THEATER ICONS

IN THE
PHILIPPINES

SUBMITTED BY: NORVIN REIN D. MOLINA

JUSTIN GABRIEL L. SOLIS

SUBMITTED TO: MR.SANDY PAJARILLO

 LEA SALONGA
Maria Lea Carmen Imutaan Salonga, (born February 22, 1971) is a Filipina singer
and actress, best known for her roles in musical theatre, for supplying the singing
voices of two Disney Princesses, and as a recording artist and television performer. At
age 18, she originated the lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon,first in the West
End and then on Broadway,winning the Olivier and Theatre World Awards,and
becoming the first Asian woman to win a Tony Award.Salonga is the first Filipino artist
to sign with an international record label (Atlantic Records in 1993).Salonga was the
first actress of Asian descent to play the roles of Éponine and Fantine in the musical
Les Misérables on25th anniversary Broadway. She also portrayed Éponine and
Fantine, respectively, in the musical's 10th and concerts in London. She provided the
singing voices of two official Disney Princesses:Jasmine in Aladdin (1992) and Fa
Mulan in Mulan (1998). She was named a Disney Legend in 2011 for her work with
The Walt Disney Company.Salonga starred as Me i-li in the 2002 Broadway version of
Flower Drum Song. She has played numerous other stage, film and TV roles in the
US, the Philippines and elsewhere. She has toured widely in the title role of Cinderella,
among other roles, and as a concert artist. From 2015 to 2016, she returned to
Broadway in Allegiance, and from 2017 to 2019 she appeared in the Broadway revival
of Once on This Island.
 LAMBERTO V. AVELLANA
Lamberto Avellana's career in film starter with an offer of then General Carlos P.
Romulo to direct a film on the revolutionary hero Macario Sakay for the big screen.
Although his wife, Daisy (Hintiveros-Avellana) apparently chided him for not knowing
the first thing about movies, Avellana was not dissuaded and Daisy ended up writing
the screenplay. "Sakay" jumped-started what came to be Avellana innovative
introduction of a point of view replacing the traditional eye level camera angle in film
storytelling. With the assistance of William "Pop" Jansen, a man he acknowledges as
mentor in his starting years, Avellana learned the nitty gritty of film-making and at the
age 23 was dubbed "The Boy Wonder of Philippines Movies. "Sakay" was adjudged
best film of 1939, cheered for its technical aspects and especially for realism that
uncommon in Philippines cinema. The fly in the ointment was their portrayal of "Sakay"
as bandit instead of revolutionary, which belatedly Avellana realized had been based
on American propaganda materials of the time, His son Mari Avallana, who was later
to follow in his directorial footsteps, tell us that his dad was so disturbed by the
mistaken portrayal that he had always planned a remake the wrong but died before
this was realized.
 ATANG DE LA RAMA
Honorata de la Rama-Hernandez (January 11, 1902 – July 11, 1991), commonly
known as Atang de la Rama, was a singer and bodabil performer who became the first
Filipina film actress.Atang de la Rama was born in Pandacan, Manila on January 11,
1902. By the age of 7, she was already starring in Spanish zarzuelas such as
Mascota, Sueño de un Vals, and Marina. At the age of 15, she starred in the sarsuela
Dalagang Bukid, where she became known for singing the song, Nabasag na Banga.
During the American occupation of the Philippines, Atang de la Rama fought for the
dominance of the kundiman, an important Philippine folk song, and the sarsuela,
which is a musical play that focused on contemporary Filipino issues such as usury,
cockfighting, and colonial mentality. Generations of Filipino artists and audiences
consider Atang de la Rama's vocal and acting talents as responsible for much of the
success of original Filipino sarsuelas like Dalagang Bukid, and dramas like
Veronidia.She has also been a theatrical producer, writer and talent manager. She was
the producer and the writer of plays such as Anak ni Eva and Bulaklak ng
Kabundukan. For her achievements and contributions to the art form, she was hailed
Queen of the Kundiman and of the Sarsuela in 1979, at the age of 74.Atang believed
that art should be for everyone; not only did she perform in major Manila theaters such
as the Teatro Libertad and the Teatro Zorilla, but also in cockpits and open plazas in
Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. She also made an effort to bring the kundiman and
sarsuela to the indigenous peoples of the Philippine such as the Igorots, the Aetas,
and the Mangyans. She was also at the forefront of introducing Filipino culture to
foreign audiences. At the height of her career, she sang kundimans and other Filipino
songs in concerts in such cities as Hawaii, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City,
Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo. On May 8, 1987, "for her sincere devotion to
original Filipino theater and music, her outstanding artistry as singer, and as sarsuela
actress-playwright-producer, her tireless efforts to bring her art to all sectors of Filipino
