Playing ‘contravida’ ‘fun,’ ‘cathartic’ for Carla Abellana and Beauty Gonzalez

In “The Stolen Life,” GMA 7’s new fantasy drama series that revolves around astral projection and soul switching, Carla Abellana and Beauty Gonzalez play virtually the same two characters. Lucy (Carla) and Farrah (Beauty) are cousins who have the ability to perform astral projection—an esoteric practice that is said to allow a person’s soul to travel to distant places. And it’s through this otherworldly skill that Lucy meets her husband, the dashing and doting Darius (Gabby Concepcion).

However, it’s also this same process that the envious Farrah ends up stealing Darius from Lucy. Farrah’s soul occupies Lucy’s body, and lives the charmed life she has always dreamed of. Lucy’s displaced soul, meanwhile, is forced to inhabit Farrah’s deserted body.

Now, the meek and piteous Lucy must find a way to take back her life and convince Darius that she’s living with an impostor.

“It’s hard not to get crazy having to switch between the two roles. As much as we would like to have more time, you have to do it quickly. In this scene, I’m Lucy, the next one I’m Farrah. But eventually, we got the hang of it … There were times we got confused, but the production was always there to remind us of our characters’ mannerisms,” Carla said at a recent press conference.

In effect, Carla plays Lucy and her version of Farrah. For Beauty, it’s the other way around. Making things even trickier is that they also play the “astral” or dispossessed versions of their respective characters. And every so often, the two actresses find themselves having to act out the same scenes.

Precise

“We measure the positions of the head, hands, arms—they have to be exact. There are special effects involved, so everything has to be precise. If something goes wrong, a retake isn’t enough. Sometimes, we have to do another taping day and do it all over again,” she explained. “I don’t want to sugarcoat it; the job is really difficult.”

In playing Farrah, Carla tries to put herself in Beauty’s shoes. “I don’t see myself as Carla. I imagine myself as Beauty. ‘What would she do? How would she do it?’ But thankfully, our director, Jerry Lopez-Sineneng, allows me to sit by the monitor and study Beauty’s playbacks,” she said.

“That’s why I often tease Beauty—huwag masyadong galingan! Because then, I would have a hard time replicating what she does,” Carla added.

The challenge for Beauty, on the other hand, goes beyond acting. “I would tell Carla, ‘Kamukha mo si Mama Mary. Teka, how will I replicate [your scenes]?” she said, adding that the two characters couldn’t be farther from her real-life persona.

“Farrah is feisty. I have a little of that in me. I can be makulit at times. But usually, I’m just quiet, the typical probinsyana,” Beauty added. “That’s why I really had to prepare twice as much, because I knew I was going to play two different individuals. So I did my research. And with the help of the writers and director, I managed to do it,” she said.Unfamiliar territory

Portraying contravida roles is unfamiliar territory for Carla and Beauty. But in the end, they both got a kick out of playing Farrah, who’s a hoot of a villain.

“It’s my first time to be a contravida and I love it. It’s fun to play different roles. And as an actress, I feel blessed to be able to take on a wide range of characters and stories,” Beauty said.

While Carla relates more to Lucy’s innocence, she found playing Farrah oddly “liberating.” “There were times it felt cathartic … it’s like a good way to release pent-up emotions. It can get tiring, but I still found it enjoyable,” she said.