MUSIC -SCENERY - is presented using
props that symbolize location like
WHAT IS A MUSICAL PLAY?
- A musical play is a form of
theatrical presentation. It is
popular because of the
combination of songs, spoken
dialogue, acting, and dancing
which makes it more endearing
and entertaining.
- An idea, including the emotional
content of a musical – love,
anger, nostalgia, bemusement,
and/or humor – is presented
through the use of music and
drama elements like dialogue,
movement, space, stage,
scenery, costumes, and special
effects.​
- In a musical play, an idea is
matched with an instrumental
music or song that carries a
similar theme, and is used to
serve either as accompaniment
or as carrier of dialogue. The idea
that surfaces or that is
accompanied by music is then
presented in live performance or
a recorded one for a scheduled
show.​
THEATRICAL ELEMENTS:
- DIALOGUE - surfaces as lyrics
or songs. Its melody is used to
highlight mood and tone.
- ACTING - is accompanied with
either songs or instrumental
music. ​ Things” and “Do, Re, Mi” from
trees for a park, a chair or a table
for a part of a house, or a huge
image of a car for a street, etc.​
- LIGHTING - and other forms of
sound are also added to produce
effects. More importantly,
instrumental music that carries
parallel themes is included to
establish the play’s main theme.​
ELEMENTS OF A MUSICAL:
- SCORE - is written by a
composer. It is music for the
entire show, which is composed
of a number of songs. Songs are
incorporated into the story when
the scene is changing, a
character has made a decision,
and two characters are
interacting or when the story
needs a pick-me-up dialogue.​
- LYRICS - The lyrics are the
words to the songs.​
- SCRIPT - which is also known as
the book, is the dialogue that the
actors speak.
WHAT IS A BROADWAY MUSICAL? ​
- Broadway is America’s
contribution to musical drama.
The characteristics of opera
remains except for the recitative
part because of the spoken
dialogue. Broadway has a
particular style so it is easily
appreciated by ordinary people.
Some of the most popular
Broadways are: “My Favorite
“The Music”; “Getting to know
 You” from “The King and I”; illusory world in which the
“Sunset, Sunset” from “Fiddler on production takes place. ​
The Roof”; “All I Ask of You” from
“Phantom of The Opera”; “On My HOW DOES TECHNOLOGY AFFECT
Own”; “I Dreamed a Dream”; “Do THE MUSIC INDUSTRY?
You Hear The People Sing” from
“Les Misérables”; “Bali Hai” from
“South Pacific”; and “Sun and
Moon” from “Miss Saigon”.​
- Our very own Lea Salonga,
Joanna Ampil, and Rachel
Alejandro made it to Broadway.
Lea became very popular
internationally because of her
great performance in Miss
Saigon​.
KEY ORGANIZERS OF A MUSICAL:
- Choreographer – creates the
dances and manages the overall
movements of the performance to
match the director’s vision.​
WHAT ARE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF
- Costume Designer – decides
COMPUTERS AND OTHER FORMS
and oversees the creation of
OF TECHNOLOGY ON THE
what the actors will wear.​
PRESENTATION OF MODERN
- Director – organizes all of the
MUSICAL PLAYS?​
elements and key players into his
- The life-transforming effects of
or her overall vision for the
music is evident in the ways
performance.​
people communicate, store
- Lighting Designer – makes sure
information, and produce new
that everything on stage is seen
music sounds and images.
or not seen according to plan;
During the 1980’s when the effect
sets the mood of each scene;
of modern technology first made
creates or sets the atmosphere
an impact on the theater,
and time of day.​
audiences were awed by the
- Musical Director – conducts the
ways sounds, lights, and even
actors while singing as well as
theater set were, to some degree,
the instrumentalist who play the
generated electronically.​
score.​
- Because of the probability of
- Set Designer – plans and
electronic devices, various kinds
oversees the creation of the
of images and sound effects may
 be conjured using electronic
devices. Even more interesting,
sounds may be heard by people
simultaneously using a laptop. In
fact, a presentation that may be
taking place in any country may
be heard and seen using tablet
computers. Through the use of
technology, multimedia
performances are now at
everyone’s reach.​
WHAT ARE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF
SOCIAL MEDIA TO THE MUSIC
INDUSTRY?​
- Not too long ago, fans would
converge in a coliseum or a park
just to hear musical performance.
While this may still be a fad, the
advent of social media has made
it possible for people to watch
certain performances at any
place of their convenience using
a computer or any portable
multimedia device. This way,
people may watch presentations
by merely going online.​
- In addition, social media is
making it possible for people to
organize their own groups where
they share their views about
musical performances.
