Teatro Tomasino

Teatro Tomasino is the university-wide theater guild of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines.

History

The group was formed by 25 students under the supervisions of Professor Myrna Hilario and Professor Piedad Guinto on September 17, 1977. March 1977 saw the establishment of the guild's constitution which has undergone numerous amendments to cope with the changing times and a growing company.

Formal workshops started on April 2, 1977 under the watchful eyes of Maryo J. de los Reyes, Soxy Topacio, Jonee Gamboa, Nicanor Agudo, Sonia Roco, Adul de Leon, Sol Oca, Pilar de Gurman, Bernardo Bernardo and the late Lino Brocka. After which, the curtains opened for the first time with the performance of Orlando Nadres' Ang Awit na Hindi Matapos-tapos under the direction of Maryo J. Delos Reyes.

Office is located in the new UST Tan-Yankee Student Center while productions are mostly held either at the Albertus Magnus Auditorium, Albertus Magnus Building or at the Tan Yan Kee Auditorium, Tan Yan Kee Student Center.

The Members

Members are not just trained to perform on stage. All of them are required to go through at least one of the different theatrical aspects. It is surprising to know that a number of members prefer working behind the scenes than in front of an audience. Such endeavors include stage management, technical management, promotions and marketing. Members are strongly pushed to attend different workshops outside the guild. They consistently send participants to the summer workshops of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Philippine Educational Theater Association and Sinag Arts Foundation to name a few.

With the diversity of the members, they are distinguished through these different membership statuses:

• • Executive Board Members
  • Honorary Members
  • Old Members
  • New Members
  • Apprentices
  • Successful Applicants

Any currently-enrolled member can be elected into office. The Executive Board is made up of the following with their respective duties and obligations as per stated on the guild's constitution: Artistic Director, Technical Director, Business Director, Executive Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Auditor, Marketing and Public Relations Officer, Asst. Marketing and Public Relations Officer, Alumni and Special Events Coordinator. Though due lack of candidates, some lower positions can be dropped while still maintaining the three Directors, a Secretary and an Auditor.

Honorary Members are primarily those who were able to serve the guild for at least four years, from their freshman year until graduation. But after some amendments on the constitution, it was extended to also cover alumni unable to complete four years of active residency and those who are no longer enrolled in the university. Most of the time, they assist the guild in the creative and artistic aspects of the production like directing, designing and even performing on stage as they are the most experienced in the guild.

Old Members are the current student members who have at least 2 years of residency. These members make the majority of the active roster. On the other hand, New Members are those who are still on their first year with the guild. These are the people who have just finished their apprenticeship program and will soon change status to Old Members as soon as there is another batch of New Members.

Old and New Members generally hold the various key positions in the organization.

Apprentices are those who have passed the rigorous auditions but are not yet considered to be bona fide members. Certain requirements must be met in order for an apprentice to be elevated to a member such as attending workshops set by the officers, putting up their own showcase and submitting a certain number of signatures from different members approving them to be members after the program. Due to the lack of experience on both the guild's system and a college theater, they start off as staffs for different theatrical departments.

Furthermore, the guild has two Faculty Advisers and a Professional Adviser.

Auditions

Any aspiring Thomasian seeking admission to the guild must go through a two-part audition which is being conducted annually at the start of the academic year. Although the first half is relatively easy, it is the next half that proves to be the most crucial part of Teatro Tomasino's auditions. The panelists interview and scrutinize down to the tiniest detail the applicant to the point that almost half of them would not even make it to the apprenticeship program. This is done to test and see how these potential members will react to the pressures theater life will add to the demands of their studies and own private lives. Successful applicants then go to an Apprenticeship program before they can be called New Members at the end of the school year.

The Artistic Directors

Name	Academic Year	College/Faculty
Cristino Carbonell	1977–1978	Engineering
Monette Arroyo	1978–1979	Arts and Letters
Ding Cariaga	1979–1980	Architecture and Fine Arts
Esther Mendoza	1980–1981	Arts and Letters
Totie San Pedro	1981–1982	Arts and Letters
Francis Sta. Maria	1982–1983	Arts and Letters
Diwata Panahon	1983–1984	Pharmacy
Buboy Favor	1984–1985	Arts and Letters
Malou Crisologo	1985–1986	Arts and Letters
Noel Nuguit	1986–1987	Arts and Letters
Xavier Alpasa	1987–1988	Commerce
Tonton Umadhay	1988–1989	Nursing
Ace Hernandez	1989–1990	Education
Roxy Liquigan	1990–1991	Architecture and Fine Arts
Dang Cruz	1991–1992	Education
Mykey Nueros	1992–1993	Science
Judy Reyes	1993–1994	Arts and Letters
Hiyas Matubis	1994–1995	Arts and Letters
Ernesto Carandang II	1995–1996	Arts and Letters
Janeth Zafra	1996–1997	Arts and Letters
Homer Espiritu	1997–1998	Music
Ana Lisa Soriano	1998–1999	Arts and Letters
Frances Karren Lo	1999–2000	Graduate School
Francis Omampo	2000–2001	Arts and Letters
Remedios Bueta	2001–2002	Education
Mary Anne de la Torre	2002–2003	Commerce
Aldous Ian Sta. Rita	2003–2004	Education
John Joseph Santos	2004 - 2005 (1st Semester)	Nursing
Carlos Buendia, Jr.	2004 - 2005 (2nd Semester)	Architecture
Marie Lorraine Ayson	2005–2006	Commerce
Kristine Anne Guerra	2006 - 2007 (1st Semester)	Accountancy
Cindy Chua	2006 - 2007 (2nd Semester)	Education
Niña Belle Gavan	2007–2008	Arts and Letters
Joanne Saldana	2008–2009	Education
Avengel Joseph Federis	2009–2010	Education
John Paul Gonzales	2010–2011	Arts & Letters
Jessika Jane Torres	2011–2012	Tourism and Hospitality Management
Anna Francesca Marfori	2012–2013	Arts and Letters
Marc Alcala	2013–2014	Music
Jetca Marielle Pones	2014–2015	Arts and Letters
Ma. Louies Palad	2015–2016	Business Administration
Jose Miguel Valera	2016–2017	Arts and Letters
Elijah Francois Correa	2017–2018	Business Administration

Gabi ng Parangal (Awards Night)

Teatro Tomasino holds an annual awards night, dubbed as Gabi ng Parangal (GNP). This is the culminating activity for the year wherein the different productions staged, their casts and respective creative and production teams vie for the different top organizational recognition. This is also where the newly elected officers are sworn into office and officially start their term.

Awards and Citations

• CCP Theater Venue Grantee (1990)
• Most Unique Performance by a Group Delegate - ASEAN Arts Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1994)
• World Youth Day Performance (1995)
• Pope Leo XIII Award (1991–1995)
• Outstanding Service Award (2011 - 2012)

Beyond Theater

Teatro Tomasino for its members is not just an organization but their family in the university. Aside from workshops and productions, team-building activities are also done to further tighten the bond among the members and to let the younger members and their seniors know more of each other personally. Certain get-together events are also held like the guild's Anniversary Celebrations, Christmas Parties and the Gabi ng Parangal.

As per the members' testaments, Teatro Tomasino gives them a home to come back to in UST.

References

• http://teatrotomasino.com
• http://groups.yahoo.com/Teatro_Tomasino
• University of Santo Tomas