NATIONAL ARTISTS

Theatre
Daisy Avellana
Daisy Avellana

• the so-called First Lady of the Philippine

Theatre because of her magnificent
performances in classic Filipino and
international theatre productions and plays
• well-known actor, writer, and director
• starred in Othello (1953), Macbeth in
Black (1959), Casa de Bernarda Alba
(1967), Tatarin, and both the film and
stage version of Portrait of the Artist as
Filipino
• directed Diego Silang (1968) and Walang
Sugat (1971)
• founded Barangay Theater Guild with her
husband, National Artist Lamberto
Avellana in 1939
Rolando Tinio
Rolando Tinio
• outstanding stage director, poet and
thespian, and playwright
• his works include film scripts for Now and
Forever, Gamitin Mo Ako, and Milagros,
sarswelas like Ang Mestiza and Ana
Maria, and komedya like Orosman at
Zafira
• established and became the administrator
of the Ateneo Experimental Theater and
later on handled the Teatro Pilipino where
he revived the sarswela and other
traditional Filipino drama and introduced
contemporary western drama
Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero
Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero
• a theatre teacher and artist that has
mentored many performing artists for 35
years
• introduced and popularized Philippine to
different parts of the country by
establishing the UP Mobile Theater, which
has delivered thousands of performances in
19 years
• his plays include Wanted: A Chaperon,
Half an Hour in a Convent, Forever,
Condemned, Perhaps, In Unity, Deep in
My Heart, Three Rats, Our Strange
Ways, The Forsaken House, and
Frustrations
Atang Dela Rama
Honorata “Atang Dela
Rama
• hailed as the Queen of Kundiman and
performed kundiman and Filipino songs
for indigenous communities all over the
country
• started acting in different Spanish
zarzuelas at the early age of seven
• the sarsuelas she became part of are
Dalagang Bukid, Mascota, Pangarap ni
Rosa, etc.
• popularized the songs Pakiusap, Ay
Kalisud, Madaling Araw, and Kung Iibig
Ka
• wrote the sarsuelas Puri at Bahay, Anak
ni Eba, and Aking Ina
Salvador F. Bernal
Salvador F. Bernal
• an exceptional theater designer who
designed hundreds of theatre productions
for a span of four decades
• was also a professor at the University of
the Philippines Diliman and Ateneo de
Manila University where he shared his
competencies to the aspiring young
designers
• established the PATDAT, or the Philippine
Association of Theatre Designers and
Technicians in 1995 and internationally
introduced the Philippine theater design
through the Philippine Center of OISTAT
or Organization Internationale des
Scenographers, Technicians et
Architectes du Theatre
Severino Montano
Severino Montano
• known as the Titan of Philippine Theater,
Montano took the lead in promoting
“legitimate theatre” in the country
• top-caliber playwright, theatre artist, and
director who took up degrees inside and
outside the country to master theatre arts
and share his learnings to younger Filipino
generations
• studied education at the University of the
Philippines and became the head of the UP
Dramatic club
• also studied at American University, Yale
University and New York University
• became the dean of the Philippine Normal
College when he founded the Arena
Theater in 1953