To
outsiders, Butuan is a place travelers
pass through when flights to Siargao tip into the unreasonable rate, since its
airport serves an alternative only two hours from Surigao Port, where one can
hop on a ferry to the island. But for those traveling with deeper curiosity, Butuan
reveals stories that held more significance.
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| Production poster credit to: Balangay Repertory Theater |
In
1976, within a stretch of land a kilometer wide, archaeologists unearthed balangay
boats, plank-built wooden vessels now regarded as the oldest known ship in the
Philippines, and the first of their kind excavated in Southeast Asia. Eleven in
total, some carbon-dated to as early as 320 C.E., they paint Butuan as an
ancient trading hub.
The
remains of the Balangay boats spoke of movement, trade, and a community already
established centuries before Spanish colonizers arrived. The succeeding digs
only expanded the story: ceramics from across Asia, Chinese pottery from the
Tang and Song dynasties, ivory seals, death masks, woven sashes, burial jars,
and golds. There is a big reason why the National Museum of the Philippines has
a branch in the city.
With a history dating back to pre-colonial times, it is only fitting that the city’s artistic traditions also run deep. It came as no surprise, then, to encounter a theater group whose performance would strike anyone, art enthusiast or not, as exemplary.
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| Scene from their performance held during the National Arts Month celebration in Butuan |
The
group, Balangay Repertory Theater Inc., staged its original production, “Bagani
Hong Lawod,” to a packed audience during February’s National Arts Month
celebration at the city’s FSUU Gym. Already known among locals and theater
enthusiasts in the region, this particular performance further elevated its
profile to a wider audience.
The
Artists Behind the Curtains
Many
would say that maintaining a theater organization is easy, given that several
cities and universities across the country have their own. That couldn't be further from the truth. Staging
productions that feel world-class despite being backed by a meager budget, speaks
volumes about how this particular theater group in Butuan conducts itself.
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| Butuan hosted the Arts Month Festivities in Mindanao in cooperation with National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) |
It
turns out that Balangay Repertory Theater Inc. is far from a ragtag group
assembled to put on a show. Rather, it is a community of artists, both seasoned
and emerging, united by a common goal: to use theater as a platform for
advancing the history and artistic traditions of Butuan.
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| The production design and the ensemble performances were all solid |
There’s
Sai Collado, a former member of Sining Kambayoka, the theater group of Mindanao
State University (MSU), and a recipient of the Japan Arts Foundation
scholarship in Performing Arts. He now serves as the founding artistic and
managing director of Balangay Repertory Theatre Inc. “This was conceived in
2018,” he said, emphasizing the significance of heritage-based theater. “It
means a lot since this has been a longstanding dream—to mount a heritage-based
theater production.”
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| Sai Collado. Photo Credit: Balangay Repertory Theatre Inc. |
Under
his guidance, research, accuracy, and artistic expression converge: “We do
research for accuracy, and the rest is our artistic expression aiming to
provide a compelling story to capture the heart of the viewers.” He views
theater as a tool for transformation: “When you considered Theater Arts not
just for entertainment per say, but rather a device for social transformation,
then it is vital, so to speak.” Collado’s leadership ensures that theater plays
such as their own Bagani Hong Lawod not only entertains but also strengthens
cultural identity, civic participation, and community engagement.
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| “Bagani Hong Lawod,” an original play, depicts the brotherhood and rivalry aboard a Balangay that pauses its voyage to honor the passing of its Sultan, only to see women rise courageously to guide it toward a renewed journey |
The
artists that comprises the Balangay Repertory Theater comes from diverse
backgrounds even ones without early theater background. One such artist is Cherrie
B. Beluan.
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| Cherrie Beluan |
45
years old, an HR freelancer and mother of three, Beluan joined Balangay Repertory Theatre when
she was casted to play the role of Khayam in Bagani Hong Lawod, she described
the experience as personally transformative. “It is a great avenue for
everyone. It is very important to keep the culture and history alive especially
for the young Butuanons,” she said.
