Teatro – Theater
A theater, also known as a teatro, is a structure built specifically for theatrical, musical, and dance performances. It is also known as dula-an, from the Tagalog dula, which means “play,” and an, which means “a suffix denoting place,” as well as coliseo, from the Latin colosseum, which means “a large place for staging spectacles.” The teatro can be a standalone structure or an auditorium that is part of a larger structure, such as a school or an office building.
The Spanish Colonial Period
When it was first introduced in the Philippines, the structure was dubbed “Teatro.” Teatros al aire libre (open-air theaters) were the Philippines’ first theaters, consisting of a temporary platform surrounded by an open space for spectators. During fiestas and special occasions, portable stages were set up and dismantled after each performance. It primarily consisted of the entablado (stage platform) and backstage areas, as well as an audience section for spectators and an entrance lobby. A performance space is usually framed by an arch, called a proscenio (proscenium), and covered by a curtain. Backstage includes dressing rooms, scenery and equipment storage, workshops, and storage rooms. The audience section of old theaters was either rectangular or circular in plan, with rows of seats sloping on a single or multiple levels. The camarin-teatro (barn theater) of bamboo and nipa or thatch structure, a podium, and an audience section with wooden benches was another type built in Arroceros and Tondo.
Teatro de Binondo (Illustration by Jose Honorato Lozano, 1847, photo courtesy of Biblioteca Nacional de España Collection)
Later, the teatro adopted a trapezoidal or fan-shaped layout, with the stage at the narrow end. Aisles connected the rows of seats and ran along the sidewalls. Seating was arranged in boxes or on tiers. The audience section was accessed via a lobby. During intermissions, the balcony above the lobby was used as a lounge where the audience could get refreshments and smoke. Other spaces within the teatro may include administrative offices, shops, and a refreshment parlor.
The Teatro Comico was built in the Campo de Arroceros, near the Pasig River, between 1780 and 1790. Tondo was the site of coliseos (bamboo theaters covered with nipa) where Tagalog plays were performed in 1840.
The two most important permanent theaters were the Teatro del Principe Alfonso, which opened in 1862, and the Teatro de Binondo, which opened in 1864. The Teatro de Binondo, the first of the elegant theaters outside Intramuros’ walls, was a two-story stone, brick, and wood structure with an arcaded first story and an open colonnade and balcony with balustrade on the second level. It stood on a site parallel to Escolta, now known as San Vicente, between San Jacinto and Nueva Streets. It was built for 30,000 pesos, with funds provided by Caja de Carriedo and Obras Pias. The theater’s spacious lobby leads to a semicircular auditorium and an orchestra section with tiered seats. Palcos (boxes) were classified as principales and segundas (first and second class); plateas (tiered seats) were located on the main floor; and the tertulia or paraiso (gallery) was located at the top. Because of the roof’s angle, the stage is framed in a wide and pointed proscenium. The theater quickly became a meeting place for Manila’s upper crust, and “the construction of the new theater has brought Manila one step closer to European civilization” (Cario 2002).
Spanish-period Teatro del Principe Alfonso, later Teatro Español, on Arroceros, Manila (Photo from CCP Collections)
The Teatro del Principe Alfonso, later renamed Teatro Espaol, was built in 1862 by Juan Barbero, a veteran stage director and actor, with light materials primarily made of wood and galvanized iron. It was a popular sarsuwela and komedya venue that was open to all social classes. It could hold up to 650 spectators and was held on the Campo de Arroceros, which is now the area between Quezon Bridge and MacArthur Bridge.
The Teatro Circo de Bilibid, originally a bullring, was the largest in its time, with a reputed capacity of 2,500. It was named after its circular layout and was located opposite the Bilibid prison. The roof was constructed of wood and galvanized iron. It thrived in the 1870s, was converted into a cockpit in 1880, and was destroyed by a typhoon in 1882.
