MANILA, Philippines? Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero, National Artist for Drama, was simply Freddie to those who were privileged to work with the innovative playwright, director and friend. He trained UP?s dramatic talents from the ?40s to the ?70s at the height of his artistic prowess, and also mentored National Artists for Cinema, Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal. He produced many theater luminaries who are forever grateful for his guidance and wisdom.

Freddie was also a respected contemporary of National Artists, Lamberto and Daisy Avellana, Jose Garcia Villa, Francisco Arcellana, NVM Gonzales and Severino Montano. While the Avellanas founded the Barangay Theater Guild, Montano formed the Arena Theater, which mounted plays to cultivate grassroots audiences.

Challenging period

For his part, Freddie put up the UP Dramatic Club. He found the Japanese occupation a trying but challenging period, during which he wrote memorable plays like ?Condemned,? produced by the late Fernando Poe Sr. at the Avenue Theater.

After World War II, theater was considered merely an extracurricular activity that helped participants gain poise and speech prowess in English, the language preferred then by polite society. However, his insistence on ?truth? drove his actors to study the Stanislavski method.

Lino, Joonee Gamboa, his brother, Arthur, and I used to spend hours listening to recorded plays that featured acclaimed British actors like Laurence Oliver, John Guilgud and Michael Redgrave, because Freddie also loved the classics.

Interestingly, while Catholic institutions concentrated on staid religious veladas, Freddie produced the works of controversial playwrights like Tennessee Williams, Paul Claudel, Arthur Miller, William Saroyan and Jean Paul Sartre, who were considered ?too modern? for many educational institutions.

Guerrero?s productions questioned contemporary values. They usually dealt with the foibles of the middle class. His minimalist takes on contemporary European and American plays were critically praised and considered avant-garde by theater practitioners then. The man was ahead of his time.

I first worked with Freddie in Thorton Wilder?s play, ?A Happy Journey from Trenton to Camden,? in 1956. He enjoyed the company of his actors, although he could fly off the handle without warning, filling the rehearsal hall with Spanish cuss words that traumatized us.

Then, I appeared in his version of TS Elliot?s ?Murder in the Cathedral.? Soon after, however, I disagreed with his use of alumni in the cast. The UP Dramatic Club was a student organization, after all, so I argued that he should have used students like Lino, regardless of his San Jose, Nueva Ecija accent. Thereafter, I left the club and started directing my own plays.

Not long after, another group of students questioned Freddie?s power in the club?a legal entanglement that led to its demise. Soon, UP president Carlos P. Romulo authorized Freddie to organize the UP Mobile Theater, which brought plays all over the country.

Yesterday, Freddie turned 100 (I think). His students and followers aren?t sure of Freddie?s centenary, because he often fibbed about his years, shaving off as much as half a decade from his real age whenever it was dramatically convenient. Freddie was a playwright, after all. So, what was wrong with ?rewriting? a few details of his colorful life?