Cebuano theater refers to the theater arts of the Cebuano people and those conducted in the Cebuano language. It also refers to contemporary productions and adaptations produced in Cebu City.
Cebu has a long tradition of the theater arts. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 and Miguel López de Legazpi in 1565 both occasioned the performance of religious rituals that had the basic elements of theater. In 1598, a Spanish comedy written by the Jesuit Francisco Vicente Puche was performed in Cebu during the inauguration of a grammar school. In 1609 another Jesuit wrote a Cebuano play about the life of St. Barbara, which was performed in Bohol.
The next two centuries are sketchy in historical records.
In 1880 a Spanish zarzuela was performed in Cebu by members of Compania de Navarro, a visiting troupe from Manila. The prompter of the Compania, Eduardo Lopez, stayed in Cebu and became an important personality in the local theater. Other theater personalities at this time include Sabas Veloso, Sebastian Lingatong and Balbino Abadia.
In 1894 a Spanish play entitled El Alcalde Interino was held during the feast of St. John the Baptist. Lopez, Veloso, Lingatong, Maximo Abadia, Leoncio Avila, and Simplicia Alcantara (a singer of the Compania) were included in the performers. The guest during this performance was the governor of Cebu at that time, Gen. Inocencio Junquera. He was impressed by the performance but realized that a bigger space than the convent of Parian Church (where the play was held) was required. This led to his construction of the Teatro Junquera (see Junquera's article for more information).
Outside Cebu, Cebuano theater was liveliest in the town of Valladolid (now Carcar), where a local form of the theater, called linambay became popular. Some of the more popular linambays were Gonzalo de Cordoba, Doce Pares, and Orondates.
In 1902, a young man named Vicente Sotto attacked the decadent forms of linambay in his newspaper Ang Suga. He was challenged by a friend to write his own play as he was always attacking the linambay form. Sotto wrote the Cebuano "Ang Paghigugma sa Yutang Nataohan" (Love of the Native Land) as a response. The play was successful; Sotto organized the Compania de Aficionados Filipinos. Within the year, two more plays were written by Sotto: Elena, which deals of a girl's love for an insurrecto; and Aurora, which deals with a scandal involving the priests and nuns of the Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion. Realism in Cebuano theater was stretched too much however; even Sotto himself was a victim of the movement he started, when prior to his running for mayor in 1907, a play entitled "Ang Taban" (1906, by Teodulfo V. Ylaya) was released. The play dealt with a kidnap allegation involving Sotto.
Contemporary theater in Cebu ranges from street theater, balak-dula, expressionistic theater, and musical theater. The Cebuano's love for music brought on the staging of several Broadway plays performed by Cebuano talents leaving original Cebuano plays in the background. Several efforts from various organizations including the Arts Council of Cebu and LUDABI were made to bring back the love and respect for stage plays in Cebuano written by local artists. A good number of modern playwrights and directors emerged through the years to include the late Daisy Ba-ad, Al Evangelio, Raje Palanca and Allan Jayme Rabaya. Their original works have been staged by various schools and organizations.
One of the leading school-based theatre groups is the University of San Carlos Theatre Guild, who have been successfully producing at least two theatre runs per year for the past two decades.
Independent groups emerged such as Al Evangelio's Pasundayag Sugbo, Emmanuel Mante's Young Thespians of Cebu, Daisy Baad's Out of the Box Theatre Co., Raymond Ordoño's Crystal Cavalier Productions, Hendri Go's Little Boy Productions, Sonny Alquizola's Cre8tive Thespians of Cebu, Inc., and Sarah Mae Enclona-Henderson's 2TinCans Philippines, Inc.
Currently, Cebu Theatre runs up to 20 titles per year.
Uldarico Aguilar Alviola Sr. was a Filipino Visayan civil servant, novelist, and editor from Cebu, Philippines. While he wrote in English and Spanish, his published works in the Cebuano language earned him the title "Dean of Cebuano Writers."
Tanghalang Ateneo is the longest-running theater company of the Loyola Schools, Ateneo de Manila University. The company weaves into its work the theatrical traditions of the university's sesquicentennial past: the devotion of the salon de actos at the Escuela Municipal, the eloquence of the Ateneo Dramatics Guild, the joie de vivre of the Ateneo Players Theater, and the innovative spirit of the Ateneo Experimental Theater. Like these companies, Tanghalang Ateneo uses theater to foster eloquentia, sapientia, and humanitas – the pillars of Jesuit pedagogy. It sees itself as a theater company in the service of student formation, and by extension – given the Jesuit ideal of magis – a theater in service of the nation.
Resil Buagas Mojares is a Filipino historian and critic of Philippine literature best known as for his books on Philippine history. He is acclaimed by various writers and critics as the Visayan Titan of Letters, due to his immense contribution to Visayan literature. He was recognized in 2018 as a National Artist of the Philippines for Literature - a conferment which represents the Philippine state's highest recognition for artists.
Elena is a Cebuano play in three acts written by Vicente Sotto. It was first performed at the Teatro Junquera on May 18, 1902. The play established Sotto's reputation as a playwright.