The Teatro de Novedades, later known as Teatro de Variedades, had a similar shape to the Teatro Circo de Bilibid. It began as an octagonal pavilion for public dances before being converted to a theater in 1878. It was directly across the street from the Teatro del Principe Alfonso.
The Teatro Filipino, located across Pasig at the intersection of Calle San Roque and Calle General Echague, was built in 1880. It was built as a rectangular wood structure with a galvanized iron roof. It only had one tier of boxes, the best of which were close to the stage.
The Teatro Circo Zorrilla, named after the Spanish poet and playwright Jose Zorrilla y Moral, was considered the most celebrated at the time. The theater, which opened in 1893 on the corner of Calzada de Iris and Calle San Pedro, is now bounded by Recto Avenue, Quezon Boulevard, and Calle Evangelista. The circular hall could seat 1,352 spectators, four in the palcos de honor (box of honor), 48 in palcos arranged in tiers, 400 in the butacas (orchestra seats), and 900 in the galeria (general admission section). The Zorrilla hosted sarsuwela, opera, drama, concerts, and silent films. It was demolished in 1936, and the Isetann Mall of Quiapo now stands on its site.
The Teatro Tagalo de Tondo, also known as the Coliseo de Tondo, was built from 1840 to 1890 and was originally made of bamboo and nipa, with a sawali facade and a galvanized iron roof. The Teatro Infantil de Dulumbayan, which was 24 meters wide and 34 meters long, was another theater. The stage had a nipa roof and a floor made of wood and bamboo. It featured 14 palcos, 30 butacas, 12 orchestra pit seats, and a five-tiered galeria with bamboo seats. The Teatro Guiol was 6 meters wide and 14 meters long, without a roof and easily transportable. In 1887, a Franciscan Friar named Cipriano Gomez founded Pandacan’s only true opera house of the nineteenth century. The theater was only for opera, which was performed by native singers who had been trained by an Italian teacher. The orchestra was conducted by Ladislao Bonus.
Even during the Spanish era, schools promoted theater and other similar functions to boost students’ confidence and train them in rhetoric and eloquence. Schools had a salon de actos, or auditorium, where dramatic performances could take place. In the Ateneo salon, Jose Rizal’s Junto al Pasig (On the Banks of the Pasig) was performed, a short play commemorating the Virgin of Antipolo’s fluvial procession through the Pasig.
The American Colonial Period
The long-lasting Manila Grand Opera House was built in 1902 in the traditional style, with tiers of boxes surrounding the audience section. On October 16, 1907, the First Philippine Assembly was inaugurated in this theater. The structure was destroyed during WWII and later rebuilt as a cinema-style auditorium. The majority of 1950s and 1960s movie stars began their careers at the postwar Manila Grand Opera House.
Juan Arellano’s Manila Metropolitan Theater, built in the 19th-century theater district along Arroceros in Plaza Lawton, was at the forefront of art deco style in the Philippines. It was inaugurated in 1931, marking Arellano’s departure from his Beaux Arts lineage. The Metropolitan’s facade could be compared to a stage, with the focal point being a framed, proscenium-like central window of stained glass that corresponded in scale and shape to the theater proscenium inside. Curving walls lavishly decorated with tapestries of colored tiles reminiscent of traditional Southeast Asian batik patterns emphasized this window on both sides. Grillwork resembling stylized birds of paradise adorned the entrance doors (Lico 2008, 336). This theater, which deteriorated after WWII and was closed for many years, was rehabilitated first in 1978 and then again in 2021 by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts after the latter purchased it in 2015.
