In 1961, the 9th World Congress of the International Theatre Institute designated the 27th of March of every year as World Theatre Day. Since then, all the ITI National Centers throughout the world commemorate the event. The celebration seeks "to promote international exchange of knowledge and practice in the domain of the performing arts, to stimulate creation and increase cooperation between theatre people, to make public opinion aware of the necessity of taking artistic creation into consideration in the domain of development, to deepen mutual understanding in order to participate in strengthening peace and friendship among peoples, to join in the defence of the ideals and aims of UNESCO."
As part of the celebration, every year an outstanding figure in the theatre is invited to give his or her reflections on theatre and international harmony. Jean Cocteau had the distinction of delivering the very first International Message in 1962. This year the honor goes to Michel Tremblay, an outstanding Canadian playwright from Quebec. His message is clear and timely. It is that the role of the theatre has not changed since the time of the Greeks. Secondly, the universality of any theatre presentation is not found in the place where it was written but in its humanity. Consequently, only authors who write about themselves and their own times write about mankind for all times.
We have very limited theatre activities in the Philippines and the sad part is that most of the plays performed are foreign plays. This is because we have a dearth of local plays. We have actors and actresses who have made names abroad. Two classic examples are Cocoy Laurel and Lea Salonga. The unfortunate part is that they have never had the opportunity to perform Filipino characters abroad. Undoubtedly, we have a surplus of talent here. Our local productions of Broadway plays are as good, if not better, than their originals abroad. The big question is: "Where are our local playwrights?" Why have they not come out with a play that can measure up to world standards?
This is the question that should concern our theatre groups not only during World Theatre Day but all throughout the year.
Thanks to the Bayanihan, Filipino folk dances have been exhibited and appreciated everywhere. Today, the most appreciated art form is the musical comedy. We have the gift for music and dance. All we lack is a good librettist.