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| From the costumes to the set, everything are prepped to perfection |
Beluan
reflected on how the play reshaped her sense of possibility: “The lines I recited
were somehow significant on me personally.” She describes her theater journey
as “Wala ko kini damha sa tbuok kong kinabuhi”
“It means that I never imagined this all my
life. Who would have thought that at my age I can still be part of this
talented artists in Butuan City.” Beluan also highlighted how the play allowed
her to balance her identity as a mother, wife, and productive member of society
while actively contributing to the arts.
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| Angel Antiquina |
One
of the youngest members of Butuan’s Balangay Repertory Theater, Angel Antiquina
did not stumble upon performing arts intentionally. Instead, it came via her devotion: through youth activities at
her parish, where theater plays were part of it.
By
2018, it ignited a yearning for performance arts. Joining the repertory company,
she began to shape her craft within a model that put importance to heritage as
much as artistic expression.
Considered
as one of Kulture Revival’s ‘babies,” Angel says she feel like she had grown
through the theater group’s culture-driven principles.
Growth,
in her case, is not just the result of experience. It is personified, as shown by
her performance in Bagani Hong Lawod, staged during Butuan’s National Arts
Month celebration. Onstage, she exhibited great teamwork with her fellow
ensemble cast. Offstage, she now speaks of culture-based creative processes as
a calling, one that allows her to use performance as a language for social
awareness and change.
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| Josephine Gabor-Cajoles |
The
community of artists that makes up the group came in different stages of the
members’ lives. One of those who got into Balangay Repertory Theater late is Josephine
Gabor-Cajoles “My engagement with Balangay Repertory, started with the musical
play, Bagani Hong Lawod when I was cast as Bae Diwa” Cajoles, a 61-year-old
retiree, says.
“In
my elementary years, I have been exposed to acting in a local radio station
(DXBC)” she adds. Her acting exposure was widened by short program every
Sunday. “My Grade IV teacher was my first acting coach,” she recalled. Her acting
experience continued through college productions based on Butuanon stories such
as May Kabag-ohan ba ang Pasko and Juan Tamban, formative
experiences that sharpened her craft. “Back then in the 80s, community theatre started
to become an avenue to express and make people understand and make an action of
social issues confronting the society,” she said.
For
Gabor-Cajoles, she hopes that the production of theater plays grounded in
localized stories and art, such as Bagani Hong Lawod, will stir the community,
the academe, the local government, and other sectors to collaborate and align, if
not, to fully institutionalize community theater, then at least to establish
stronger support for it in order to keep local culture and the arts alive.
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| Richard Dian Vilar |
One
of the veteran stage performers in the group is Richard Dian Vilar, who brings
four decades of theatrical experience to the production, having performed in
almost every Sining Kambayoka production, where just like Collado, Vilar is
also a part of.
“Beyond
that home stage, I found another family in the Kaliwat Theater Collective,
where I joined almost every production and took part in numerous domestic and
international tours,” Vilar added.
“The
stage, it seems, was not done with me yet,” Vilar reflected. His career has
spanned directing, storytelling, playwriting, and design, earning him the
Kambayoka Gador Award in 2000 and, more recently, a 2024 recognition for
Outstanding Cultural Work in Theater and Storytelling. “Call it a call for a continuing
practice—or perhaps, destiny,” he said of his role in Bagani Hong Lawod, where
he served as director and main storyteller, underscoring theater as a vessel
for preserving and communicating local identity.
In
addition to being one of the pillars of Balangay Repertory Theater, Vilar also
serves as the head of the Tourism and Cultural Development Division of the City
Tourism and Cultural Affairs Department of Butuan. This role strengthens his desire
to promote Butuan’s history as a core part of the city’s identity, with theater
being one of the most effective mediums to achieve this.
The
village of artists that comprises the Balangay Repertory Theater illustrates
the relevance of theater as a cultural force. Each curtain call celebrates the
city’s heritage and establishes the important role of artists in keeping both local
culture and creativity alive.
Fifty
years after the unearthing of the remains of the balangay boats, the success of
the Balangay Repertory Theater demonstrates how theater can connect
generations, bridge gaps in understanding, and promote a unique cultural
identity.
This story
first appeared on Rappler