Furthermore, to obtain updates
about their favorite music tracks,
people now use different social
media sites or blogs.​
- Interestingly, by using social
media, fans now monitor music
performers, obtain information
about the venue and schedule of
performances, or even purchase
music.​
ARTS
PHILIPPINE THEATRE GROUP
- Theater productions are usually
done by professionals who are
inspired and enthusiastic about
their work and who make their
living on the stage. They cover all
phases of theater – acting,
staging, production, methods,
and directing – to bring on the
legitimate stage that the best
actors play for each season. ​
Philippine Educational Theater
Association (PETA)​- is more than a
theater company; it is an innovative
theater group cultivating a modern
perspective on Philippine art and
society. It moves toward issue-based
theater and helps bring about social and
political awareness and change through
its programs, performances, and
workshops.​
TANGHALANG PILIPINO (TP) -
Organized in 1987, Tanghalang Pilipino
is another leading exponent of
Philippine theater. Working under the
umbrella of the Cultural Center of the
Philippines, TP is known for its
production of original Filipino plays. Its
effort to develop and train Filipino
actors, playwrights, and designers
through the stage plays from Philippine
past, and at times, plays from other
countries that were translated or
adapted to Filipino setting, is part of
TP’s mandate to educate and awaken
the cultural consciousness of the Filipino
audience. ​
- WALANG SUGAT, ZSAZSA
ZATURNA DE MUZIKAL,
IBALNG MUZKAL
REPERTORY PHILIPPINES - Repertory
Philippines Foundation, Inc. began in
1967 when two women, Zenaida
Amador and Baby Barredo, dreamed of
giving Filipinos a chance to watch a
world-class play, Miss Julie, in their own
country.​
Baby Barredo and Zenaida Amador,
founders and artistic directors of
Repertory Philippines, are undoubtedly
the two great pillars of Philippine
theater. Together, they built Repertory
Philippines with undying passion,
dedication, and persistence in the face
of seemingly insurmountable challenges
and difficulties. ​ Broadway materials, Trumpets create
- They have contributed
immeasurably to the world-class
quality of Repertory Philippines’
production over its more than 45
years of existence in the capacity
as director, actress, costume, and
set designer, and musical
director. They shaped and honed
the talents of generations of
Filipino actors and actresses who
have themselves attained
recognition on their own right. ​
- Repertory Philippines has
produced blockbuster shows that
include well-known musicals,
such as Les Miserables, Evita,
Jack and the Beanstalk the
Musical, The Producers, Alice in
Wonderland, and many more.​
NEW VOICE COMPANY (NVC) -
Internationally acclaimed theater artist
Monique Wilson founded the New Voice
Company (NVC) to help expose
Philippine audiences to an awareness of
the many social and political concerns in
the country through theater arts.​
The company became famous when it
produced The Vagina Monologues
abroad and in the Philippines since
2001 to help change the laws on sex
trafficking and domestic violence in the
country. ​
TRUMPETS - As Asia’s first
professional gospel theater group,
Trumpets is known for wholesome
family entertainment musicals such as
The Little Mermaid, Joseph the
Dreamer, and The Blue Bird. Unlike
other English theater companies who
get their performing rights from
new musicals for emerging Filipino
talents whose passion is to make their
dreams of performing for hundreds and
thousands of people come true​.
WHAT ARE LOCAL PERFORMING
GROUPS?
- In the Philippines,
non-professional theater has also
helped keep the legitimate stage
alive and strong. ​
- With the commercial theater
centered in Metro Manila and few
shows undertaking tours or closer
to home, theater lovers have
found an outlet in the local or
little-theater movement. ​
 - Here, small groups of amateurs
produce plays largely for the
benefit of small, congenial
audiences.
- Many of these little theaters have
grown into large-scale community
organizations. ​
- They draw their acting and
production personnel not from
professionals but from people in
all walks of life and reach large
audiences with their production. ​
- The school theater is an example
of theater in the non-professional
field.​
The following are some more of the
bright developments in original
performance in the Philippines:​​
- The rise in the number of original
plays written and produced by
Filipino playwrights.​
- The increasing interest for
participatory and spontaneous
theater that revolves around
economic and social concerns of
communities.​
- A number of contemporary
Filipino playwrights and theater
groups are now asserting the
cultural identity and rights of the
Filipinos as a people. ​
- Social and political issues such
as social injustice, feminism,
good governance, and
perspectives on how the Filipino
has changed his or her values
and cultural symbols due to
modernization, industrialization,
and commercialization have
become popular themes in many
plays and other stage
productions.​
- The new trend on the utilization
of new technology in stage
productions, featuring spectacles
– never-before-seen stage
productions characterized by
animatronics, flamboyant sets,
and vibrant costume designs –
that harmonize majestic
state-of-the-art theaters. ​
ROLES IN A THEATRE PRODUCTION
- Play production offers many
opportunities that you may well
find more stimulating and exciting
than acting. All the activities
involved in the design and
construction of sets and
costumes, the handling of lighting
equipment, and the managing of
affairs backstage and in the front
are of absorbing interest when a
play gets underway. ​
WHO IS A DIRECTOR?
- The key figure in theater
production is the director. His or
her principal aim is to reproduce
the playwright’s intentions as
faithfully as he or she can. ​
- The director must discover the
values and meanings of the play. ​
- Then he or she must work to
bring out the story through the
actors, the choreographer, stage
manager, light and set designers,
and other resources at his or her
disposal. ​
- Ideally, he or she should be an
excellent actor, scenic artist, and
 stage “techie,” able to handle
technology, equipment, and
human beings with equal skill. ​
Who is a stage manager? What are
set, lighting, and sound design?​
- The stage manager is the
architect of the performing arts.
