The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 and Miguel López de Legazpi in 1565 both occasioned the performance of religious rituals that had the basic elements of theater.
Lopez, Veloso, Lingatong, Maximo Abadia, Leoncio Avila, and Simplicia Alcantara (a singer of the Compania) were included in the performers.
Realism in Cebuano theater was stretched too much however; even Sotto himself was a victim of the movement he started, when prior to his running for mayor in 1907, a play entitled "Ang Taban" (1906, by Teodulfo V. Ylaya) was released.
Several efforts from various organizations including the Arts Council of Cebu and LUDABI were made to bring back the love and respect for stage plays in Cebuano written by local artists.
A good number of modern playwrights and directors emerged through the years to include the late Daisy Ba-ad, Al Evangelio, Raje Palanca and Allan Jayme Rabaya.
Independent groups emerged such as Al Evangelio's Pasundayag Sugbo, Emmanuel Mante's Young Thespians of Cebu, Daisy Baad's Out of the Box Theatre Co., Raymond Ordoño's Crystal Cavalier Productions, Hendri Go's Little Boy Productions, Sonny Alquizola's Cre8tive Thespians of Cebu, Inc., and Sarah Mae Enclona-Henderson's 2TinCans Philippines, Inc.