Philippine Educational Theater Association

The Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) is a theatrical association of artists and educators. It is the UNESCO-International Theater Institute Center in the Philippines. It is a non-profit, non-stock, non-governmental, and a registered donee institution.^[1]

History

On April 7, 1967, Cecile Guidote-Alvarez established the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) who meant the organization to be a vehicle for Philippine Theater to play a role in the development of the country's people and society. Four years later in 1971, PETA was named the UNESCO-International Theater Institute Center in the Philippines. In the same year, coinciding with the 400th foundation anniversary of Manila, PETA organized the first Third World Theater Festival.^[2]

Martial law in the Philippines forced founder Guidote-Alvarez to went to a political exile in 1972 but the theatrical organization remains operational. The theatrical works of the organization revolved around the social conditions and political climate during the Martial law era and focused on using the medium of theater as an empowerment for the marginalized sectors.^[2]

By this period, PETA began creating and performing theatrical plays in Filipino. Many of PETA's plays were staged at the Dulaang Rajah Sulayman, an open-air theater designed by Leandro V. Locsin, a National Artist. About 300 plays were adapted, translated, written, published, and performed by the organization by the 1990s.^[2]

PETA transferred to a permanent building as its headquarters in 2005, which is named the PETA Theater Center. Since the move, PETA has produced and performed adaptations of classic foreign plays as well as local and children's theatrical productions. They also began to adopt modern pop music.^[2]

References