FILIPINO DRAMA DURING THE JAPANESE PERIOD

The drama experienced a lull during the Japanese period because movie houses showing American films were closed.

The big movie houses were just made to show stage shows.

Many of the plays were reproductions of English plays to Tagalog.

The translators were Francisco Soc Rodrigo, Alberto Concio, and Narciso Pimentel. They also founded the organization of Filipino players named Dramatic Philippines.

Francisco Soc Rodrigo

Francisco Soc RodrigoSoc Rodrigo was born on 29 January 1914 in

Bulacan, Bulacan, to food vendor Marcela Aldana and horse-carriage driver Melecio Rodrigo. He was a relative to the Filipino heroes Marcelo del Pilar and Gregorio del Pilar.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Education degrees from Ateneo de Manila and University of Santo Tomas, graduating magna cum laude and valedictorian. 

Rodrigo was a playwright in English and Tagalog. His most celebrated play was Sa Pula, Sa Puti. Some other famous works include Tagalog translations of works of Martyr of Golgotha and Cyrano de Bergerac.

Sa pula, Sa puti

Jose Ma. Hernandez(1904-1982)

Jose Ma. HernandezDramatist, Author and EducatorA distinguished man of letters, Jose Ma. Hernandez was born on June 19, 1904.  He graduated valedictorian from the Mabini Intermediate School and received the degree of Bachelor of Science in education from the University of the Philippines in 1928.  After graduation, he enrolled at Columbia University for the summer term of 1929.  He earned his master’s degree in English, cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. His thesis was, “The Philosophy of Joseph Conrad.” His most significant plays are “Panday Pira,” a historical drama in three acts which was presented by UP’s Rizal Center.

Panday Pira

Panday Pira was a play written by Jose Ma. Hernandez. It was a story of a Pampango Indio blacksmith who is acknowledge as “The First Filipino Cannon-maker” and on how he managed to work as an blacksmith during the time of Rajah Sulayman and Gov-Gen Miguel Lopez de Legazpi.

Clodualdo Del Mundo

Clodualdo del MundoClodualdo del Mundo, Jr. (born March 11, 1948) is a Filipino screenwriter, director, and author. In 1968, he got a bachelor of arts degree at the Ateneo de Manila University in 1968 followed by a master of arts in radio-television-film in 1974 from University of Kansas and a doctoral degree in communication studies at the University of Iowa in 1994. He headed the communication arts department of De La Salle University from 1975 to 1985 and was a founding member and former chairman of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, and vice-president of the Screenwriters Guild of the Philippines. Del Mundo is a well-respected figure in the Filipino film industry and has garnered amount of critical acclaim for his body of work during the 1970s and 1980s. Pepot Superstaris the first full-length feature written and directed by del Mundo. His most significant play was Bulaga (an expression in the game hide and seek.)

Julian Cruz Balmaceda(January 28, 1885–September 18, 1947)

Julian Cruz Balmaceda Was a Filipino poet, essayist, playwright,

novelist, journalist, and linguist. He made several works written in Tagalog, English and Spanish languages.

Balmaceda was born on Orion, Bataan on January 28, 1885. He attended Colegio de San Juan de Letran for college. Two years later, he finished law on Escuela de Derecho (School of Law) under the same college. When he was fourteen, his first written play entitled Sugat ng Puso (Broken Heart). His major play, Ang Piso ni Anita (Anita's One Peso Coin) won first place in a play writing contest sponsored by the Bureau of Posts. The play is all about thriftiness and was composed of three stages.

His most significant play was Sino ba kayo?, Dahil sa anak and Higante sa Patay.