Elsa Martinez Coscolluela
Encyclopedia
Elsa Martinez Coscolluela is an award-winning Filipina
poet
, short-story writer
, and playwright
from Bacolod City
. She is married to Jose Orlando H. Coscolluela and has three sons, Jose Orlando Jr, John Paul Rupert, and Jacques Oscar Celerino. She finished her AB and MA for Creative Writing at the Silliman University
, a school noted for training writers in the Philippines, and also a doctorate in Language and Literature from the De La Salle University.
Her career as a poet lasted between 1965 and 1973 and these poems are published in a book entitled "Katipunera and Other Poems" published in 1998. In 1973 she focused her writing efforts to writing plays and also to pursue an academic career. Her best known play that earned her great acclaim as a playwright is "In My Father's House" which staged production both in the University of the Philippines and the Cultural Center of the Philippines in the year 1988. This play was also the official Philippine entry to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Drama Festival held in Singapore in 1989. In My Father's House was also staged in New York, San Francisco, Kyoto, and the Philippines.
As an academician she held the position of Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of St. La Salle
in Bacolod City
and also manages annual Negros Summer Workshops for artists and writers with Peque Gallaga
since 1991.
She is also a multi-awarded writer. Her achievements include winning the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for more than twenty times,the prestigious Cultural Center Award in playwrighting, as well as the Philippine Free Press Award. In 1996 she was named National Fellow for Drama by the University of the Philippines
Creative Writing Center.
In 1999 she was instilled as a Hall of Famer in the Palanca Awards.
Elsa Coscolluela is the only Filipina dramatist in Palanca's Hall of Fame. She has started as a poet, she wrote under Edith Tiempo and David Quemada. These poems are printed by her brother in two volumes, "Brown Glass" (1969), and "Becoming and other" (1970).
She says that she's grateful for the training and exposure in poetry which has given her "depth and texture" to the way she writes plays. She considers poems as a preparation for plays, because it is pure and concise. She believes that poetry is strict in a way because it puts great ideas to tiny verses.
At first she thought her poems to be seriously flawed and heavy-handed but soon discovered that poems worked out for themselves out in her mind and then become something else, something that is new again. That is why she submitted her collection to the Palanca Literary Contests, her collection "In Time Being and Other Poems" won second prize in 1993, and "Katipunera" won first prize in 1995. "Katipunera" also won in the Free Press Poetry Contest in 1996.
However, Coscolluela is best known in the field of drama having won sixteen Palancas in that genre. Her best known play "In My Father's House" was first produced onstage in 1988, and submitted as an entry in the ASEAN Drama Festival in Singapore, 1989. The play popularity is not only in the Philippines, it has been restaged in San Francisco, New York
, and Kyoto
.
in January 2010 as Sa Tahanan ng Aking Ama, produced by ENTABLADO (ENterteynment para sa TAo, Bayan, LAnsangan at DiyOs, Eng. Entertainment for the People, Country, Street and God), the socio-political theater organization of the university, in line with its 27th* season: Taon ng Pagbanyuhay. It was co-directed by Dr. Jerry Respeto and Jethro Nino Tenorio, both members of the faculty of Filipino Department, the former being the Department Chair. The play was translated into Filipino language by Dr. Jerry Respeto. Sa Tahanan ng Aking Ama is the first production made by ENTABLADO in years that showcase heavy drama.
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, short-story writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
from Bacolod City
Bacolod City
The City of Bacolod , is a highly urbanized midsize Philippine city. It is the capital of the Negros Occidental province. Having a total of 499,497 inhabitants as of August 1, 2007, it is the most populous city in the Western Visayas Region. It is currently ranked as the 17th most populous city in...
. She is married to Jose Orlando H. Coscolluela and has three sons, Jose Orlando Jr, John Paul Rupert, and Jacques Oscar Celerino. She finished her AB and MA for Creative Writing at the Silliman University
Silliman University
Silliman University is a private research university located in Dumaguete, Philippines. Established in 1901 as Silliman Institute by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, it was the first American private school to be founded in the country. The University is named after Dr...
