Behn’s ‘babies’

OUR RECENT article on Behn Cervantes’ activist plays and musicals elicited some suggestions for follow-up pieces, like a recollection of the iconic actor-director’s best performances.

That’ll take time figuring out, but another interesting and instructive topic is a compilation of “Behn’s babies,” or the fledgling talents he gave a helping hand to when they were just starting out.

Pending additional inputs from stars with personal anecdotes to share in this regard, here’s a partial list of his protegés through the years:

When Behn directed the acclaimed film, “Sakada,” he didn’t just work with fine actors like Rosa Rosal, he also introduced promising young actors like Menggie Cobarrubias and Chris Michelena.

The good news is that both “discoveries” are still performing to this day. Ditto for Bibeth Orteza, who when she was his student at UP was brought by

Behn to our Manila Chronicle office so we could meet her and help give her fledgling career a boost.

Always happy to oblige, we promptly cast Bibeth in her first film, “Ang Isinilang Ko Ba’y Kasalanan,” where she acted with the likes of Anita Linda, Susan Valdez, Laurice Guillen and Tommy Abuel. Since then, Bibeth has gone on to become a writer-director on TV and in the movies.

For her part, Debraliz Valasote first worked with Behn in a Filipino musical-comedy production at the Metropolitan Theater, and he was very taken by her goony comedic spirit and verve, which has continued to delight viewers to this day.

For a change of pace, when we were directing “Two for the Road” at ABS-CBN, Behn paid us a visit the night we were featuring the Binibining Pilipinas candidates, and whispered to us that one of the lovely hopefuls, Nelia Sancho, was his protegé at UP.

When he introduced us to Nelia, we saw for ourselves how exceptional she was, and made it a point to “favor” her in the shots our TV cameras took.

Well, Nelia did very well, indeed—and went on to distinguish herself, not just as a beauty queen, but following her mentor’s sterling example, also as an activist.

Another student of Behn’s at UP was Ces Quesda, who has become an acclaimed actress valued by directors for her insightful portrayals (she’s currently in the “Princess in the Palace” daytime drama series).

Writer-editor Alya Honasan similarly regards Behn as a cherished mentor, and counts among her fondest memories her experience acting with him in “M. Butterfly.”

These and other discoveries and protegés benefited not just from Behn’s mentorship and personal attention and concern, but also from his unerring eye for durable talent—as proven by the longevity of their careers!