kovak, refers to happiness as experiences both fleeting sensations and emotions and consciously appreciated as permanent dispositions of the mind. It encompasses two inseparable aspects hedonia the pleasure of the senses and eudaimonia pleasure of reason. Kovak further identifies three major types of pleasure which he uses to refer to happiness the pleasure of the senses the pleasure in reason and the pleasure in function. To my mind, these types of pleasures provide rational explanations as to how the brain and the body functions to sustain the survival of the human race. The sensory experience manifests the body's capacity to calculate the impact of a stimulus by providing pleasurable or painful emotions. The brain's rational side functions to measure and experiences value by finding reason for the experience which is further validated in its function responsive to the person's changing need for survival. The pleasure in function attributed to German psychologist and language scholar Karl Buller combines to the pleasure of achievement the pleasure derived in achieving a certain goal. All this resonate to the integration of thought will and action in achieving a certain state of well-being learning guideposts which have been used in Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophical studies. A closer look at the pleasures pointed the fact that change is an ultimate ingredient in all the pleasures indicated above. A certain level of change a certain level of development transpires from nothing to something to something else. The achievement of pleasure of the senses is derived from the motivations set to titillate and create a sentient experience from a state of unfeeling to a state of feeling deriving pleasures of reason involve the attainment of an experience and the realization of a rationale fulfillment of an experience from no reason to reasonable likewise achieving a goal takes on a process of change from a state of something to be able to progress into becoming something else take note too that change is indicated a something which goes through a process and takes on another form in another level and another state of being Thus, transformation a change in the form state appearance induced by one element onto another which alters its general appearance or mode of life is a more appropriate term Transformation is a natural capacity and a constant quality in all living things without transformation life cannot be possible without transformation therefore theater cannot be realized our theater experience points to a fourth type of pleasure therefore may I say the pleasure of transformation a quality innate in all living things which is found also in theater it is the same quality that attests to the magical power of the creative field interestingly the power of transformation this salient component transformation has not been favored with the amount of importance it deserves it is the same component perceived by Maslow when he mentioned that the fulfillment in the achievement of pleasures usually is found in the achievement of goals and not in the process of achieving it Maslow uses the term achieving the being rather than the process of becoming to my mind what Maslow was referring to is none other than the phenomenon of transformation embedded in the term process of becoming from the state of being it is the same phenomenon which transpires when a life experience is translated into an artistic expression the danas ng buhay or life experience becomes danas na buhay danas ng buhay becoming danas na buhay this is transformation encapsulated in the phenomenon of becoming through performance which we will refer to locally as the ganap so here we introduce the term ganap in my ongoing research on local terms in Philippine theater I came across the term ganap the ganap is present in the manuscripts of many plays performed since the 1900s recently it has come to be known to refer to a group of fans who are enamored by Nora Onor but this is not the phenomenon that we are referring to the Filipino word ganap encompasses the experience as it embodies the act of putting things or ideas into action the term ganap is an old Tagalog word it means realization and equality this comes from Juan Nosedda and Pedro Sanlucar and it is the same term rooted in an old term meaning to make things happen it is the same term used in reference to a performance or to realize a role or to become an actor it is a familiar term among many because we use it in the theater field in the Philippines but it is something which we have not really appreciated probably due to the convenience or bane of using the English term act or to perform to mean the same thing the English translation lacks the local nuance embodied in the word which illustrates ganap to mean the realization of life to a leveled up level or leveled up life or living life this is what we refer to as the buhay becoming buhay I'm very sure that each area has its own local term for this concept but allow me to dwell on this further as this involves our engagement in the science of realizing life and living through theater using local terms as indicators of a local experience the term ganap refers to space, people, experience and its transformation to a new state through the use of devices which appeal to the senses like movement, sound words, visuals and the scenery among others a life experience or danas na buhay is transformed to become a new living experience danas na buhay there is that emphasis there there's buhay and buhay the process of realization or the moment of transformation from a life experience to another level or a living experience transpires through the ganap while a raw sensory experience happens in the danas na buhay in real time a certain level of selectivity in the danas na buhay as life is translated into a creative mode and is realized in a space made alive to create a sensory experience taken from a real life experience but not necessarily the same as the life experience through the intervention of tools of expression such as the body of the actor a life experience or buhay is recreated and relived to become a live and living experience or buhay in filipino there is an arcade term used to refer to the actor that is kilosening literally meaning mover or action taker for an art the term kilosening was noted by Filipino playwright and scholar Severino Reyes indicates the importance of the actors as tools in expressing or realizing a live and living experience the actors take the responsibility of preparing their bodies as instruments of expression with the end goal of creating a connection with their audience through an experience which they hope to create during the performance here lies the power of the actor that inexplicable moment of recreating an experience while coping with the realities of the given performance conditions putting all that has been rehearsed in consideration while keeping their eyes on the goal of bridging the gap between the audience and the performer and the experience that is being created in the process the ganap