TACLOBAN CITY-—The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in partnership with the United Nations for Children’s Fund (Unicef) supports the youth of Tacloban through a workshop called theater for development workshop in a post-Yolanda/Haiyan context. The workshop was attended by the director and some actors of the Tanghalang Pilipino (TP), resident theater of CCP in Manila and participants from the Leyte Normal University theatre group called Sirang Ensemble Theater Group.
According to Tuxqs Rutaquio, associate artistic director of TP, the workshop was pushed through by the collaboration between the CCP and the Unicef adding that they saw the immediate needs of the youth affected by supertyphoon Yolanda.
The prime objective of the TP is to let people be aware of what’s happening and what would be the initial step to do especially when disaster comes, Rutaquio said. “So we decided to study this case using the theatre arts as a venue or a platform to let the people know especially the parents and the youth and also to other people with no proper education for them to increase their awareness to prevent or at least protect themselves when there is disaster coming,” Rutaquio said. The TP immediately submitted their proposal to Unicef to return to Tacloban again to help its people especially the youth to increase awareness about disaster risk reduction and child protection and adolescent’s health through theater arts.
TP is a resident drama company of the Cultural Center of the Philippine and established in 1987. (JELLY E. CARAAN, LNU Intern)
