Audie Gemora urges TV actors to try theater

AUDIE Gemora

A little effort to hone their skills goes a long way for aspiring actors, says Audie Gemora, head of TV5’s talent management and development division.

Gemora knows whereof he speaks, having trained in musical theater and acted in numerous plays, ranging from Broadway/West End productions to original Filipino works.

The theater actor-director noted during a recent media gathering that almost everyone wants to be on television these days, but that actor wannabes can become so engrossed in the glamour of show biz that they fail to grow and fully hone their craft.

Gemora said the theater is a great training ground because it helps an actor develop a strong sense of discipline that he won’t get in television.

“If you’re taping a show, for example, you may not get the script until the night before, or the day itself,” he said. How can you then learn about your character?”

Lack of preparation, Gemora said, leaves the actors with no choice at times but to go unprepared, making the performance “almost mechanical and void of authenticity.”

Theater acting, he explained, requires the actor to study the material beforehand, and rehearse every day for at least two months. As a result, the actor and his character “become one.”

Gemora said theater could be a satisfying endeavor for television actors. “They’ll experience the organic process of bringing life to a character from beginning to end… Sa TV at film kasi tagpi-tagpi ang mga scenes – you won’t see the project’s entirety until it’s finished.”

After 17 years

Seventeen years after portraying the role of Crisostomo Ibarra in Tanghalang Pilipino’s “Noli Me Tangere: The Musical,” Gemora returns as the director of the production’s restaging this month at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino.

Penned by National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera, with music from Ryan Cayabyab, this year’s “Noli” features Gian Magdangal and Mark Bautista, who alternate as Crisostomo Ibarra, and Cris Villonco as Maria Clara.

Gemora said his version of “Noli”  will have “a simpler, more linear staging.” He said it will focuses on the Ibarra-Maria Clara-Padre Salvi love triangle while fleshing out pertinent issues raised in the Jose Rizal novel.

The musical runs until August 28. Call 8323661.