Since its founding in 1972 (and formally recognized five years later), Tanghalang Ateneo has grown from a fledgling band of student players to one of the country's leading school-based theater companies.
[citation needed] Acclaimed professional actors have graced its shows, and several outstanding designers and choreographers have served as members of its artistic staff.
[1] Manila City Council member Alfred Vargas got his acting career started with the company, later calling it his "refuge" when he was a student at Ateneo.
[2] Other notable actors Naty Crame-Rogers, Irma Adlawan, Teroy Guzman, Bodjie Pascua, Frances Makil-Ignacio, Floy Quintos, Myra Beltran, Leeroy New, and Gino Gonzales have worked with the company in previous seasons.
Tanghalang Ateneo started out in 1974 as a group of friends who wished to stage plays, and having no theater to speak of on the Loyola Heights campus, scheduled performances at the college cafeteria.
The officers got recognized as an organization of the college, and recruited Ricardo Saludo, a faculty member of the Departments of English and of Communications, to serve as moderator.
The repertory season of Filipino plays, original or in translation continued even after Saludo left to join Asiaweek magazine in Hong Kong in 1984.
Tanghalang Ateneo productions have also been seen off campus: over the last decade, the company has performed in the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Metropolitan Theater, the Puerto Real Gardens, the Ninoy Aquino Park, the British Council, the Alliance Francaise, Vigan, Iloilo, Nueva Ecija, and a lot more.