The theater proper was accessed through a large foyer with a two-story semi-vaulted ceiling and wide marble stairways on both sides leading to the loge and balcony. The Dance and History of Music, two mural paintings by Fernando Amorsolo, were installed above the stairwells on the second floor. Moderne statues by Italian sculptor Francesco Monti added to the lobby’s opulence. The space above the proscenium was an exquisite setting for bas-relief figures allegorically depicting Music, Tragedy, Comedy, and Poetry, and both sides of the proscenium were adorned with a cascade of silver jewel-like plaques. It was created for theater, opera, symphony concerts, and film. The auditorium’s orchestra, loge, and balcony could hold 1,670 people. The motifs, which were inspired by Philippine vegetation and wildlife, were created with the help of Arellano’s elder brother Arcadio and Isabelo Tampinco, the leading decorative sculptor of the time. The building was destroyed during World War II’s liberation battle in 1945 and was not rebuilt until 1978, under the supervision of Juan Arellano’s nephew, Otillo Arellano (Lico 2008, 338).
Lobby of Saint Cecilia’s Hall, Saint Scholastica’s College in Manila, 2014 (Photo from Saint Scholastica’s College Collection)
During the American era, two art deco school-based theaters in Manila were well known: Saint Cecilia’s Music Hall and the Ateneo Theater. Sister Baptista Battig, OSB, a student of the German composer and pianist Franz Liszt and an accomplished concert pianist before joining the Benedictines, founded a conservatory of music in 1906, the same year the Benedictine sisters established St. Scholastica College. St Cecilia’s was built as a venue for Saint Scholastica’s student concerts, which were popular social events. Saint Cecilia, designed by Andres Luna de San Pedro in the Egyptian art deco style and completed in 1932, provided a noble setting for the concerts.
Sister Battig was the driving force behind Saint Cecilia’s, and American Jesuit Henry Lee Irwin was the driving force behind the Ateneo Theater. He was a scholastic at the Ateneo de Manila in 1922 and 1923, and he directed Julius Caesar in 1922. He returned to the United States to finish his studies before returning to Manila ten years later. Irwin began mounting plays such as King Lear after becoming Grade School Headmaster. With his encouragement, the Ateneo constructed a theater designed by Ateneo alumnus Juan Nakpil and completed in 1936. The acoustics of the theater, which held approximately 800 people, were legendary. It featured an orchestra pit, 19 dressing rooms, and a large stage with four prosceniums. Irwin then introduced Manila to a Shakespeare program. The annual Lent passion play was staged with the help of Jesuit scholastics. It attracted a large audience, including members of Manila’s high society and government officials, including President Manuel Quezon. The theater was damaged during World War II, but unlike Saint Cecilia’s, it was never rebuilt.
Before World War II, schools were required to have an auditorium that also served as a theater. Far Eastern College (now a university) built art deco buildings along Quezon Avenue in 1939, including the Administration Building, which housed the FEU Theater, designed by Pablo Antonio (now Auditorium). Antonio also designed the Auditorium, which served as a cultural center in the 1950s. The box-type theater, which was rebuilt after WWII, can seat about a thousand people and is known as the first theater to have centralized air conditioning and a revolving stage.
The Age of the Republics
Theater construction continued in the post-World War II era. In 1958, the Jose Rizal Centennial Commission proposed constructing a National Shrine at Wallace Field in Luneta, which would include a national theater, library, and museum. The centerpiece of this project was Juan Nakpil’s 1959 National Theater, an edifice that would have combined concrete folded plate and spherical thin shell roof to achieve a sculptural and monumental effect. However, the National Theater was never built on Wallace Field.
Rizal Theater in Makati City, 1960 (Photo from National Library of the Philippines Collection)
Nakpil designed the Rizal Theater, which opened in 1961, with a revised plan and a simpler scheme than the national theater. It was the first theater in Makati and the focal point of the Ayala Company’s Makati Commercial Center, which was part of a larger urban development plan. Although it was mostly used as a movie theater, it also had a large stage suitable for ballets and musicals. The auditorium had a single sloping floor with an orchestra, loge, and balcony all forming one large space. It was unfortunately demolished in the 1980s to make way for the Shangri-La Hotel.
