Philippine theater

Filipino thespians launch ‘Save Theater Survey’ to navigate the pandemic

JC Gotinga

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How would you like to watch plays and musicals during the pandemic? Filipino theater artists want to know.

To sit in a theater and hum show tunes along with the cast of a live musical isn’t exactly on people’s minds right now – or is it?

If theater seats could be distanced a meter apart, or a play be staged in an open-air venue, would people come and watch?

Thespians behind the country’s top production companies have launched a survey to find out if Filipino audiences are willing to go out and attend theater shows, or if they would rather keep it online while the COVID-19 pandemic lingers. And if so, how – and for how much? What shows or subject matters would they like to see?

The Philippine Legitimate Stage Artist Group (Philstage) is fielding its “Save Theater Survey” in order to “get the audience’s perspective on theater in the ‘new normal.’”

The survey questions include the respondent’s preferences in watching theatrical shows: Familiar or new material? In English or in Filipino? Live or livestreamed? If live, with what protocols and safety measures? The survey can be found here.

“Answers will inform the theater industry about what directions to take with virtual productions and shows staged in theatrical spaces fitted with protocols preventing COVID-19 transmission,” Philstage said in a statement.

The pandemic has forced theater companies to cancel or postpone productions, displacing some 2,000 artists and production crew who are mostly freelancers who get paid per project. Groups like Philstage and National Live Events Coalition PH have spearheaded fund raisers to shore up aid for jobless workers in the theater and live events industry.

The 17 companies that comprise Philstage canceled at least 533 performances scheduled this year, amounting to P269 million in lost income. Including non-Philstage members, the theater industry is estimated to lose more than P439 million from canceled productions in 2020.

Looking ahead, theater artists like Jenny Jamora, a member of Philstage’s board of directors, are figuring out how to adapt theatrical performances to make sure artist and audience are safe.

It’s not a question of if theater will survive the pandemic, but how, Jamora told Rappler.

Theater – the use of live performance to tell a story – has been around “since the BC times,” Jamora quipped. It survived past pandemics, wars, and the advent of TV and film – it will survive COVID-19, too.

“This coronavirus is quite different. I’m not discounting that fact. But somehow, theater will survive. With whatever stories you’re telling, it’s the values you hold that stand the test of time,” Jamora said.

Throughout the pandemic, producers have made recorded performances of theater shows available through livestream, mostly to considerable success. In the 48 hours it was available on YouTube, the Eraserheads jukebox musical Ang Huling El Bimbo garnered an astounding 7 million views.

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As humanity lives through and emerges from this pandemic, there surely will be a groundswell of stories in different forms, Jamora said. Performing them in a space to anyone who would pay attention is instinctive to people – and that is the essence of theater, said veteran actor and director Freddie Santos.

“There’s always room for stories because that’s what makes us human. Otherwise, we’ll just be robots. The soul needs something else…. Something other than numbers, and data, and policies. We need to be fed with spiritual things, with things that can move us – to grief, to catharsis,” Jamora said.

With COVID-19 – an indelible experience shared by people all over the world – there surely will be a need for communal catharsis.

“You have to process this in your soul, in your heart,” said Jamora. – Rappler.com

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JC Gotinga

JC Gotinga often reports about the West Philippine Sea, the communist insurgency, and terrorism as he covers national defense and security for Rappler. He enjoys telling stories about his hometown, Pasig City. JC has worked with Al Jazeera, CNN Philippines, News5, and CBN Asia.