The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) celebrated the 50th founding anniversary of the Sining Kambayoka Ensemble with a series of outreach performances from September 25 to 26 at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez (CCP Blackbox Theater), and on September 27 to 28 in Silang, Cavite, and Pila, Laguna. The country’s leading art institution, which is also celebrating its 55th anniversary this year, has supported and presented SKE numerous times in its various programs and venues, especially in its outreach tours in the regional, national, and international communities.
A Gawad CCP and CCP Kaisa sa Sining Gador Awardee, the Mindanao State University Marawi City resident theater company will present three landmark plays: Pilandok, Sulambi, and Si Nonoy at Si Inday. The featured productions will be performed by SKE, as well as the Sumidaw Performing Arts of Pagadian City and the Sining Sarangan Ensemble of General Santos City—two regional theater groups under former SKE artists-directors.
SKE has changed the state of theater in Mindanao, promoting the stories of the Meranaw, the indigenous people living in Lake Lanao, one of the country’s deepest and coolest lakes, and its surrounding areas. The theater group, whose name comes from the root word “bayok,” is known for the kambayoka theater, a form based on the Meranaw traditional performing arts where two versifiers act out the story.
Since its inception, SKE has strived to promote awareness, appreciation, understanding, safeguarding, and propagation of the bayok. Holding the distinction of being the only theater company that has improvised and popularized its own theater form, SKE has mounted and restaged quality theater productions based on the Mindanao tri-people’s cultures.
Like many groups in the creative sector, SKE has faced its own challenges and needs to keep up with the changing times of modern technology and social media. Committed to sustaining the group and its mission, SKE continues to mount and tour original productions, receive opportunities through grants, and engage in cultural exchanges. For the past five decades, the Mindanaoan theater group has received numerous recognitions and awards.
SKE founding artistic-executive director Frank G. Rivera noted: “The Sining Kambayoka made Philippine Theatre view ‘regional theatre’ as a force to rediscover what true Philippine Theatre has at its core: its own theatre form; that Philippine Theatre is original in form and content. SKE must continue to harness what is our own not only to inspire young artists but to make them move to action and truly make culture and the arts essential ingredients in nation-building. Hindi basta artist na magaling mag-entertain, kundi artist na may pakinabang (Not just an artist who is good at entertaining, but an artist with a purpose).”
CCP Cultural Exchange Department manager Chinggay Jasareno-Bernardo cited: “The 50-year journey was not easy. But one thing is certain: SKE and its community are proud of the impact the theater company has made not only in Philippine theater and arts but, more significantly, in how it has positively changed the awareness, understanding, and appreciation of Mindanao culture, traditions, and creative expressions, particularly those of Muslim, Meranaw, and other indigenous peoples among the Filipino and international communities. Evidently, SKE artistic director Sunnie Clemen Noel’s dedication, passion, and selflessness over the past 22 years have ensured that the artistry and ideals of Sining Kambayoka are shared with and experienced by the communities outside Marawi, outside Mindanao, by the whole country and the rest of the world.”
SKE adviser-consultant Prof. Cecile B. Mambuay shared: “The SKE is poised to thrive in Mindanao’s arts scene with their innovative Kambayoka theatre form. They may become a beacon of creativity and inspiration, expanding their unique style of performance and showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the region. Plans include creating opportunities for artists to grow and establishing a training center for budding artists to explore the Kambayoka theater form further.”
The SKE 50th anniversary outreach engagements are presented by the CCP in partnership with the Kambayoka Center for Culture and Arts Development Inc. (KCCADI).