The Araneta Coliseum, built from 1957 to 1959 on a 35-hectare site in Cubao, Quezon City, was a feat of engineering at the time. Between 1960 and 1963, it was the largest domed coliseum in the world. The coliseum was built of reinforced concrete cylinders with a 108-meter-diameter aluminum dome structure. The steel dome had 48 main ribs that met in a compression ring that floated high above the floor. The dome was suspended 10 stories or 36.8 meters above the arena floor, which was 2.3 hectares in size. For a long time, it was one of the world’s largest clear span domes and the largest indoor facility in Southeast Asia. The New Frontier Cinema-Theater, the largest in Asia when it opened in 1967, is also located in Cubao.
Theaters in the 1960s were a test of the architect’s imagination. When the Insular Life relocated from Binondo to Makati in 1962, the Ayala Companies constructed the tallest building on Ayala Avenue at the time, exceeding the 30 meter limit of older buildings. Insular Life, designed by Cesar Concio, was notable for its rounded corners, expressive use of sun baffles, and Napoleon Abueva’s bas-relief mural. Insular Life Theater, located on the upper floor of the central building, was also well-known. Although designed for corporate events, the stage could also be used for theater productions. Repertory Philippines, founded in 1967, adapted Insular as a venue for Broadway productions, creating a popular link between Insular and Repertory. Greenhills Theater, designed by Antonio Heredia and completed in 1968, was the first structure to use post-tension structural technology, allowing a clear span of 52 meters and a 6 meter overhang and allowing the structure to “move with the earth” to reduce the disastrous effect of an earthquake. Most theaters built during this time period prioritized acoustic engineering, lighting design, and audience sightlines.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the most popular venue for quality concerts was the ground-floor theater of the Philam-Life Building on United Nations Avenue, which was known for its excellent acoustics. The theater orchestra, designed by Architect Carlos Arguelles, had side walls lined with carved murals, while the wide theater lobby was dominated by a stained glass sarimanok by Galo Ocampo.
The Dulaang Rajah Sulayman in Fort Santiago, Intramuros, is another popular theater. From its inception in 1967 to the early 2000s, this open-air theater designed by Leandro Locsin served as the venue for plays by the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA). The T-shaped stage is a distinguishing feature of this “ruins” theater.
Architect Jose Maria V. Zaragoza designed the Meralco Building in 1968. The 14-story building on Ortigas Avenue was known for the Meralco Theater on its ground floor. Its expansive stage has hosted plays, operas, musicals, ballets, and concerts. It had the first revolving stage and seating that was gently sloped so that the balcony section flowed into the orchestra.
The Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) Theater of the Performing Arts, which opened in 1969, houses the Tanghalang Nicanor S. Abelardo (formerly the Main Theater), which seats 1,805 people; Tanghalang Aurelio V. Tolentino (formerly the Little Theater), which seats 402 people; and Tanghalang Huseng Batute (formerly Bulwagang Gantimpala), an experimental space that seats a maximum of 250 people. There are also art galleries, a museum, rehearsal rooms, and offices here. Tanghalang Nicanor S. Abelardo has a large orchestra pit, an orchestra section, parterre boxes, two balconies, and two tiers of side boxes. National Artist Leandro V. Locsin created the Theater of the Performing Arts. He collaborated with the best technical team, which included structural engineer Alfredo L. Juinio, builder David M. Consunji, acoustical consultants Bolt, Beranek and Newman, mechanical and electro-systems consultants, and others, to create a venue that provided excellent quality for all performances in this theater.
The CCP complex rises prominently along Roxas Boulevard on reclaimed land. The Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas, also known as the Folk Arts Theater, is another structure in the complex. It is an arena-style, thousand-seat theater designed by Locsin and built in record time for the Miss Universe Pageant in 1974. It was used for pop concerts and other large productions until the 1990s, when it needed major repairs. The theater has since been leased to the general public. Day by Day Christian Ministries rented the space in 2005 and named it Bulwagan ng Panginoon (Hall of the Lord). An earthquake in 1990 damaged the nearby Manila Film Center, which was built in 1982 for the Manila International Film Festival. It was ordered closed and is now vacant, except for the occasional rental.
