Dolly de Leon. Image: Juan Leo and Kurt Jeremy via Instagram/@dollyedeleon
While Dolly de Leon found the sweet spot between acting in film, television, and theater, she initially struggled with portraying emotions and “feeling the heart” of characters through these acting forms.
De Leon is set to return to theater in the Manila run of the play “Request sa Radyo,” a Filipino adaptation of German playwright Franz Xaver Kroetz’s masterpiece “Wunschkonzert/Request Programme.” She will take on the lead role which will be alternated between herself and award-winning theater actress Lea Salonga.
But while de Leon took a theater arts degree at the University of the Philippines, she admitted that she had a hard time separating the portrayal of various emotions in theater, film, and television at some point in her career.
“My personal experience was that it’s a huge struggle for me transitioning to theater from film and television. Noong first time kong mag-film and TV, ang laki-laki ng acting ko so medyo nakakahiya (When it was my first time doing film and TV, I went big with my acting which was embarrassing),” she said at the play’s masterclass in Makati.
“But now I kinda got the groove of it already, which is to hold back and trust your eyes to do the job. Also, to trust whatever you’re feeling inside will come out. But with theater, it’s very external but at the same time, you have to make it come out,” she continued.
Despite this, de Leon said she would always be passionate about theater, as it banks on an actor’s ability to maintain their “momentum” while bringing such emotions to life. “With film, you have to feel it and then the cameras will pick it up. It’s a totally different process.”
“But that’s why I love theater so much,” she continued. “There’s momentum that you build when you’re doing a play. You’re able to really feel the heart of what your characters are going through.”
The actress also pointed out that acting in theater allows her to be fully “immersed” in her character, and while she might mistakes along the way, it’s about “winging it” until the final curtain call.
“In film, it doesn’t have to run in chronological order. You don’t know where you came from and it’s hard to sustain the energy and build the momentum,” she said. “With plays, it’s really different. You’re really immersed and you’re there a hundred percent. Wala kang choice. Kung magkakamali ka, magkakamali ka (If you’re wrong, you’re wrong). And you have to wing it even if you made a mistake.”
In de Leon and Salonga’s case, they could only rely on themselves throughout “Request sa Radyo’s” run since they are the sole characters of its storyline. Based on the original material, it centers around a middle-aged woman who does her day-to-day routines in silence, in a bid to portray isolation and loneliness.
“You only have yourself and your co-actor. In this case, wala kaming co-actor (we don’t have a co-actor) so we only have ourselves to rely on. If ever, kasama lang namin ni Lea ang (Lea and I are only accompanied by) lighting and sound, and no one else. It’s very exciting. I’ve never done anything like that,” she said.
“Request Sa Radyo” is among de Leon’s upcoming activities lined up. She is set to star in the film “Jackpot!” and the series “Severino: The First Serial Killer” and season two of “Nine Perfect Strangers.”
The Bobby Garcia-helmed play will run from October 10 to 20 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater.