Dubbed as “The Grande Dame of SE
Asian Children's Theatre,” Amelia
Lapeña-Bonifacio started receiving
awards and editorships for her writing as early
as high school and college, but her set designing,
which began in the UP, earned a Fulbright-Smith
Mundt Scholarship to the University of Wisconsin
-Madison (MA/Speech-Theatre Arts). Her first two
plays, Sepang Loca (1957) and Rooms (1958), won
awards and were premiered at the UW Play Circle
and subsequently published in the US. Today her
literary output consist of 20 books, 40 plays,
130 stories, several essays which include the
results of her researches on theatre as Research
Fellow of several local and international grants.
Her research in the early 70s opened her eyes
to the puppet theatres of Asia, and in 1977, she
founded and managed TEATRONG MULAT NG PILIPINAS,
an official UP children's theatre and puppetry
troupe which will celebrate its 30th year in 2007.
MULAT has represented the Philippines in 28 international
theatre festivals and in many puppetry workshops
and conferences. A widely translated author, ‘Tita
Amel’ has written and produced works for
children such as Ang Paghuhukom and Sita
& Rama: Papet Ramayana, which have been
shown all over the world.
Now a Professor Emeritus of the UP, she served
as Professor of English and Chair of the Creative
Writing Program where she instituted courses in
Creative Writing, later formalizing them as undergraduate
and graduate programs. She also helped in the
establishment of the Creative Writing Center which
she headed as Director from 1986-1995. She worked
for the recognition of more women writers and
held workshops on children's literature, the last
of which gave birth to two important organizations:
KUTING (writers for children's books) and INK
(illustrators of children's books).
She is president of UNIMA-Pilipinas (Union Internationale
dela Marionnette) and the ASSITEJ-Philippines
(International Association of Theatre For Children
and Young People). Recipient of over 50 national
and international literary prizes and awards,
she is cited in a number of encyclopedia and British,
American and Indian Bibliographies. Now in her
mid-70's, she is still active in theatre, performing
for children and adult audiences, writing plays,
designing and creating puppets, costumes and sets
and setting the direction of children's literature
and children's theatre in the country.
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