Locsin also designed the National Arts Center for the National High School for the Arts on Mount Makiling in Los Baos in 1976. The massive theater has a pyramidal roof that covers a three-sided open audience section.
Following the 1986 EDSA Revolt, as the Philippines struggled with political, social, and economic recovery, some performing arts venues began to deteriorate due to a lack of maintenance and viable activities. The Metropolitan Theater, which had been restored in 1978, experienced a financial downturn as income fell. The building was sequestered after being restored with a loan from GSIS due to inability to service its debt. The building deteriorated when it was left idle. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts took over this heritage building in 2015, exercising its right of first refusal on the sale of cultural treasures as mandated by the National Heritage Act. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved the purchase of the building.
In the early 1990s, new theaters were built that were outfitted with cutting-edge stage technology. The AFP Theater in Camp Aguinaldo was built in 1996 and is fully equipped. It has a capacity of 1,074 people. While it serves the army camp’s needs, it is also rented out to the general public. The Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in RCBC Plaza is a multipurpose venue for corporate activities and performances designed by Fisher Dachs Associates, Skidmore Owings & Merrill, and W.V. Cosculluela & Associates. It has 450 seats. RCBC construction began in 1996 and was completed in 2001. The auditorium is best suited for smaller productions, though musicals have been staged there successfully.
The Resort’s World Theater is located in Newport City, next to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3. The complex, a collaboration between Alliance Global Group and Genting Hong Kong, opened in stages, beginning with a soft launch on August 28, 2009. The theater is located in the restaurant and cinema wing, which is linked to the hotel and casino via a wide corridor flanked by retail stores. The theater is well-known for its large stage and cutting-edge stage equipment.
The Mall of Asia Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena that opened on June 16, 2012 and can seat 16,000 to 20,000 people. It is a versatile arena that can be configured for sports, which is its primary use, as well as religious events, such as Pope Francis’ visit on January 16, 2015, and entertainment events, such as rock concerts.
Solaire Theater, located in the Solaire Resort and Casino Complex, was completed in 2013. With a seating capacity of 1,760, the fan-shaped theater employs Meyer Sound’s Constellation Acoustic System, which can change the acoustical properties of the hall to meet the needs of various types of local and international performances such as Broadway musicals, operas, concertos, and ballets.
After the war, school-based theater became an even more important phenomenon. Many schools rebuilt, refurbished, or constructed theaters within their grounds. The College of Saint Cecilia of St. Scholastica was rebuilt. Another significant theater was the Fleur de lis Auditorium at St. Paul College in Manila, which was known for producing plays in which students from St. Paul’s and the neighboring boys’ schools, the Ateneo de Manila on Padre Faura Street and De La Salle College on Taft Avenue, would take part. Father James Reuter, SJ staged important plays and musicals here. The auditorium opened on December 12, 1957, and became known as “Broadway on Herran” due to its musical productions. Jose L. Reynoso created the fleur de lis. The 3.5 by 4.5 mural, Evolution of Philippine Culture, by National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco, was completed in time for the theater’s grand opening.
St. Joseph’s College Mater Dei Auditorium was a popular venue in Quezon City in the 1950s and 1960s. St. Joseph’s, a Franciscan Sisters-run school for the growing communities of New Manila, Kamuning, and San Juan, opened in 1932. It was closed abruptly during WWII but reopened in 1948. After WWII, the Mater Dei Auditorium was built behind St. Joseph’s main building. The annual play, which was held at the auditorium, drew a large crowd. Many of these plays were directed by Zeneida Amador. She performed Broadway musicals here until she founded Repertory Philippines.