, a school noted for training writers in the Philippines, and also a doctorate in Language and Literature from the De La Salle University.
Her career as a poet lasted between 1965 and 1973 and these poems are published in a book entitled "Katipunera and Other Poems" published in 1998. In 1973 she focused her writing efforts to writing plays and also to pursue an academic career. Her best known play that earned her great acclaim as a playwright is "In My Father's House" which staged production both in the University of the Philippines and the Cultural Center of the Philippines in the year 1988. This play was also the official Philippine entry to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Drama Festival held in Singapore in 1989. In My Father's House was also staged in New York, San Francisco, Kyoto, and the Philippines.
As an academician she held the position of Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of St. La Salle
University of St. La Salle
The University of St. La Salle , located in La Salle Avenue, Bacolod City, Philippines, is a Catholic private university run by the De La Salle Brothers. Established in 1952 as La Salle College-Bacolod, it is the second oldest campus originally founded by the congregation in the country...
in Bacolod City
Bacolod City
The City of Bacolod , is a highly urbanized midsize Philippine city. It is the capital of the Negros Occidental province. Having a total of 499,497 inhabitants as of August 1, 2007, it is the most populous city in the Western Visayas Region. It is currently ranked as the 17th most populous city in...
and also manages annual Negros Summer Workshops for artists and writers with Peque Gallaga
Peque Gallaga
Peque Gallaga is a multi-awarded Filipino filmmaker. His most significant achievement in film is "Oro, Plata, Mata", which he directed after winning a scripwriting contest sponsored by the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines...
since 1991.
She is also a multi-awarded writer. Her achievements include winning the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for more than twenty times,the prestigious Cultural Center Award in playwrighting, as well as the Philippine Free Press Award. In 1996 she was named National Fellow for Drama by the University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
Creative Writing Center.
In 1999 she was instilled as a Hall of Famer in the Palanca Awards.
Elsa Coscolluela is the only Filipina dramatist in Palanca's Hall of Fame. She has started as a poet, she wrote under Edith Tiempo and David Quemada. These poems are printed by her brother in two volumes, "Brown Glass" (1969), and "Becoming and other" (1970).
She says that she's grateful for the training and exposure in poetry which has given her "depth and texture" to the way she writes plays. She considers poems as a preparation for plays, because it is pure and concise. She believes that poetry is strict in a way because it puts great ideas to tiny verses.
At first she thought her poems to be seriously flawed and heavy-handed but soon discovered that poems worked out for themselves out in her mind and then become something else, something that is new again. That is why she submitted her collection to the Palanca Literary Contests, her collection "In Time Being and Other Poems" won second prize in 1993, and "Katipunera" won first prize in 1995. "Katipunera" also won in the Free Press Poetry Contest in 1996.
However, Coscolluela is best known in the field of drama having won sixteen Palancas in that genre. Her best known play "In My Father's House" was first produced onstage in 1988, and submitted as an entry in the ASEAN Drama Festival in Singapore, 1989. The play popularity is not only in the Philippines, it has been restaged in San Francisco, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
.
Sa Tahanan ng Aking Ama, 2010
In My Father's House was also staged at the Ateneo de Manila UniversityAteneo de Manila University
The Ateneo de Manila University is a private teaching and research university run by the Society of Jesus in the Philippines. It began in 1859 when the City of Manila handed control of the Escuela Municipal de Manila in Intramuros, Manila, to the Jesuits...
in January 2010 as Sa Tahanan ng Aking Ama, produced by ENTABLADO (ENterteynment para sa TAo, Bayan, LAnsangan at DiyOs, Eng. Entertainment for the People, Country, Street and God), the socio-political theater organization of the university, in line with its 27th* season: Taon ng Pagbanyuhay. It was co-directed by Dr. Jerry Respeto and Jethro Nino Tenorio, both members of the faculty of Filipino Department, the former being the Department Chair. The play was translated into Filipino language by Dr. Jerry Respeto. Sa Tahanan ng Aking Ama is the first production made by ENTABLADO in years that showcase heavy drama.