A short history of theater in the Philippines / edited Isagani R. Cruz.

This is the first book on the history of theater in the Philippines. As the first of its kind, this book has the virtues and vices of pioneers. It is not comprehensive, not authoritative, and not final. At the same time, it is bold, willing to draw conclusions from recent evidence, and committed to a certain point of view. First steps are always the hardest to take, but once taken, they lead to fruitful research and discussion. This project of the Philippine Educational Theater Association would not have been realized without the interest and generous assistance of the First Lady, Mrs. Imelda Romualdez Marcos, patroness of the arts in the Philippines. Recognizing the value of this work in inspiring appreciation for our country's theater tradition and heritage, Mrs. Marcos--as Founding Chairman of the Cultural Center of the Philippines--funded the research, writing and printing of this book. To her we are truly grateful. To break enertia, to cast away habit, to strike out on new paths--this is the achievement of the original thinker. The project of a book on the Philippine theater is an original idea of Mrs. Marcos. Ours has been to clothe this idea with words and thus convey meaning. --Foreword of the book.