Vicente Yap Sotto was a Filipino playwright, journalist, and politician who served as a Senator from 1946 to 1950. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1922 to 1925, representing Cebu's 2nd district. He was the main author of the Press Freedom Law.
Cebuano literature includes both the oral and written literary forms Cebuano of colonial, pre-colonial and post-colonial Philippines.
Gen. Inocencio Junquera Huergo y Sánchez was a civil and political governor of Cebu, Philippines, from 1893 – 1895. He left a legacy to Cebuano culture by establishing the Teatro Junquera, the most important theater of Cebu in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
VST & Company was a Filipino disco band from Manila, Philippines, founded by Vic Sotto, Spanky Rigor, and Tito Sotto. Hailed as one of the most successful Filipino bands of the late 1970s, the group is considered by many to be one of the original proponents of OPM. The band originally consisted of Spanky Rigor, Roger Rigor, Male Rigor, Celso Llarina, Monet Gaskell, Val Sotto and Jun Medina. They pioneered the Manila sound genre along with bands such as Hotdog and Cinderella, and rose to fame with their first hit song, "Awitin Mo at Isasayaw Ko". The song ignited Philippine disco culture, and sparked "VST Mania"; a craze that swept across the country throughout the late 1970s. Their five albums which host a catalogue of hits such as "Rock Baby Rock", "Swing It Baby", "Disco Fever", "Magsayawan", "Kiss Kiss", "Magnifica" and "Step No, Step Yes", plus three critically acclaimed full-length films, Disco Fever (1978), Swing It… Baby (1979) and Rock Baby, Rock (1979), hallmark the band's cultural influence and historical contributions to contemporary Philippine pop music.
Daisy B. Ba-ad is a playwright, stage director, composer, motivational speaker and life coach based in Cebu City, Philippines. She is a Masscom graduate of St. Theresa's College, Cebu City given a special award for Outstanding Performance in Theater Arts. She is known to be at the forefront of keeping Cebuano Theater alive. Trained under professional directors Laurice Guillen, Gina Alajar, Leo Martinez and New York acting coach Eric Morris, she is currently artistic and training director of Out of the Box Training and Productions. She also designed and mentored the Photographic/Commercial Modeling program of Fashion TV Model School based in the city.
Vicente Hermosa Garces, also known as Vicente Garces and Nyor Inting, was a Filipino Visayan politician, writer, and poet. His famous written works in Cebuano were published in Visayan newspaper, Bag-ong Kusog. He also served as mayor in the then municipality of Talisay, Cebu, Philippines from 1925 to 1937.
Vicente Rama was a Filipino Visayan legislator, publisher, and writer from Cebu, Philippines. Recognized as the Father of Cebu City, he authored the bill for its cityhood which was approved into law by October 20, 1936. He also founded the leading pre-war Cebuano periodical, Bag-ong Kusog.
Nicolas Mercado Rafols Jr. was a Filipino Visayan legislator, journalist, businessman, lawyer, and agriculturalist from Cebu, Philippines. He was a member of the House of Representatives for Cebu's 6th District for multiple terms.
Vicente Ranudo was a Filipino Visayan writer, poet laureate, and Cebu provincial civil servant. He wrote for various pre-war periodicals, including the first Cebuano newspaper Ang Suga, and was considered the father of Cebuano poetry.
Amando Navarette Osório (1890–1946) was a Filipino Visayan poet, playwright, novelist, and Cebu deputy governor. His novel Daylinda, Ang Walay Palad was the first historical fiction in Cebuano literature and the third novel written in Cebuano language.
Florentino Suico was a Filipino Visayan public school teacher and prolific writer, fictionist, poet, and journalist from Cebu, Philippines. He was known for his historical fiction written in Cebuano language.
Manuel Cabahug Briones was Filipino Visayan lawyer, judge, and politician from Cebu, Philippines. He was the first Supreme Court Associate Justice from Cebu, and he was a former Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals, two-term Senator, Member of the House of Representative for four consecutive terms, and editor from Cebu, Philippines.
Buenaventura Perez Rodriguez was a playwright, the governor of Cebu, Philippines from 1937 until 1940, and a member of the House of Representatives for two terms. He was the first Cebu governor of the Philippine Commonwealth.
Florentino D. Tecson was a Filipino Visayan lawyer, politician, editor, writer, and labor leader from Cebu, Philippines. He edited pre-war Cebuano periodicals such as Bag-ong Kusog and published his own newspaper, Ang Mamumuo, and a book of fiction, Lingawon Ko Ikaw. A known labor leader, he was the president of Federacion Obrero de Filipinas. He served as councilor of Naga and Cebu City and was appointed as Vice Mayor of Cebu City (1954–1955).
Pio Abelgas Kabahar, also known as Piux A. Kabahar, was a Cebuano composer, playwright, journalist, and director. He was best known as a playwright, he was the director of the first Cebuano moving picture, Bertoldo ug Balodoy.
Vicente Arandia Gullas was a Filipino writer, lawyer, and educator from Cebu, Philippines. Founder of the Visayan Institute, he introduced innovation in educational system through the establishment of working student and study-now-pay-later schemes and of satellite schools to allow students from locations outside Cebu City. In 2019, he was hailed as one of the top 100 Cebuano personalities.