embodies assemblance of the liminality which Victor Turner discussed in his study of the ritual rights of the Ndembu tribe of Africa he describes the process of realizing a ritual as happening in a space which is neither real or imagined what he calls the betwixt and between because it is made possible or performed by an actor who delves and realizes the imagined space while being part of a real space this phenomenon happens to the actor as he or she negotiates his way into realizing a role in an imagined or created reality during the performance while he's negotiating his way through the realities of his own real performance space siyeter is life performed and made alive through a new danas na buhay a new experience in reliving a sliver of life siyeter as it relives life transforms life siyeter is the embodiment of a living system made alive through the creative process an opportunity for transformation here lies the power of siyeter to create a pleasurable experience transformation in siyeter is not limited to opportunities nor to feelings that siyeter provides action is posed as the ultimate measure of success in siyeter's capacity to effect transformation for centuries of siyeter work in the communities it has pointed to the function of siyeter as a major tool in people's empowerment our own local histories have marked the role of siyeter as potent weapons in exposing the ills of society and calling people to take up concerted actions in their pursuit for a better quality of life our own country's movement for nationalism and independence is marked by the developments in the form and function of siyeter for instance in the 19th century when the Philippines was declared a nation as a result of its colonial encounter with siyeter new technologies of communication affected new ways of information dissemination using music, words and movement the very basic modalities of siyeter which have been in use since the early times oral lore which embodied local tropes through the musicality of words became codified in print a revolution for national independence was in place as siyeter artists coped with the new technologies of communication such as writing, music and the new musical siyeter forms such as the sarswela and the voodville with the new entry of the colonizers the Americans the theater artists most of whom belong to the most articulate and the most learned in the communities together with the new intelligentsia who have been educated in the West developed what was later referred to as the seditious Tagalog place this place were performed before packed audiences in various big shift communities in far flung areas in support of American revolution the actors many of whom belong to the anti-colonial movement used the opportunity provided by this place in encouraging people to support and join the revolutionary cause using satire and local imagery embedded in poetry the performances became opportunities for people to come together and process their experiences with the colonial Americans staging spectacle was used to stimulate nationalism among audiences who were barred from waving their own flag under the American colonial rule the place created quite a stir among the American soldiers who troop to the performances to witness how the place roasted and killed Americans quote-unquote and of course to arrest the players the period of martial law in the 70s to the late 80s was also witnessed to a new kind of theater for empowerment looking on the vision that theater should serve the interests and needs of the people theater skills were disseminated to ordinary people who saw the development of new narratives based on their urgent concerns and life experiences theater became a living newspaper in the face of curtailment of freedom of expression and self-expression theater was created by non-theater people who use their new found skill seek to call attention to concerns begging for change militarization, human rights violations poverty, corruption displacement and even land grabbing theater became a living spectacle in providing opportunities for transformation place were hounded by military who took no time in arresting theater directors and playwrights who criticized the government and post radical ideas to the audience the arrests however did not deter the performances of new plays neither did it stop theater groups from performing plays in a similar note the arrests became living markers of an achievement among the players they were able to put across a clear message calling for social transformation thus earning the ire of the military it was a pleasure in reason and pleasure in function and of course pleasure in transformation in action it is important to take note of the various theater workshops we have become popular tools for introducing new opportunities for expression and critical thinking among these workshop processes PETA's basic integrated theater arts workshop or commonly called the BTAW can be considered as one of the influential theater designs in the use of theater as pedagogy for learning and transformation BTAW initially called the integrated arts workshop started out as a theater workshop design framed on a middle class liberal view of self expression and self awareness the BTAW's popularity served as a timely response to the need for self expression which was curtailed during the martial law its popularization among the basic communities in the regions be faced by challenges of militarization and human rights violations however pushed the BTAW to evolve into a theater design aimed at providing an alternative avenue for self expression and critical thinking using local cultural modes of artistry such as songs dances and wordplay the local issues as basic materials in developing original theater pieces were used BTAW provided an alternative for learning and critical communication tool an antidote for ultra silence westernized consciousness made worse by a repressive military rule significantly many of those who encountered the BTAW as participant or as facilitator do not recognize the fact that the community theater workshop processes strength lies in its radical qualities which embody transformation in community action improvisational theater processes which embody change as the moving force of community action an output and process which is culture based, audience oriented participatory and collaborative and a pool of actors who allow their bodies and minds and hearts to be used as tools to draw critical studies of community concerns geared towards change community theater processes characteristic openness its adaptability and transformative quality can be misleading if taken out of its participatory historically rooted and community concerns responsive framework a number of individuals and groups who have undergone community theater workshops have taken the liberty of using theater learning processes for various educational purposes such as curricular reforms in informal and formal education and have reaped the harvest of evolving effective learning processes others have mimicked