Deaf performing artists, dancers find home in Filipino theater troupe

From The Manila Bulletin in the Philippines:

Theater is all lights, movements and sounds – yes, even to those who cannot really hear.

Believing in the potential of young and deaf Filipino performing artists, Dulaang Tahimik ng Pilipinas (DTP) was born to encourage deaf artists to rise above their disabilities and promote awareness of the deaf Filipino community to the hearing majority through the performing arts.

DTP started out as Teatro Silencio in 1992 founded by Dennis Balan and choreographer Myra Medrana along with nine other hearing members. It then became Teatro Silencio Pilipinas from 1995 to 1999; Internacional Teatro Silencio Filipinas from 1999 to 2005; the Silent Theater Philippines from 2005 to 2006, and was finally called Dulaang Tahimik ng Pilipinas since 2006.

Being with the group for the past 17 years, Medrana has witnessed how it has evolved from a small group of 11 — with only two deaf members — to 19 who are mostly deaf dancers and directors.

Through the years, DTP members have been showcasing their all-original choreographed pieces. One of the group’s most memorable performances was at the Malacañang Palace in December 1994 in front of President Fidel V. Ramos who lauded them for a world-class performance. “From then on, we doubled our efforts to prove that the deaf are at par with anyone,” Medrana says.

In 1999, DTP also performed in The Third Very Special Arts Festival in Los Angeles, California USA; in the International Culture and Arts Festival for People With Disabilities in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2001 which is also the same year it was awarded Apolinario Mabini Disabled Talents of the Year, and in World Youth Day in Paris, France last 2007 as Ambassadors of Goodwill.

Medrana still remembers the first time that DTP performed in front of a hearing audience.

“It was in ULTRA Amphitheater and the event was attended by persons with disabilities from different countries in Asia. DTP performed ethnic dance and dance improvisation with drama. The audience was shocked and surprised with our performance because they found us unique and were amazed by what we had done on stage!” Medrana proudly says. After that performance, there has been a greater interest in the deaf culture in the Philippines.

For DTP choreography, the lyrics come before the music.

“When I get its general theme or mood, I think of movements, actions and expressions that match. The rhythm will depend on the vibrations we feel,” she explains.

DTP specializes in dance improvisation, contemporary dance and modern techniques, combined with gestures and signs. It uses Filipino culture and traditions as well as religion.

At age four, Myra was diagnosed to be deaf. The doctor said her ears did not have any hearing nerve. But everybody in her family learned to accept her condition.

Like with most deaf people, the major barrier between Myra and the outside world is communication.

“It was hard communicating even with my own family but we eventually settled our differences. They have never left me out,” says Myra who recalls that her parents would interact with her more often while her siblings would let her hang out with their peers.

It was only when she entered Sta. Ana Elementary School-SpEd that Myra started to be aware of her deafness.

“I saw how different my family and relatives used speech to communicate as compared with my deaf friends in school. That’s how I realized that I was a deaf person. I started using gestures and sign language to learn more about the people and things around me,’’ she says.

Disability notwithstanding, Myra graduated class valedictorian in grade school, continued her secondary studies in Manila High School and then transferred to the Philippine Association of the Deaf (PAD) Demonstration School. She finished two tertiary courses — BS Nutrition and Food Technology at the Technological University of the Philippines in 1991, and Bachelors in Applied Deaf Studies, major in Multimedia Arts at the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde in 2008.

In high school, Myra joined Deaf Theater of the Philippines. She also enrolled in Teacher Training Theater Arts Workshop, a three-year training course sponsored by The Swiss Center of the International Theater Institute through the sponsorship of Cecile Alvarez of the Earth Savers Movement. Opportunities to perform in various events here and and abroad presented themselves.

Despite all difficulties, Myra continues to promote public awareness on the potentials of deaf people. At present, she is in Cambodia to attend the Spotlight Network Meeting of Asian artists with disabilities. This group aims to develop artistic projects for people with disabilities across Asia, share creative experiences of those already working in the field, guide international collaboration, and brainstorm the needs of this community of practitioners.

Myra admonishes parents not to be ashamed of their kids with disabilities and be sensitive to their needs by not forcing them to live up to very high expectations.

“Parents should encourage their regular children to have a harmonious and not abusive relationship with the sibling with disability so the whole family would be involved, interact and have better understanding.”

Parents, she adds, should be concerned about their special child’s self-esteem — more than anything else — to allow them to develop and express themselves.

“I also encourage them to learn sign language and gestures in order to communicate with their children so they would have the means to understand what their child needs and what would make them happy,” she adds.