Worksheet 1 - "The Dancers"

FACTS ABOUT THE PLAY

Title: The Dancers

Playwright: Alberto S. Florentino, Jr.

Year Published: 1959

Genre: Drama

CONTENT

1. Setting (where the action takes place):

• The setting of the play was on a house of a poor family on the outskirts of the city.

2. When is it set?

• The play was set in 1959, a time when five pesos was enough to feed a small family.

3. The plot:

•           The play is about a poor family struggling to have a better life. The father lets his eldest daughter, Rita, to dance in a bar near their place just to earn money. Tony, the eldest son, drives a jeepney during the day while the mother works in the market. The father of the family is so lazy that he does not work to help the family, instead he encourages another daughter to dance in the bar just like her sister. Even if his wife disagrees with the idea he still insists to take Nenita, his daughter, to the bar and work there as a dancer. His wife cannot do something about it when she came home one night and her poor Nenita is taken by her sister in the bar to be a dancer.

4. Characters: Write down the names of the main characters, the role of each one in the story and 2 or 3 adjectives to describe them.

Tomas: He is the father of the family who encouraged his two daughters to work in the bar as dancers just to earn money. Lazy, callous, inconsiderate

Mother (name not mentioned): The mother of the family who works very hard even if she is getting older just to give her family a better life and future. Loving, feeble, dedicated

Rita: The eldest daughter in the family, she started to work in the bar as a dancer since she was barely sixteen. She seemed to be ignorant of what people might say about her and her job. Ignorant, ambitious

Tony: A 24 year old son of the family and he is a jeepney driver who wanted to help his family as much as he can. Determined, hardworking

Nenita: She is 16 years old and her father encouraged her to dance in the bar where her sister works. Her mother forbade her to work but her father forced her to go with her sister. Weak, helpless

Juanito: The youngest son of the family and he used to go with Rita in the bar at night so she will have a company going home. He saw that his sister and a Chinese entered a room the other night so he decided not to go with her in the bar again. Caring, helpless

5. Message: Has the play got a ‘message’? If so what do you think it is?

•           The play is trying to imply that in whatever class you belong, be it in the upper, middle or lower class, don’t let your dignity be taken away from you because that’s all you got. Whoever tells you to do something or to be in a job which you know is illegal and immoral learn to say no. Moreover, the father should be the one working and supporting his family but if he cannot he should not force his children to work for the welfare of the family especially if the job is immoral.

LANGUAGE

Write down 3 or 4 words, phrases or expressions you have learnt from this play.

• Words and phrases that I first encountered in the play:
• “grunt” – It means to mumble
• “looking despondently” – It means looking hopelessly
• “wad of paper money” – Means pile of paper money

OPINION

1. Choose from the following adjectives to describe the play:

hilarious      gripping       moving        powerful

tedious        tragic           amusing

   What other adjectives could you use to describe the play?

•           From the above choices, the most appropriate adjectives to describe the play would be moving and tragic. I chose the two adjectives because they really reflect the plot of the play which is heartbreaking and touching. I think the play is also remarkable because of the role of the father who can let his daughters dance in a bar at night just to have money which is a very strange act of a father.

2. The play is going to be performed and you are the director. Describe the costumes, scenery, lighting, etc. you want for each act.

•           I will start with the scenery wherein I would be using the same backdrop with what is described in the play. The backdrop will be showing the front of the house, the doorway, a low window and three steps of adobe stones. There will be chairs where the two characters will have to sit in the start of the play. With the costumes, I think the characters must wear simple clothes like for Tony, he should wear a white shirt and pants and he should also have towel to portray the role of a jeepney driver. The other characters like Elena and Rita who are both dancers in the club must wear colorful dresses.

          The lighting would be yellowish with a shade of bluish color to create an effect of a night scene, the lighting will be maintained throughout the play. I would also consider the use of sound effects to heighten the emotions of the characters and the interest of the audience.

3. Would you recommend this play to anyone else? Why?

•           I would recommend the play because it has a lesson that is worth treasuring and the story itself is very touching and heartbreaking. It gives people the idea of what can a member of a poor family sacrifice for the betterment of their lives. The play is an eye-opener for the people that there are families who live in that kind of life, families whose children are force to dance in night bars just to eat and live for the next days.

4. Does this play remind you of any plays in your own language? If so, what?

•           The play strongly reminds me of the play written by the same playwright which is “The World is an Apple”. The theme of the play is similar with “The Dancers” as well as the ending. “The World is an Apple” ends with Gloria begging Mario not to go with Pablo in stealing while “The Dancers” ends with the mother begging her husband not to take their daughter in the bar.

With a play in my own language , “The Dancers” did not remind me of any.