PETA’s last performances were at the Dulaang Rajah Sulayman in Fort Santiago in 2004. Construction on the PETA Theater Center began the same year. The PETA Theater Center, which opened in 2006 on Eymard Drive in New Manila, Quezon City, now serves as a venue for PETA productions as well as independent theater groups. The PETA Phinma Theater, a black box theater, has an adjustable stage and audience arrangement. “It could be an Arena, End Stage, or Thrust Stage, with different platforms, thrusts, ramps, and extensions as imagined or required by each production” (PETA Phinma Theater 2016). The theater can seat 400 to 450 people depending on the stage and audience configuration. The PETA Theater Center also has a library (known as the Lia Sciortino and O’ong Maryono Resource Center), two studios that serve as rehearsal space and a multipurpose venue, a roof deck that can also be used as a venue for intimate performances, and two halls that are also multifunctional—the PETA Smart Exhibition Hall and the Lino Brocka Hall.
There are several theaters on the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman Campus. Abelardo Hall, the Conservatory of Music’s music hall, was constructed between 1960 and 1963. It was designed by architect Roberto Novenario in the International Style, with honeycomb sun baffles as brise-soleil. The Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater at Palma Hall, the home of Dulaang UP, was designed and refurbished from the existing auditorium that was built after World War II along with the rest of Palma Hall. Other theaters at UP include the UP Theater (also known as Villamor Hall) and Aldaba Hall at the back of the UP Theater, the Faculty Center’s Teatro Hermogenes Ilagan, which was destroyed by fire in 2016, and Cine Adarna of the UPFI Film Center, which is dedicated to cinema.
After WWII, Ateneo relocated to Quezon City, which lacked a large theater like the one in Padre Faura. In the 1950s and 1960s, plays were staged in multipurpose auditoriums in the Grade School and College, as well as covered courts in the High School. Onofre Pagsanghan founded the Ateneo High School Dramatics Society in 1956, which was renamed Dulaang Sibol in 1966. This theater group did not have its own theater for many years, instead performing in classrooms with improvised lights made of recycled tin cans and par lamps, until the Dulaang Sibol theater, renamed Tanghalang Onofre Pagsanghan in the 1980s. In the 1980s, Ateneo also built the 1,200-seat Henry Lee Irwin Theater next to the Ateneo Grade School.
The Areté, a creative and learning complex designed by William Coscolluela and Associates, opened in 2018. Hyundai Hall, an 840-seat proscenium theater with raked orchestra and balcony seats, the 200-seat Doreen Black Box Theater, which can be reconfigured according to needs, and the open-air Ignacio B. Gimenez Amphitheater, can all be found at the hub.
The National Capital Region is home to the majority of the more well-known school-based theaters. Thus, Silliman University’s Claire Isabel Mc Gill Luce Auditorium, which was built in 1973 and finished in 1975, is an exception. It is the largest and most well-equipped theater outside of Metro Manila. Work on upgrading the theater was completed in 2008 thanks to a grant from the Luce Foundation, which originally funded its construction. The structure is shaped as a sculptural block, with the lower portion truncated at the facade to make way for the glass-enclosed entrance, while the upper portion serves as a canopy and foyer to the theater.
The School of Design and Arts at the College of Saint Benilde houses a theater built as a structure that juts out of the facade in a daring cantilever. The theater also serves as the main entrance canopy. Ed Calma designed the theater and school complex in the deconstructionist postmodern idiom, which was completed in 2007.
The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and the imposition of lockdowns beginning in March 2020 halted ongoing and ongoing theatrical productions. In November 2020, a few theaters, such as the Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas and the Folk Arts Theater at the CCP Complex, will become quarantine and treatment facilities.
By Khristynne Martinez
Khristynne Martinez, with a degree from Arellano University Pasay, specialized in covering entertainment and lifestyle beats. Her foray into comedy brings those stories to life with a twist, poking fun at celebrity culture and the quirks of living in Pasay, bridging journalism and humor with flair.