These are just some of the true stories that lumads and Moro women from the south will present to those who are willing to hear them out – and actually listen – at the Sixth Women Playwrights International Conference, ongoing until Nov. 20 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
The plight of these young emerging playwrights from the regions, particularly from the T’bolis and the Maranaos, will come under scrutiny once they are performed on stage and discussed with other women playwrights from all over the world. Hopefully, such interaction will result in a deeper understanding among these kindred souls so that, with one voice, they could declare their right to express themselves to the world.
While such goals could sound overwhelming for some, the playwrights themselves are optimistic that, slowly but surely, they are going to be heard and listened to. They’ve been at it for the last six conferences and there’s just no stopping them now.
Award-winning playwright Malou Jacob is one such woman who has seen the wisdom of expressing oneself through theater. "The idea is to bring together women playwrights from all over the world so they could exchange ideas, read each other’s plays and compare techniques in the hope of finding answers to the needs of their own respective communities," she says of the conference which was first held in Buffalo, New York in 1988.
According to Jacob, about 150 delegates are expected to participate with playwrights coming in from India, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt, Yugoslavia, the US, Canada, Australia and Africa, to name a few. Respected Filipino playwrights who are based abroad, such as Jessica Hagedorn, and Virginia Moreno, along with Ellen Stewart of the US, Marina Carr of Ireland and Dijana Milosevic from Serbia, Yugoslavia, are among the participants. Apart from plenary and drama sessions, the conference will also present nightly performances of their works. Featured evening performances include Mendung Sabal performed by a T’boli chanter, Japan’s Hanaarashi, a performance by East Timor’s Maria Nunes, to name some.
The conference’s theme is "Women Making Theater in a Changing World" with several subthemes (i.e. gender and sexuality, racism and justice, spirituality and tradition and shifting boarders and boundaries) being tackled during the drama sessions. The conference is being sponsored by the WPI-Philippines, Cultural Center of the Philippines, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Japan Foundation, Asian Cultural Council, ITI Philippines and the Australia Council for the Arts.
Since this is the first time the conference is being held in Asia, Jacob and company decided to make it "a more balanced conference" by also inviting playwrights from developing and underdeveloped countries. This year will see the participation of emerging playwrights from Latin America, Africa and Asia. The idea is to have these women interact with each other on a deeper level, so organizers have mixed them up in a way that will enable them to mingle and learn about whole new cultures.
For example, Jacob tells us that delegates from Mexico will act as facilitators in the Filipino playwrights’ afternoon sessions. "They don’t have to know anything about the culture so the forum becomes more exciting," she says.
There is also a development not been done in the other conferences, says Jacob, of presenting emerging playwrights. "We’ve always had seasoned playwrights in the past, and I think it’s now time for young playwrights to be heard. In this conference, we asked seasoned playwrights to act as facilitators instead," adds Jacob, who heads the Women Playwrights International-Philippines (WPI-Phils.).
It’s also important, she explains, to encourage these young emerging playwrights to focus on the babaylan – women elders – who are the original playwrights "who wrote not only in words but told their stories in chants, dance and music."
Writing in their own language, she stresses, is also important if these playwrights want to get their message across. "I always tell them during my workshops that language is the soul of the people. The goal is to communicate better with their own people and community and nobody can do it better but themselves. I’m sure the play will more honest and authentic if done in their own language," she says.
Perhaps used to reading and hearing about plays in Tagalog, English, or even Visayan, Jacob reveals that these young playwrights were, at first, surprised that they were being encouraged to write in their own language. However, over time, they finally saw the wisdom of this philosophy. And with it came the courage to express themselves and share their plights. Hopefully, she muses, society will understand and empathize with these women’s experiences.
"I think they will be noticed, heard and listened to. In their society, women are taken for granted. Perhaps these plays will make them think twice and see what cultural traditions do to their daughters. It’s all about changing the mindsets of society and how it perceives women," she says.
Jacob sees the 10 emerging Filipino playwrights as a core group from which other playwrights will emerge. Once they return to their communities, they will inspire other young writers to write their own stories.
"Once you have two or three playwrights in a community, then it’s important that their works are produced. The next step after that is to organize community theaters..." she adds.
As for playwrights from other countries, she says they must be able to come up with programs that will answer the needs of their respective communities.
"I think Philippine theater will see a renaissance. It will become alive again and will be more meaningful to everyone," she says.
The challenge is in convincing people to look beyond theater as mere entertainment, and making them look squarely at life unfolding onstage.
And what of the men? What are their roles in this whole scheme of things?
Jacob laughs and says, "Nothing. All they have to do is listen."
And listen well, at that.