THE SINGER was insecure about her looks, preventing her from trying out the movies.
Music may be her first love, but Yeng Constantino has always been interested in acting. She recalls that, as a child, she would stand in front of the mirror and mimic scenes she had seen on television. What kept her from going for it, she admitted, was her niggling insecurity about her appearance—“Am I pretty enough? I’m snaggle-toothed.”
So when neophyte director Siege Ledesma asked her to top-bill the movie “Shift,” an entry in the ongoing Cinema One Originals Currents section, the singer-songwriter mustered the courage to take the plunge.
Enjoyable experience
“When this project came along, I told myself, ‘Just do it,’” Yeng told the Inquirer in a recent interview. “I’m glad I did.”
In “Shift,” Yeng, 24, plays Estela, a call center agent who falls in love with her gay trainer Trevor, portrayed by Felix Roco.
“We would shoot from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. straight. So, in a way, I got to see what it’s like to work in the graveyard shift. It was exhausting. I’m a singer, so I need to always get enough sleep. But I really enjoyed the experience,” she said.
For the first-time actress, heavy, dramatic scenes were the biggest challenge. And since the sequences were not shot in chronological order, Yeng said that she had to adjust to the contrasting moods. “One minute, magkagalit kami ni Felix; the next scene, we’re good. Nakakabaliw!” she said, laughing.
Yeng is grateful that her director very patiently guided her throughout the filming. “She would point out immediately if I made a mistake or if I was not giving enough. She helped me summon up the right emotions,” the singer-songwriter said. “And when we did the scenes right, the crew congratulated us. That felt great.”
When asked what she herself thought of her acting, Yeng replied, “Not bad … it went better than I expected! I hope my fans like the movie!” The festival run (in Trinoma, Glorietta and Robinsons Galleria) ends November 19.
These days, Yeng is deep in preparations for her coming birthday concert, “Plugged-In.” The show—which she said was her way of giving back to fans—is set Nov. 30 at Samsung Hall in SM Aura, Taguig City.
Was she more nervous about the movie or the concert? “Both!” she exclaimed.
Yeng related that she was given free rein to shape the concert theme and playlist, the better to review her musical journey. Known as a pop-rock singer, Yeng admitted that, in the early part of her career, she performed songs by Britney Spears and Mandy Moore.
“Then I discovered punk-rock and started listening to bands such as Blink-182, Coheed and Cambria, Taking Back Sunday, and Finch,” she related, adding that her concert will be for the benefit of Right Start, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization for underprivileged children.
Also, 100 percent of ticket sales from both Ticketworld and Cornerstone will go to the victims of Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”
Singapore release
Meanwhile, Yeng happily related that, with the help of the Academy of Rock, a Singapore-based music school she endorses, she managed to record and release there an original song, “Better than Yesterday.”
The urban-flavored, pop-rock ditty features Sheikh Haikel, dubbed “Godfather of Hip-Hop.” She was in Singapore from Nov. 14 to 16 to shoot the music video and promote the single in radio stations.
She was nervous about working with Sheikh, she said, “worried that we wouldn’t get along, music-wise. But it was cool; I got to experiment.”
Yeng was hopeful that the song would help her career flourish in the region. But even if it does, Yeng said, leaving the local music scene was not an option. “My heart will always be in OPM. I’ll give 200 percent to the Philippines and 200 percent to Singapore.”
Tickets to “Plugged-in: Yeng Constantino Birthday Concert” are also available at SM Tickets.
(Email apolicarpio@inquirer.com.ph)