Rev. Fr. Eduardo Perez, OSA (Rector, University of San Agustin)
USA LITTLE THEATER. The USA Little Theater is the resident theater company of the University of San Agustin (USA) in Iloilo City. The beginnings of the group can be traced back in 1964 when Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero conducted a seminar among theater enthusiats in the USA. This activity led to the organization of the USA Little Theater (USALT) in 1965 through the efforts of Fr. Eduardo Perez, OSA, the Rector of USA. The group had the following aims: to help the students appreciate English language and literature; to tap the dramatic talents of the students for cultural productions, and to foster camaraderie among the students. The first Board of Directors was composed of Fr. Perez, General Director; Sinforosa Yasa, Chairman; Enrique Pio Campos, Stage Adviser; Pilar Zaldarriaga, Speech Adviser; Fr. Rafael Lopez, OSA, Adviser for Literature. In 1970, Fr. Perez transferred to Colegio de San Agustin Bacolod and the supervision of the group was placed under a new director, Rolando Agnas. In subsequent years, the position of Artistic Director was created which was occupied by Eddie Hacildo, Radigunda Montero, Dennis Batacandolo, and Emilio Sudaria. Since 2004, Edward Divinagracia has served as Artistic Director.
During the first five years of its existence, the group has already staged a total of 34 plays mounted by 19 directors, who were mostly faculty members of USA. In its inaugural year alone, the group already presented nine plays. Among these were Angel Magahum’s Bumaliskad ang Paya , Glenn Hughes’ Red Carnations, Guerrero’s Three Rats, and Millard Lampell’s The Wall. The staging of Western and Filipino plays continued in the succeeding years with the mounting of Antole France’s Raiders to a Dumb, 1966; Guerrero’s The Question Mark, 1967; E. Starkey’s Mind Over Matter, 1967; Rupert Brooke’s The Stranger, 1967; Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, 1967; Joaquin Calvo Sotelo’s La Sombra Pasa, La Muralla, 1967; Susan Glaspell’s Suppressed Desires, 1967; William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, 1968; Oliphant Dawn’s The Maker of Dreams, 1968; Jose Maria Peman’s The Red Hut and the Marshall, 1968; Thornton Wilder’s The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden, 1969; and Arthur Kopit’s Oh Dad, Poor Dad, 1969. In the 1970s, USALT produced 24 plays; in 1980s, 10 plays; and 1990s, 16 plays. Despite the decrease in the number of plays, there was a significant change in the kind of plays that the group mounted. Since the 1980s, there was a gradual shift towards plays written by Filipinos and in Filipino and West Visayan languages. Among these plays were USA faculty member Dennis Batcandolo’s original Ilongo play El Amor Solo es para Los Jovenes—Ang Paghigugma Indi Para sa mga Tigulang ( ), 1982; Paul Dumol’s Paglilitis ni Mang Serapio (Trial of Old Serapio), 1990; Armand Sta. Ana’s Tatlong Maria (Three Maries), 1994; Rene Villanueva’s May Isang Sundalo (There Was a Soldier), 1994; and Jose Dalisay Jr.’s Pagsabog ng Liwanag (Scattering Light), 1995.
USALT hosted the Theater for All Program-Iloilo of the 31st UNESCO-International Theater Institute World Congress in 2006. It hosted the 1st Tanghal: The National University Theater Festival and Conference in 2007. Since then, it has been participating in this annual theater event held in various parts of the country. It also participated in the International University Theater Association (IUTA)–Philippines Conference and Workshop in 2013. It also manages cultural events of the University including arts competitions, velada (musical revues), Pang-abiabi (General Orientation), Patron Saint’s Day, KaSanAg sang Paskwa (Tge ) and University Week. It organizes theater gatherings including Company Call in 2007 and 2010 for high school theater groups and Kuris Kuris Theater Jam in 2014 to celebrate World Theater Day. The group conducts its own theater workshops on acting, directing, playwriting, stage and production management, technical theater as well as leadership, teambuilding and strategic planning. It has been conducting the annual Eksena since 2003 which features new plays and serves as a laboratory for homegrown theater work.
From a theater group that showcased mostly western plays, USALT transformed its repertoire highlighting the culture and realities of the region; Philippine theater and literary forms and motifs; Philippine languages such as Hiligaynon and Kiniray-a, thus contributing to raising the awareness of the Filipino audience to the wealth of Philippine theater and culture.
(CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art G. S. Zafra)
More recent productions are devised performances by USALT members including #Shookt (2017), Shookt!! (2019) and Shookt in Quarantine (2020), Celina Tierra (2020) and Snow (2021), an adaptation of Snieg (Snow) Stanislaw Przybyszewski (1903). At the start of the COVID19 pandemic it launched a series of online shorts Kwentong Quarantine in March – May 2020 and Maria Clara 2020. It also provide artistic direction the adaptation of festivals into virtual platforms including Iloilo Dinagyang Digital 2021, Iloilo-Guimaras Paraw Regatta Festival 2021 and Iloilo Charter Day Digital 2021.