society and to the world," President Corazon C. Aquino proclaimed Atang de la Rama
a National Artist of the Philippines for Theater and Music. Atang de la Rama died on
July 11, 1991. She was married to National Artist for Literature,Amado V. Hernandez.
 LINO BROCKA
Catalino Ortiz Brocka(April 3, 1939–May 22, 1991) was a Filipino
film dirilipino filmmakers in the history of Philippine cinema. He co-
founded the organization Concerned Artists of the Philippines
(CAP), dedicated to helping artists address issues confronting the
country, and the Free the Artist Movement[1][2][better source
needed]and was a member of the Coalition for the Restoration of
Democracy.[3]He directed landmark films such as Tinimbang Ka
Ngunit Kulang (1974), Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag
(1975),Insiang(1976),Bayan Ko: Kapit sa Patalim (1984), and
Orapronobis(1989). After his death in a car accident in 1991, he
was posthumously given the National Artist of the Philippines for
Film award for "having made significant contributions to the
development of Philippine arts."ector. He is widely regarded as
one of the most influential and significantficant contributions to the
development of philippine arts.
 MONIQUE WILSON
Monica Anne Esteva Wilson (born May 4, 1970), usually credited as Monique Wilson,
is a Filipina theater and film actress and women's rights activist. She began her
professional career at the age of nine. At 18 she was understudy for the lead role of
Kim in the original London West End production of Miss Saigon, later starring in the
role. Wilson began her professional career in 1980, at age 9, with Repertory
Philippines as an orphan in the musical Annie. Over the succeeding seasons, she
performed roles in many other musicals. At the age of 14, she starred at the musical
Evita. In 1988, at the age of 18, she auditioned for a role in Miss Saigon in the original
West End production and was cast as the understudy of the title role, Kim. After a year,
she replaced Lea Salonga in the role.She later earned a BA in Theatre from the
University of the Philippines in Diliman and studied at the London Academy of
Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), receiving its postgraduate certificate in classical acting.
 RYAN CAYABYAB
Ryan Cayabyab (born Raymundo Cipriano Pujante Cayabyab on May 4, 1954 in
Manila, Philippines), also known as Mr. C, is a Filipino musician, composer and
conductor; he was Executive and Artistic Director for several years of the defunct San
Miguel Foundation for the Performing Arts. He was named a National Artist of the
Philippines in 2018.[2]
His works range from commissioned full-length ballets, theater musicals, choral
pieces, a Mass set to unaccompanied chorus, and orchestral pieces, to commercial
recordings of popular music, film scores and television specials.
Cayabyab's current project includes the Ryan Cayabyab Singers (RCS), a group of
seven young adult singers comparable to his group Smokey Mountain in the early
1990s. After FreemantleMedia decided not to renew the Philippine Idol franchise,
Cayabyab transferred to rival show Pinoy Dream Academy (season 2), replacing Jim
Paredes as the show's headmaster. PDA 2 started on June 14, 2008. He also became
the chairman of the board of judges for GMA Network's musical-reality show To The
Top.
He is the executive director of the Philpop MusicFest Foundation Inc., the organization
behind the Philippine Popular Music Festival. This songwriting competition for
amateurs and professionals puts the spotlight on songwriters and encourages Filipinos
to preserve their unique musical identity.
 FERNANDO POE JR.
Ronald Allan Kelley Poe (August 20, 1939 – December 14, 2004), better known as
Fernando Poe Jr. and colloquially known as FPJ and Da King, was a Filipino actor,
director and politician. His long career as an action film star earned him the nickname
"King of Philippine Movies" (often shortened to Da King). During the latter part of his
career, Poe was defeated by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the fraudelent
2004 Philippine presidential election. Poe was posthumously declared aNational Artist
of the Philippines for Film on May 23, 2006 by Former President Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo. The award was confirmed by Former President Benigno Aquino III on July 20,
2012, and was presented to his family on August 16.Poe was the son of Filipino actor
Fernando Poe Sr. (born Allan Fernando Poe y Reyes), a native from San Carlos,
Pangasinan and Elizabeth "Bessie" Kelley, an Irish American mestiza. He was born in
Manila on August 20, 1939.His parents were not legally married when he was born,
they were later married in 1940. In 2004, Poe's political opponents tried to derail his
bid for the 2004 Philippine presidency when they sought to disqualify him as an
illegitimate son of a non-Filipino mother.He was the second among six siblings and it
from his brother And (born Fernando Poe II), whose given name Poe used as his own
professional name, to bank on the popularity of his father who was a top actor in his