its many activities and games to sue their particular needs commercial and otherwise without due consideration to its philosophy as an alternative learning pedagogy relegating its use to the function of entertainment and fun alone and without regard to its development from a venue of self-expression to a culture based and historically rooted transformative action thus transformation in community theater presents political color as it positions people in a power space where they can transform their conditions and take control of their lives advocacy in various forms and levels of interest could not but be related to transformation in community theater because it involves the very elements that make theater happen setting character conflict sequence of action towards achievement of a conflicts resolution or dissolution add to this the creation of an experience based experiment where ideas are tried and validated through the magical theatrical interrogative what if and you have a radicalized take on life and living radical to mean taking its course of action from the roots this experiences that I have shared with you will not be here if not for the colorful life which I have lived in theater mine is a classic example of a showbiz wannabe turned community theater artist I am a product of the turbulent challenges that my country has posed to artists who yearn to make their audience happy and fulfilled and I have taken up that challenge as a commitment to my audience by doing performances writing plays on urgent community concerns sustaining theater linkages and conducting training on community theater work for schools and communities our network is composed of 30 groups from various universities and schools in metro manila it's called the alianza and we embody a mission that is to train actors, artists community oriented teachers organizers, researchers who realize the concept of the ganap using creative artistic approaches and based on the perspective of the capua or literally in filipino the self in the other the core members of our group started doing community work in their high school years and have moved on to become professional teachers and artists today a number of them occupy influential administrative positions in their universities they become union leaders, program heads particular programs and cultural affairs department chairs, directors in television networks among others they seek support from government and non-government partners to spearhead national festivals and theater conferences and conduct trainings and performances using theater as processes to address community concerns these actors, artists, teachers students and employees belong to the new age workforce who have migrated to the cities pastures and who have to cope with the challenges of surviving in their temporary rented homes or children of migrant workers who yearn for a sense of family as they cope with life in their relatives homes these actors represent the new age artists who have been equipped with the tools of theater and who can opt to further achieve fame, fortune and popularity if they wish to but who have instead taken up the advocacy to respond to basic community needs despite the seemingly comfortable life that new modes of living have projected Allow me to share with you a few theater experiences which we had in a remote provincial island with several coastal towns in central philippines as we advocated for the construction of toilet facilities through a play which we called Hello Healthy Goodbye Dummy or Hello Healthy Goodbye Dirty These areas are targets of zero open defecation program spearheaded by the UNICEF through the local government units and our partner institution the Center for Health Solutions and Innovations our musical play entitled Hello Healthy Goodbye Dummy centers on the efforts of four friends called Apat Nakay who are bent on raising community support to put up toilets and water pipes for clean water in every household they took part in a popular TV contest played by Shane when the TV host slipped and got dirty by feces which were scattered all over the place The village chief gets angry with the four case because of the humiliation it has caused the village Soon villagers were running all over the place because of dysentery The four case then investigate how the disease spread and calls on their barangay to wash their hands, boil drinking water and construct their own latrins at home to keep themselves informed to maintain a healthy body The script was based on a scientific research of UNICEF and major considerations were based on the motivations of shame and loss of face to motivate the audience to move, build their own toilets and become healthy Songs and dances were used to demonstrate the fecal oral disease transmission and the songs were composed using the popular genre in the rural areas These were sung by actors using easy to follow movements which were taught to the audience in a style similar to a mascalisthenics program At this point in time I'd like to share with you a song featuring the fly and the feces which were made into animated characters for easy information dissemination on the fecal oral disease transmission It's a love song and it's entitled Ang taekong pag-idik nasa laway kapasin Okay, did you like that love song? It's about the lowly fly and the feces in a love song But this one, the next song features one of the kids as he explains why he defecates in the open The song is entitled kung may kasilya slama ang tiyan inahalukay ganyan ang pagiramdang sasakit ang ulo magdumikahit saan lagnatay magpapakulo sa buong katawa yas lang sana sasakit na dun saan nagkala yas lang sana tayo'y makakakiwas sasakit ng tulog saan saan saan ay To further intimidate and shame the audience a concoction of feces is skirted from his behind making the audience further squirm and laugh. Of course the feces is not real but just the same it makes the same impression of shame among the audience. After going through this grueling experience the audience are made to choose from among the options to address the problem of the seas in the community through a game like activity pictures of different ways of feces management are presented and they are made to line up before the pictures they prefer They are also challenged to identify the image of their community which they wish to present to the world They are then encouraged to take their selfies in front of latrines and toilets which they prefer Throughout the play, roles are done by community members who have been requested to perform cameo roles This further encourages the audience to own the play and consider it as their story Furthermore, local keywords related to the fecal oral disease transmission were used to bring the play closer to the audience Characters and incidents were also taken from popular icons Original music compositions Shoons were inspired by sentimental videyoke and joke box hits which has remained popular in many rural communities The show was performed for four times in four areas to around 800 people All four shows moved