DSCTA turns 50

DSCTA turns 50

The UP Diliman (UPD) Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts (DSCTA) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with a series of events that recognize and share the accomplishments of its faculty, students, and alumni. The theme is “DSCTA: Consolidating its Gains in the Present Millennium.” Dr. Belen D. Calingacion, DSCTA chairperson, led the faculty, students, and alumni during the jubilant opening tribute to some of the founding members of the DSCTA. Among them were Professor Emeritus Alejandro J. Casambre, PhD (represented by his daughter Sr. Mary Aida Casambre), and Professors Emeriti Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio and Leticia Tison. To date, seven lecture-fora have been held. The first three featured theatre scholars, Melecio Yamomo, Prof. Sir Anril Tiatco, and Michael Burton. Yamomo discussed the relationship between electronic media and selected Philippine epics. Tiatco discussed how ambivalence to Catholicism is performed in two Kapampangan cultural spectacles. Burton engaged the audience in a three-hour workshop on developing the voice for theatre. Douglas Nierras and Powerdance presented a dance-lecture titled “Dance: Aesthetics and Philosophy.” His dancers demonstrated the four levels of dance. The dramatic movements are part of Nierras’s advocacy of teaching basic dance forms to public school teachers. Dada Lorenzana-Santiago and Christine Salceda-Tica shared with the Department their insights on the topic, “The Significant Giving Self.” Lorenzana-Santiago narrated how she turned away from her celebrity-inclined profession as a TV broadcaster and marketing manager of a diamond company to become a seminar director for values formation. Salceda-Tica spoke about her experiences as one of the founders of Hillcrest Family Center along with her spouse, Pastor Reuel Tica. A skilled performer and storyteller, Pocholo Gonzales, who is also known as the Voice Master, narrated his journey in youth advocacy as he professionalized the voice acting business in the Philippines. His lecture was titled “Creative Voices.” The forthcoming events of the DSCTA include lectures by Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and Chancellor Emeritus of De La Salle University Philippines Dr. Carmelita Quebengco on September 17, the speech conference from October 21 to 23, lectures by former junior faculty members Leloy Santos-Cuyugan and Kiko Dagohoy on November 24. The year 2010 will pave the way for inter-university activities to be sponsored by the Speech Communication Association and the Theatre Council, both student organizations of DSCTA. The year-round event will end with a DSCTA ball in March 2010 in which alumni who have left a significant imprint in Philippine society will be recognized.