time. Conrad Poe was Poe's half-brother, the illegitimate son of Fernando Poe Sr. and
actress Patricia Mijares.Pou is the original spelling of the family's surname from his
paternal grandfather, playwright Lorenzo Pou, a Catalan migrant from Majorca,
Spain, who ventured into mining and business in the Philippines.
 KIDLAT TAHIMIK
Eric de Guia (born October 3, 1942 in Baguio City, Philippines), better
known as Kidlat Tahimik (a Tagalog translation of "silent lightning"), is a film
director, writer and actor whose films are commonly associated with
the Third Cinema movement through their critiques of neocolonialism. For
his contributions to the development of Philippine independent cinema, he
was recognized in 2018 as a National Artist of the Philippines for Film - a
conferment which represents the Philippine state's highest recognition for
artists.
One of the most prominent names in the Filipino film industry, he has
garnered various accolades locally and internationally, including
a Plaridel honorarium for Independent Cinema. He is dubbed by fellow
filmmakers and critics as the "Father of Philippine Independent Cinema".
In recent years, Tahimik has become a noted installation artist with his
works exhibited in various public spaces in the Philippines
 NORA AUNOR
Nora Aunor (bornNora Cabaltera Villamayor; May 21, 1953)is a Filipin
actress, recording artist, and film producer. Aunor has also appeared in
several stage plays, television shows, and concerts. She is knowother
Filipino actor in both FAMAS and Gawad Urian award giving bodies. She has
won eight trophies from PMPC Star Awards for her work in television and
movies, eight Metro Manila Film Festival, four Luna Awards, five Young
Critics Circle Awards, a Cairo Film Festival award, an Asia Pacific Screen
Awards, an Asian Film Awards, among others.
In 1983, Aunor was recognized as one of The Outstanding Women in the
Nation’s Service (TOWNS) in the Field of the Arts. In 1999, Aunor received
the Centennial Honors for the Arts awarded by the Cultural Center of the
Philippines(CCP).She was the only film actress included in the list of
awardees. In 2010, she was hailed by the Green Planet Movie Awards as
one of the "10 Asian Best Actresses of the Decade". She received the Ani ng
Dangal Award (Harvest of Honors). from the National Commission for
Culture and the Arts in 2013, 2014 and 2016. In 2013, she received the
"Light of Culture Awards from Philippine Centre of the International Theatre
Institute and the ITI-Earthsavers UNESCO Dream Center for pioneering in
the integration of theater, television, and film. In 2014, Aunor is the
recipient of University of the Philippines College of Mass
Communications, Gawad Plaridel Award. On September 17, 2015,n
as Philippine cinema's "Superstar" and is regarded as the People's National
Artist. The Hollywood Reporter called her "The Grand Dame of Philippine
Cinema" for her performance in the movie Taklub.
Aunor started her career in the Philippine entertainment industry as a
singer after she won an amateur singing contest. She made her film debut
with All Over the World (1967) and appeared in youth-oriented films
produced by Vera-Perez Pictures and United Brothers Production. Aunor
transformed herself into a serious actress and came to be regarded as an
acting heavyweight, performing in films such as Tatlong taong walang
Diyos (1976), Himala (1982), Bona (1980), The Flor Contemplacion
Story (1995) and Thy Womb (2012) which gave her international and local awards and
nominations.
Aunor received 17 FAMAS Award nominations and was elevated to the "Hall of Fame"
after winning five Best Actress Awards. She is the most nominated actress of Gawad
Urian Awards with 21 nominations, winning seven. She has more nominations as Best
Actress than any Aunor was conferred the Gawad CCP para sa Sining for Film and
Broadcast Arts, the highest award given by the Cultural Center of the Philippines. She
was also conferred of the Gusi Peace Prize in 2015
Aunor is also one of the few Asian actresses to be nominated as best actress in three
Asian film awards namely: 6th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Australia
(winner), 55th Asia Pacific Film Festival (APFF) in Macau. and in the 7th Asian Film
Awards (AFA) in Hong Kong (winner) for the movie Thy Womb.
 PEN MEDINA
Crispin "Pen" Medina Sr.(born August 27, 1950) is a Filipino actor born in Arayat,
Pampanga, Philippines. He is known for his role as Paciano Rizal in the award-
winning film José Rizal shown for the Metro Manila Film Festival in 1998.
Pen Medina is one of the most notable actors of his time, doing versatile roles in both
the big screen and on various television shows. He is also the
second KFC Filipino Colone.
Pen Medina is the father of Karl Medina, Crispin "Ping" Medina II, Alex Medina, Japs
Medina, Victor Medina, and Zeth Medina. His sons Ping and Alex, who both had their
roots in indie films, are currently active in local television. His other sons Karl and
Victor have followed suit by taking on acting roles in other indie films as well.