people to action in varying degrees and intensities The first show moved a vice mayor to pledge his support for the formation of a local theater group who would perform all over the municipality in support of the ZOD program The local government officials and the school administrators took no time in bringing the school children to the town center so they can watch the play Government buses and trucks were sent to the remote areas to ferry the children to the town center gymnasium The second and third shows made the village health workers move as hosts project implementers and even actors and took turns in setting up the shade for the audience while others helped the performers fix their sets and technical needs The women folk helped prepare refreshments for the performers while the rest became stage hands helping the actors borrow hand props from nearby houses and helping convince some school children to participate in some scenes This occurs in almost all community performances ordinary villagers taking time from their teen and contributing their limited resources to help put up a successful performance The fourth show also made the village health workers and local leaders move But what was interesting about this last show was that the villagers were keen about setting up toilets in their houses One mother was asking the performers if they had brought urinals for distribution She said her family has been preparing a hole in her backyard and is now ready to set up her urinal She was ready to build her toilet This move to build structures in response to a specific call is the ultimate test of theater performances impact in creating transformative action Urgently, though the play ends with another song This time, it leaves the skill and importance of hand washing among children The title of the song Ataman kugas ng kamay Would you like to learn the song? I can teach you the action Alika, pang arala natin Okay, ganito yun The children took no time in learning the song with sticky soap chips distributed as tokens to force them to wash their hands Local government leaders were urged to arrange for the holding of performances of the same play This time to be done by young actors who have been trained to do the performances for their own barrios They have been trained to roll out performances as their share in encouraging their neighbors to build their own toilets and wash their hands toward of diseases in the community Here, theater is identified not only through its capacity to mimic life, but more so by its capacity to transform a problem situation into positive action Through various levels of engagement by people who are directly engaged in the community, as well as those who are engaged through the magical link created by theater Roles are done by people in varying degrees and qualities of participation from being audience to being technical support, organizers researchers and performers Similarly, the performers also did their part in contributing to the advocacy More than three months were devoted to preparing the show from research to writing to mounting the scenes, doing choreography work composing the songs, recording the songs and preparing logistical and technical needs for the production All this contributed to the realization of a sliver of life made buhay or alive through a space transformed so that it may function as a laboratory for community action It takes a new breed of actors to mean artists, community oriented teachers, organizers researchers to do this job It underlines the inaliable role of the theater artist as a community servant whose work faces unending challenges as it negotiates its effect on its audience's life It poses the same challenge taken up by any artist that continuously improving its artistic craft to be able to translate life's idioms into more intelligible forms of expression However the community orientation sets the direction for service as against the usual regard for theater which has fame, fortune or popularity as its ultimate target As actors the primary motivation is to disseminate ideas and information and to engage the community into action Thus the ultimate challenge is in the audience's move to transform and take up an action for the community's benefit Thus to be an actor requires a shift in theater orientation from being limited to individual self-expression to being committed to service and the common good It is a community who takes center stage and the actor initiates explores possibilities and facilitates community action The actor takes on the responsibility of preparing community action and works towards creating markers of distinction specific to the community's needs and cultural priorities Education and critical thinking is an important component in this process because transformation necessitates clear understanding of a mission which the audience has to take part in to be fully realized skills in social mobilization as well as research is likewise important since the objective is not simply to amaze or to entertain but rather to enjoy and encourage transformation among community members The actor then takes on a radical role as educator and forerunner of the most important output of our new age technology transformative knowledge in action I say radical because to be an actor recognizes the importance of knowledge derived from study and skills training and applies this to encourage community participation in effective action where the community is welfare and happiness is the ultimate target and once personal pleasure becoming aligned with the community's concerns our own actor's transformation from being ordinary student artists to becoming leaders in transformative community theater they become equipped with artistic skills and critical tools for analyzing social concerns that their participation becomes processes of unmarking realities our own actors have shared experiences on how issues concerning commercialization of education and rising prices have been made acceptable to rich businessmen through songs and dramatization dramatic performances have become venues for taking erroneous educational reforms and universities theater festivals have become avenues for organizing among theater artists who are also part of the community workforce the teachers, employees, students and community leaders the health workers among others there is a wide spectrum of transformation that theater creates in community life from the very simple opportunity to interact and share to the transformative community action which may lead to radical changes in a community's life it is important for theater artists and educators to know where they stand and where they intend their efforts to lead as their powers are proven to be potent agents of transformation in society after all transformation in theater is living radicalized so may our efforts in theater lead to transformative action with our community's varying degrees of happiness in all its intents and intensities this is Glesy Atienza from the College of Arts and Letters thank you very much for your kind attention