Theater stalwart, Areté artistic director Ricardo G. Abad, 77

RICARDO “RICKY” G. ABAD, a theater director, actor, teacher, and sociologist, died on Tuesday, Dec. 26. He was 77.

Areté, the creative hub of the Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU), posted a short tribute for their artistic director on Facebook a day after his death.

“Dr. Abad was the spirit behind Areté’s development as a cultural institution, devising its artistic programs and presentations. He conceptualized and directed shows like the Noel Concert series, the staging and online release of 2Bayani The Musical, and the Sari-sari pocket presentations to name a few,” the post said.

As a professor emeritus of ADMU, Mr. Abad contributed to the growth of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the Department of Fine Arts.

In the late 1990s, he was part of a committee convened to propose a university program with fields of study drawn from Ateneo’s rich artistic tradition. That program would become the Department of Fine Arts (FA), where Mr. Abad served as founding director from 2000 to 2003.

“For us that are a part of the FA community — past and current students, faculty, and staff — Dr. Abad’s greatest seed planted and cultivated was what we’ve become and aspire to be: a community of educators, artists, authors, performers, and professionals committed to nurturing contextualized and critical practices in the artistic disciplines our programs represent,” the Ateneo Fine Arts Department said in a Facebook post.

Theater group Tanghalang Ateneo also paid homage to Mr. Abad, acknowledging his role in mentoring some of the best talents working across many professions and fields, particularly, in theater, film, and TV.

“We remember him fondly for his passion, humor, and lust for life, and for shaping Tanghalang Ateneo, and the Loyola School’s theater tradition, into what it is known for today: courageous and forward-thinking artistry, uncompromising discipline, and intellectual rigor,” it said.

The Philippine Sociological Society, where he had served as president and editor of the Philippine Sociological Review, highlighted his contributions to the field in a Facebook post. “His research covered a diverse range of topics including poverty and inequality, demography, migration, values, social capital, and religion, He was a recognized expert on survey research methods. A beloved teacher and mentor, Dr. Abad was a recipient of the prestigious Metrobank Outstanding Teacher Award.”

Choreographer and director Dexter M. Santos posted on Facebook his own tribute to the late master. He spoke to Mr. Abad’s “commitment and pure love for the theater.”

“He didn’t need to mentor all those TA kids. He was a more than accomplished and celebrated Doctor of Sociology,” Mr. Santos said. “Pero sobrang mahal niya ang Teatro, mahal niya ang pagtuturo (But he loved theater so much, and he loved teaching).” — Brontë H. Lacsamana