Beyond the accolades, Juan would like himself to be remembered more for his contributions to the shaping of today's generation of thespians, directors, and playwrights. With the late Behn Cervantes and National Artist for Theatre Tony Mabesa, he laid the foundations of Dulaang UP. There he did not only mount unforgettable world classics but his own works as well such as Shadows of the Reef, The Price of Redemption, and Death in the Form of a Rose, among others. Currently, at the University of Notre Dame, he is preparing his class for its production of Tukoo! Tukoo! or Princess of the Lizard Moon, his Alexander Onassis-winning play.

In conversation with Tatler, Juan shares some nuggets of wisdom on theatre arts:

How did your passion for the theatre start?

Anton Juan (AJ): I started with a flop (laughs). I was chosen to be an angel for the Salubong (a religious tradition during Easter Sunday). I was given wings, I memorised the song. Regina caeli laetare (sings). . .and then on the part, orapronobis deum, where I'm supposed to take off the veil of the Mater Dolorosa, I couldn't reach it! And then everybody started to laugh because I kept on stretching out my hand (laughs). Finally, the altar server used the cross he was holding to take off the veil and give it to me and let me finish the song.

I am always reminded of that humbling experience whenever I teach my students or do creative work. And of course, my love for my country is at the base of it all. Everything I do is spurred by that. Whatever comments I have to make about our people and our conflicts, and then as I articulate them and put them into signs, I clothe them too with my own attitude as an artist.

I believe in the unity of all expressions—the corporal expression, the sound sense, the ironies also of shapes, and their inner meanings.

What does the stage mean to you?

AJ: The stage is the space where we articulate our histories—our memories that turn into histories. It definitely, therefore, must be the space where, in the shape of ritual, we offer ourselves as artists, as creators. It is where we express an act of will, memory, and history—a creation that becomes an action that connects with our society and the world. It's very important that we are speaking to the world. I have always believed—and I always tell this to my students—that you must listen to our inner voices, our inner music. It is important that they liberate themselves and speak out to the world. . .and at the same time, we gather stories from the voices of those from the world who have never been heard—the marginalised in the peripheries.

I also believe that it is a place where we should bleed belief. That what we do is what we truly believe in. Theatre started as that, a ritual and religious practice.

Read more: Tatler Review: Anton Juan's Musical Adaptation of 'Bayan-Bayanan' by Bienvenido Noriega

What can you comment on our theatre scene here in the Philippines today?

AJ: Ooh! It's one of the most exciting theatre scenes in the world! We have a rich source and that is our history. The Filipino nation has experienced pain. With our ability to distantiate ourselves sometimes—sometimes, too much—from the tragedies we go through, we are able to laugh even at ourselves. This enables us to critique what is going on through laughter. And that's difficult for many other countries! We are the kind of people who love to express ourselves. You can see it in our body language, our language itself which is very onomatopoeic, and in our facial expressions. During the pandemic, do you think we stopped? No! Theatre readings on Zoom abound.

You could see that true artist continues to transform spaces, and we are like that. My passion for the theatre arts is also because of the fact that we are a nation of expression. That is why when there is a curtailing of that freedom, I will not bow to that.

Read more: Anton Juan Shares Stories Behind the Award-Winning Play 'Bayan-Bayanan: Letters From Home'

Do you think there will be a time when we have plays and other productions that could last for a year at the least in theaters, just like in Broadway or West End?

AJ: Broadway and West End are like that because they are tourist theaters. As you can see in the pandemic, Broadway had to close because the New York audience was insufficient to sustain them. But even in other cities of the world, if you do not have the subvention of the State, it's very difficult for theatre groups. Actually here in the Philippines, when you look at it that way, we are self-sustaining because we don't get funding from the State to produce shows. Yes, we get occasional projects approved and grants but it's not a permanent fund allocation, as many theatre sectors would in other parts of the world.

If there were like "bridges" to other places, where a theatre group can mount their production not just in Metro Manila but also in other regions like a mobile theatre, then maybe we could have enduring productions. But then again, I question that too because you will be importing your theatre to those regions when you could have created instead theatre groups in those regions. The goal is to decentralise theatre and not make it urban-centred. Eventually, those regions will create their own plays.

Until the government subsidises the theatre sector, with all the students—not a mere hundred or so as we know of the programmes of some government institutions—provided financially to afford to watch plays with their parents, then we can achieve sustainability in our productions.

In this day and age, where there is a proliferation of social media misuse, disinformation and misinformation, how can theatre remain vital in the education of our youth and in championing social causes?

AJ: By being the voice of truth. Art, with its many forms, should show the truth about ourselves. Theatres can show what it means and how to become a liar, in order to strip this character naked in front of us until we are shocked and endangered by it. We can show truths that are shocking to expose and explain our social ills. Our duty as theatre practitioners, as artists of various mediums, is to study and research why these issues exist.

Juan was recently given the Distinguished Achievement in Drama award from the esteemed international Honour Society of Phi Kappa Phi through the University of the Philippines Chapter. He dedicates this award to his mentors Nieves Epistola, Radu Penciulesku of the Grotowski School, and his beloved mother, social worker Alice Eufrocina Manauis Juan. "From them, I’ve learnt the value of art as a vehicle for social justice."

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