The Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), one of the Philippines’ pioneer theater groups known for its original productions and community workshops, opens its annual Summer Program this coming April 4, 2016.
The PETA Summer Program is an annual series of workshops formulated for children, teens, and adults programmed by PETA during the summer season. What sets this Summer Program from previous years is the additional special courses that open up new growth opportunities for aspiring theater performers and artists. Aside from the regular courses offered by PETA, the theater company mounts two special courses for visual artists and for senior citizens looking for a refreshing theater experience.
The PETA Summer Program will be available at PETA’s home theater in Quezon City and a sattelite venue for aspiring enrollees in the South to be announced by the start of February.
A wide variety of courses
Opening a total of 8 courses, PETA starts off their workshops with the Children’s Theater workshops. The Children’s Theater workshops will be made available to kids from ages 6 to 8, and 9 to 12. The workshops will give the kids a chance to open up their creativity and imagination to create stories which they will be performing at the end of the workshops.
The Teen Theater workshops are tailored for ages 13 to 16 wherein they will get to learn the different disciplines of theater from writing, visual arts, dance, and music. The Teen Theater workshops present an environment wherein teens can express and relate experiences with the other enrollees.
For young professionals and working adults, PETA offers Theater Arts for beginners, Basic Acting for experienced performers, and Creative Musical Theater for the musically-inclined. All adult workshops are scheduled to fit the hectic hours of work and school of young adults and professionals with sessions happening mostly after work and school.
Talented creatives who are more inclined to working on canvass are invited to join the Visual Arts course. Taught by a seasoned PETA artist-teacher focused on drawing and painting, enrollees of the Visual Arts course will get a chance to learn how the lively and energetic character of theater can be emanated through pencil, paper, and canvass.
Another special course that will offered this coming year is Theater Arts for Seniors. Individuals aged 60 and above are promised a refreshing creative experience that will surely inspire and get them moving. The course encourages seniors to relive memorable moments through the lenses of theater and art.
All courses will have a final output where the enrollees are able to showcase all the skills they have acquired in the workshops.
Experience based approach
Another notable aspect of PETA’s workshops is its unique integrated theater arts (ITA) approach. This approach assures enrollees of a holistic theater experience as it discusses the varied elements of theater from creative writing, visual arts, creative drama, creative music, to body movement and dance.
Aside from the ITA approach, PETA uses the enrollees’ own experience to draw out a production. With the production being based from the enrollees’ own stories, students of the workshops feel more comfortable and open to the process of theater education.
Enrollment is ongoing for the PETA Summer Program. Interested enrollees may avail of the early bird discount until February. Those who would like to enroll may contact PETA at 725 6244, 0905 369 6003, or petatheater@gmail.com to schedule their enrollment. Additional information on the workshops such as the schedule, fees, and course descriptions are available at www.petatheater.com/summer-workshop/.
