POETIC FORM: DUATA MICROPLAY

What is a DuaTa? “DUATA” is an Ilokano phrase that means “you and I” or, “the two of us”, and because DUATA as a play form requires two participants, DUATA could be made to mean “duet”. Credited to the genius of Bert Ugalino who created this poetic form, the DUATA is a dedicated 8-liner, meaning it’s written to be a DUATA and is meant to be a shared-reading for two.(Read the DUATA with a loved one. It is fulfilling, it’s reaffirming.Each reader is saying the same lines, only at regulated intervals.)

M y written Duata Microplay Collections – Strings of Rhymes: The DUATA MICROPLAY BLOG

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HOW TO WRITE THE DUATA

Basically, the DUATA is a verse in the “ugalino” verse form, the 8 line abbreviated variation of the Malayan pantoum.

To write an ugalino/duata is as simple as writing a quatrain.

Let’s do it step by step:

Step 1.

Use this template to write your ugalino.
This standard form shows how the ugalino is structured line by line.Note that on line 8, ( 1 ) is shown right after “Line 8”.

This means you are repeating “Line 1” of the verse.

Line 1_____________________
Line 2_____________________
Line 3_____________________
Line 4_____________________

Line 5_____________________
Line 6_____________________
Line 7_____________________
Line 8..( 1 )_________________

Step 2.
Using the above template, write the first quatrain:

Line 1 dagita bibig, dagitoy bibig
Line 2 pinagkaysa nasam-it nga essem
Line 3 agkanka, agkannak
Line 4 ayan-ayatta ingget sam-it

Line 5
Line 6
Line 7
Line 8..( 1 )

Create a second quatrain simply by rewriting the first quatrain in reverse. The outcome has to make sense and you may rearrange the order of the 5th, 6th and the 7th lines to do so. What is important is that the last line of the second quatrain should be the same as the first line of the first quatrain.

Step 3.

Complete Line 8 by repeating Line 1:

Line 1 dagita bibig, dagitoy bibig
Line 2 pinagkaysa nasam-it nga essem
Line 3 agkanka, agkannak
Line 4 ayan-ayatta ingget sam-it

Line 5
Line 6
Line 7
Line 8..(1)..dagita bibig, dagitoy bibig

Step 4.

Repeat Lines 2, 3 &, 4, using them as Lines 5, 6 & 7 in no particular order.

You may rearrange the lines in an order that makes sense. You may have to go back to edit the first quatrain in order for the second quatrain to make better sense.

1 dagita bibig, dagitoy bibig
2 pinagkaysa nasam-it nga essem
3 agkanka, agkannak
4 ayan-ayatta ingget sam-it

5..(4)..ayan-ayatta ingget sam-it
6..(2)..pinagkaysa nasam-it nga essem
7..(3)..agkanka, agkannak
8..(1)..dagita bibig, dagitoy bibig

(There you have it, a brand new ugalino.)

Step 5.

Elevate the 8 liner into the DUATA, the 8 line “play”, simply by assigning the “actor” for each line.

For standardization’s sake, assign Line 1 to be read ALOUD by you, and to help you recognize your lines, all your lines are to be in the lower case.

After that, assign Line 2 for the other “actor”, and that line should be in the upper case:

dagita bibig, dagitoy bibig
PINAGKAYSA NASAM-IT NGA ESSEM
agkanka, agkannak
AYAN-AYATTA INGGET SAM-IT

Step 6.

At this stage, your DUATA should look like this:

1 dagita bibig, dagitoy bibig
2 PINAGKAYSA NASAM-IT NGA ESSEM
3 agkanka, agkannak
4 AYAN-AYATTA INGGET SAM-IT

5..(4)..ayan-ayatta ingget sam-it
6..(2)..pinagkaysa nasam-it nga essem
7..(3)..agkanka, agkannak
8..(1)..dagita bibig, dagitoy bibig

Look at line 5. Next to is a ( 4 ) which indicates that you repeated Line 4.

Now, look at line 4. Line 4 is typed in the upper case. Therefore, Line 5 should be the opposite, which is the lower case.

Apply the same process to Lines 6, 7 & 8.

After you do that, you have a completed DUATA:

1……dagita bibig, dagitoy bibig
2……PINAGKAYSA NASAM-IT NGA ESSEM
3……agkanka, agkannak
4……AYAN-AYATTA INGGET SAM-IT

5..(4)..ayan-ayatta ingget sam-it
6..(2)..pinagkaysa nasam-it nga essem
7..(3)..AGKANKA, AGKANNAK
8..(1)..DAGITA BIBIG, DAGITOY BIBIG

In assigning the lines to the lower or upper case dialog role, make sure that no lines are repeated in that particular role assignment.

The role lines, shown separately:

Lower case:
dagita bibig, dagitoy bibig
agkanka, agkannak
ayan-ayatta ingget sam-it
pinagkaysa nasam-it nga essem

UPPER CASE

PINAGKAYSA NASAM-IT NGA ESSEM
AYAN-AYATTA INGGET SAM-IT
AGKANKA, AGKANNAK
DAGITA BIBIG, DAGITOY BIBIG

As you can see, each of the original lines is recited by both actor, only in different order. It is important that no line is recited twice by one actor. It’s tempting for an actor to just recite all his/her lines in one breath, but the sweetness, as you will discover, is in the alternate exchange of reaffirming lines between partners.

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