Nag-beach wedding sina Gab Pangilinan at Myke Salomon noong Pebrero 20, 2023 sa Laiya, Batangas.
Hindi muna sila nag-honeymoon. Back to work agad sila — rehearsals para sa Ang Huling El Bimbo the Musical.
“So hindi kami nagka-chance na mag-honeymoon,” sambit ni Gab noong Setyembre 5, Martes sa CCP Annex, Pasay City.
“So right after five months of El Bimbo, isiningit namin bago mag-start ng The Last Five Years rehearsals.
“Isiningit namin ang pa-honeymoon kuno.”
Nine years na sa teatro si Gab, at tuluy-tuloy ang kanyang trabaho. Masigasig siyang mag-audition, at hindi niya alintana kahit hindi siya pumapasa.
GAB IS A SELF-CONFESSED WORKAHOLIC
Workaholic ba siya?
Napatango si Gab, “I think yes!”
May pinag-iipunan ba siya?
“Oo din. Parang ako kasi, when people say na parang, ‘Hindi ka ba nagsasawa?’ or ‘Ayaw mo bang magpahinga?’ — ako kasi, while I can, ituloy na natin ito, di ba?” paliwanag ng premyadong aktres.
“For me, parang as long as I can, I will. Kasi, mahal ko din yung ginagawa ko. So parang it’s not even being a workaholic.
“It’s like hindi naman siya hobby lang, alam mo yun. Yung parang… theater for me is not a hobby, it’s not just work, but it’s also life.
“Yeah pero workaholic ako. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”
Siguro naman, noong honeymoon nila ni Myke, hindi na niya naisip ang work?
Napangiti si Gab, “Actually, nagsasabihan kami ni Myke. Kasi pareho kaming medyo mahilig sa work.
“So… but also because we love it so much din, alam mo yun. Yung parang because we value the work also so much, so even during the honeymoon, parang ‘Sige, kain muna tayo, oo.’
“Pero in fairness, we still value the rest. So we try to balance it as much as we can, but also like I said, as we can, we’ll keep going.
“Kasi, may apoy pa, e. Gutom pa! So parang tuluy-tuloy lang kami while we can.”
GAB’S DILEMMA: THEATER OR MAINSTREAM SHOWBIZ?
Mas gusto ba ni Gab Pangilinan na manatili sa teatro? O inaasam din niya na mag-branch out sa telebisyon at pelikula?
“To be honest, people always ask me that,” sambit ni Gab.
Panay-panay ang papuri sa mga pagganap niya sa teatro, partikular sa Ang Huling El Bimbo the Musical, Mula Sa Buwan, at Side Show.
“I think it’s always been theater for me. I mean, of course there have been times na nag-TV ako, nag-commercial ako, nag-film ako,” lahad ni Gab.
“And that’s always fun. Pero as long as there’s an opportunity for me in theater, I feel like that’s where my heart will go.
“Pero as long as schedule permits naman, hindi ako sarado mag-branch out or mag-mainstream or ano.
“Pero for me kasi, theater is theater. Parang there’s nothing like live performance, and there’s nothing like being on stage telling a story.
“Of course, film is another skill, TV is another skill altogether. And huge respect for TV actors, and huge respect for film actors.
“And I have tried. I mean, I’ve done screen work. Pero siyempre, habang merong opportunity sa teatro, parang dun at dun ako mahahanap talaga, oo.”
IS THEATER WORK FINANCIALLY REWARDING?
Kumusta ang kinikita niya sa teatro, lalo pa’t nagbibida na siya? Sapat na ba yun, sakto lang, or what?
Napabuntong-hininga si Gab, “Actually, pag theater kasi, siyempre dito sa Pilipinas, dream… or like, let’s use El Bimbo as an example.
“I did 60 shows for El Bimbo, which meant how many weeks of just doing El Bimbo. And for me, that is the dream. Long run. Long-running shows.
“Di ba nga, tingnan mo ang West End, tingnan mo ang Broadway. Theater actors, years silang nandun kasi that alone can sustain them.
“And siyempre dito sa Pilipinas, iba ang estado ng industriya, di ba? I mean aminado na a regular run for the theater show would be 16 shows.
“So a long run would be a dream, something to aspire for, or something like goal siya, di ba? Parang for shows to keep running and for people to like you’ll see na…
“Dinudumog siya ng audience. Dinudumog siya ng mga tao. So parang for me, El Bimbo, that’s an ideal set-up. It’s not everyday that you would find something like that.
“Di ba? Na parang makaka-60 shows ka, that’s what? Five months of your entire year, when usually a production will only be two months of it, di ba?
“So, not saying that theater alone is sustainable… yet. Locally. But again, goal yun. If that can be achieved one day, why not, di ba?
“Parang right now, like that’s why ang daming ibang ways also. Like parang I’m not just doing theater, I’m also doing marketing, or I’m also doing content creation.
“Alam mo yun, we always find ways. I think itong mga taga-teatro, madiskarte talaga ever since.
“Madiskarte ever since because we want to be able to do theater. I mean that’s why a lot of actors, the reality is a lot of theater actors, they do teleseryes.
“Because mas masu-sustain yung lifestyle nila kasi mas regular ang bayad, or mas regular ang TF.
“So yun, parang the goal, or at least the dream for the theater industry here in the Philippines is long-running shows that can sustain you eventually, di ba?
“So parang yun yon. Parang… and I think, ako personally, nakatulong kaya nakakapag-theater shows ako, nakatulong yung side jobs talaga.
“Na parang… una, nine years ago, when I had a corporate job, nakaipon ako dun.
“And then that’s why I was parang ang kapal ng mukha ko to quit because I was like… OK, nakaipon ako, kaya ko ata for the next how many ano!
“So alam mo yun, yung didiskarte ka na lang talaga kung paano para makapag-teatro ka, ganun.”
GAB ADMITS FULFILLMENT FROM THEATER WORK IS ITS OWN REWARD
First and foremost, nasa teatro ang puso at kaluluwa ni Gab. Nandoon ang kanyang fulfillment.
“And I think that’s clear also to like at least with what I’ve been doing the past years,” mabining saad ni Gab.
“Na parang… nagulat nga ako, kahit nung pandemic, nung nag-stream ang El Bimbo, theater pa rin! Alam mo yun?
“Yung kahit na biglang nakilala kuno ako ng mga tao… dahil pa rin sa teatro.”
Super-dami ang nanood sa online streaming ng Ang Huling El Bimbo the Musical sa Facebook at YouTube noong Mayo 8 at 9, 2020. Nag-KTX pa ito noong Nobyembre 28 at 29, 2020.
“That was something na sobrang unexpected! Pero parang ako… ano yung odds na teatro pa rin yung dahilan, di ba?” sabi ni Gab.
“So parang kasi doon talaga ako parang… pupunta, oo. But again, hindi ako nagko-close ng doors or anything for whatever.
“Pero yun, parang obviously it’s the theater actor in me, ayun.”
Kabahagi si Gab sa Anywhere We Sing Is Home: The CCP’s 54th Anniversary Gala ngayong Setyembre 9, Sabado ng 8:00 pm, at bukas, Setyembre 10, Linggo ng 3:00 pm sa Samsung Performing Arts Center sa Circuit Makati.
Tampok din dito sina Joanna Ampil, Aicelle Santos-Zambrano, Arman Ferrer, Gerald Santos, Sheila Francisco, Reb Atadero at ang Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, sa ilalim ng musical direction ni National Artist Ryan Cayabyab.