The tasks are about structuring
lights, structuring a look. It’s also
about coordination. The stage
manager’s role is a marriage of
all the elements needed, while
satisfying all the requirements of
the particular production. ​
SET DESIGNER/PRODUCTION
DESIGNER
- A production of a play largely
depends on the set that a set
manager and production designer
have prepared. The set includes
all the sceneries, furniture, and
props that the audience sees on
stage. ​
- to give the audience an idea
about the concept of the
production​
- to provide the space that will fulfill
the requirement of the script​
- to ensure a safe workplace for
actors and crew​
COSTUME, MASK, AND
ACCESSORIES DESIGNER
- Costume is also a visual element
of theater. Costumes aid in
creating visually pleasing and
effective performances. They
help create atmosphere and
define character for actors and
actresses so that their
performances would seem real
for their audience.​
- The number of times the
costumes were designed and
redesigned, measured and
adjusted, or fitted and refitted by
the cast themselves took time,
money, and effort to accomplish. ​
- In a way, the costume designer is
a sociologist. He or she has to
know costumes, customs,
manners – to know what are
being dealt with in terms of
materials and fabrics and colors
for a particular location at a
particular time of year. The tasks
cannot be completed with a
vague idea. The role needs
specific training and knowledge.​
MAKE UP ARTIST
- Makeup has several functions. It
accentuates normal features so
that they can be clearly projected
to the audience, and it helps to
create a character. It also
counteracts the undesirable
effects of artificial illumination.
Amateurs are also often more
comfortable onstage if they can
lose their own identity under face
paint or makeup.​
- On the stage, makeup must be
handled with special care.
Youthful faces do not always
adapt themselves readily to older
roles, and heavy makeup –
expertly applied – looks “cheap”
or tacky. Normally, only the
slightest amount of makeup
should be used. It is much better
 to err by using too little than to
use too much. ​
WHAT IS A PROGRAM OR DESIGN
BRIEF?
- The production designer meets
with the design team to discuss
the details of the set and the
director’s interpretation, vision,
and feel of the production. With
him or her is a design brief. In
school, the brief could be thought
of as the assignment. It tells the
students what is expected of
them to fulfill the parameters of a
project. ​
- the script of the play (everyone is
assumed to have read and
reread the script before meeting).
The script provides all the
particulars that the play requires,
such as the flow of the story,
scene changes, etc.​
- the style and tone of the whole
production​
- the budget, props, work
assignment, schedules, venues,
etc.​
Elements of Art as Applied to an
Original Performance​
THEME - The theme is the central idea
of the production. It can be clearly
stated through dialogue, bodily
movements, and gestures or kinesthetic
movements (dances), songs, or can be
inferred after watching the entire
performance.​
- It may touch on any aspect of life.
It may concern itself with love,
courage and nationalism, politics,
greed, myths, legends, and one’s
search for happiness. Usually, the
better the theme, the better is the
presentation.​
PLOT - The plot is the story line. It is
what is happening. Sandosenang
Sapatos tells the story of a differently
abled girl, Susie, born with no feet. ​
- Every year, on the night before
her birthday, the Shoe Fairy
arrives in her dreams and gives
her legs and a pair of shoes,
allowing her to dance at least for
a night. But when her shoemaker
father became sick, Susie
demands that the Shoe Fairy give
her a pair of feet to fulfill her
father’s wish of seeing her
become a ballerina. The rest of
the story is about her discovery of
life.​
CHARACTERS - The actors and
actresses are the various characters
interwoven with the plot of the play.
Each character has a personality of its
and has a responsibility of bringing the
character he or she is playing to life. ​
- Many people imprint a special
feeling about these performers on
the stage and look up to them as
someone wonderful. It is they, the
actors and actresses, who are
most likely to be remembered by
the audience. ​
SCRIPT OR LIBRETTO - The story is
taken forward by means of the libretto of
script. The story is narrated, danced
around, or sang through this important
element. ​
 - The success of the play depends
hugely on how well the librettist
or scriptwriter wrote the dialogue,
and on the quality of the delivery
of the same by the actors or
actresses.​
MUSIC OR SOUND
There are three basic kinds of sound
for plays: Natural sounds, music, and
dialogue.​
1. Natural sounds give a scene in a
play a feeling of authenticity. The
audience picks up these sounds as they
occur. When the scene shows two
performers entering a room, the
audience hears voices, a distant
dialogue, then the creaking sound of the
rickety door makes as they open it, or
perhaps the barking of a dog that one of
them is carrying – all these sounds are
natural to bring realism to the play.​
2. When the music is added to a
performance, a new dimension occurs –
the music is both real and unreal. It
adds to the realism because it affects
our emotions, involving us more deeply.
However, it is unreal, because life
episodes or situations, as they happen,
are not accompanied by any music.​
​3. Music composers and lyricists
collaborate to compose music that will
go with the dialogue of the play. A
play’s dialogue impacts better with the
audience if it is accompanied by a
suitable piece of music.​