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Kyrah Martina P. Araullo, University of Makati, PhilippinesAbstract
This phenomenological study explores how audiences from the University of Makati interpret and respond to the play Request sa Radyo, a non-traditional theatrical Filipino adaptation of Franz Xaver Kroetz's Wunschkonzert. The one-woman performance was staged without dialogue, relying on ambient sound and symbolic actions, and challenges conventional narrative expectations. Featuring portrayals by Lea Salonga and Dolly de Leon, the play examines the personal world of an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) struggling with emotional isolation and routine. Through semi-structured interviews with UMak students and employees, the study investigates how prior expectations, cultural background, and lived experiences shape meaning-making. Findings reveal that audience reactions vary widely, ranging from disengagement to profound emotional resonance based on familiarity with the actors, exposure to unconventional theater, and personal connections to OFWs. The study draws on the interpretivist tradition and Mumby’s Discourse of Representation to analyze how silence, repetition, and performer identity mediate understanding. The paper concludes that experimental theater can cultivate deeper emotional insight when audiences are prepared to engage symbolically, suggesting the value of pre-and post-performance contextualization in educational or culturally complex stage productions.
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Conference: KAMC2025Stream: Performing Arts Practices: Theater
This paper is part of the KAMC2025 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Araullo K. (2026) Constructing Meaning in Silence: A Phenomenological Study of Audience Response to the Play Request Sa Radyo ISSN: 2436-0503 – The Kyoto Conference on Arts, Media & Culture 2025: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 771-777) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2436-0503.2025.62
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2436-0503.2025.62
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