Kakai Bautista, Valerie Tan, Joel Molina and Perry Escaño were batch mates during the 2003 Gantimpala Theater Summer Musical Theater Workshop. Their facilitator was Bodjie Pascua, considered to be one of Manila's finest theater actors. Their recital production was Katy, a well-loved Filipino musical about the life of singing icon Katy dela Cruz, under the direction of Roobak Valle.
It has been six years since that fateful summer. Since then, these actors have graced several Gantimpala productions and now they are making their mark in the field of entertainment.
Kakai was last seen as Lucinda, the evil fairy in J. Dennis Teodosio's Sleeping Beauty, a Filipino children's musical produced by Gantimpala Theater that became the official entry to the CCP's Pasinaya 2009 last February. She also portrayed a comical domestic helper in the ABS-CBN primetime drama Tayong Dalawa, featuring the love triangle of Kim Chiu, Gerald Anderson and Jake Cuenca. She was also cast as a fortune teller in Dragonna, which also aired on the Kapamilya Network.
Valerie, on the other hand, continues to enthrall followers of The Beat, a magazine type of show in Q Channel 11. She travels in and out of metro and mega-Manila and nearby provinces to discover, learn, and experience local culture and the latest hotspots in cosmopolitan Manila.
Joel got an ALIW Awards Best Actor nomination in 2006 for his role as Philip Latak in The God Stealer/The Queen's Jewel. This twin-bill of plays produced by Gantimpala Theater was hailed as Best Non-Musical Production in the ALIW Awards. It is based on the short stories of National Artists F. Sionil Jose and the late Nick Joaquin.
Airing now are Joel's commercials for a cough syrup and a cellular mobile company. He is currently shooting three independent films, Ang Panggagahasa kay Fe and Sanglaan, both for Cinemalaya and Panahon Na, which is intended for international release, produced by the City of Taguig.
Perry became part of GMA-7's primetime series Totoy Bato, wherein he played one of Robin Padilla's closest friends in the soap. He was also cast as Ka Ferdie, one of the NPA captors of Jake Cuenca in Tayong Dalawa.
Like these four personalities, have a chance to hone your acting skills by joining Gantimpala Theater's Summer Musical Theater Workshop.
Enrollment is currently on going with classes scheduled from April 13 to May 21, M-W-F classes held at the Rehearsal Hall of the Open Air Auditorium building in Rizal Park, Manila. Tuition fee is P5,000 which can be paid in full or installment basis. A recital production serves as the culminating activity.
Roeder Camañag and Onyl Torres are the facilitators. Tony Espejo is the artistic director of Gantimpala Theater.
Highly-talented workshop participants will be invited to join the apprenticeship program of the Gantimpala Theater Actors' Company.
For other information about Gantimpala Theater's summer workshop, call 528-0603/536-5860 or send an SMS to 0921-5286308 or write to: gantimpalatheater@yahoo.com.ph
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