Camille Naredo

The FPJ's Batang Quiapo cast walk the red carpet during the show's 2nd anniversary  at the ABS-CBN compound in Quezon City on January 28, 2025. 

The FPJ's Batang Quiapo cast walk the red carpet during the show's 2nd anniversary  at the ABS-CBN compound in Quezon City on January 28, 2025. Alec Corpuz, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

FPJ's Batang Quiapo

ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- Veteran actor Jake Cuenca continues to expand his horizons with forays into theater.Cuenca is currently starring in The Sandbox Collective&#x27;s production of &quot;People, Places &amp; Things,&quot; in his return to the stage since appearing on &quot;Lungs&quot; in 2018.In November, he will perform again, this time on &quot;The Art of Breaking Up&quot; presented by Teatro Kapamilya.For Cuenca, acting on stage is &quot;very different&quot; compared to working on television and film.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/people-culture-events/2026/7/31/here-s-what-to-expect-from-teatro-kapamilya-s-the-art-of-breaking-up-1356">READ: Here&#x27;s what to expect from Teatro Kapamilya&#x27;s &#x27;The Art of Breaking Up</a></div>&quot;For me, I love the craft and every medium that has to do with the craft. So film acting is very different from theater, theater is very different from film. So [I&#x27;m] just lucky I have the opportunity to experience all of it,&quot; he said in a recent interview.Cuenca notes that in theater, he gets a chance to learn and become better in his craft, while also being allowed more freedom.&quot;There are a lot of things na I&#x27;m not allowed to do in mainstream television or film that I can do in theater,&quot; he said. &quot;There are certain things in your skill set na hindi mo magaganda for film and TV, but in theater, you&#x27;re allowed to.&quot;At the same time, for me, every time I do a play, whether it&#x27;s a big one like this or even an intimate one, feeling ko parang nadadagdagan &#x27;yung skill set ko. It&#x27;s something that I can add again to another portrayal in a movie and in TV,&quot; he explained.The lessons that he learns when performing on stage serves Cuenca well when he acts in front of a camera, where he feels more eager to embrace complex characters such as &quot;Edong&quot; on &quot;What Lies Beneath.&quot;&quot;Hindi na ako nahihiya to try things or really stretch myself out,&quot; he explained. &quot;In theater kasi, mate-train ka eh. Kasi there&#x27;s nothing like performing live.&quot;&quot;Pag nagkamali ka, everyone knows, or you have to plow through. Kahit alam mo, things are not going well in the scene, kailangan mo gawan ng paraan. And that for me, to be honest with you, as an actor, that&#x27;s what I live for,&quot; he added.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2026/7/31/jake-cuenca-says-every-breakup-has-made-him-a-better-person-0024">READ: Jake Cuenca says every breakup has made him a better person</a></div>Not every theater experience is the same as well. Cuenca points out that &quot;People, Places &amp; Things&quot; -- which will be a staged reading -- will be very different from &quot;The Art of Breaking Up.&quot;In the former, Cuenca will star with Gabby Padilla and Bela Padilla in a reading of Duncan Macmillan’s play, which will run for four shows at The Black Box in Rockwell this weekend.Come November, he will play the role of &quot;Dino&quot; in &quot;The Art of Breaking Up,&quot; which is Teatro Kapamilya&#x27;s adaptation of George De Jesus III&#x27;s &quot;Kung Paano Maghiwalay.&quot;&quot;Iba &#x27;yung mararamdaman niyo sa akin sa &#x27;People, Places and Things&#x27; by Sandbox, and iba rin &#x27;yung makikita niyo sa akin come November with &#x27;The Art of Breaking Up&#x27; with PETA and Teatro Kapamilya,&quot; he said. With both productions, Cuenca is looking forward to feedback on his performances.&quot;It feels great coming from the critics, &#x27;yung criticism from the theater scene. It feels really great, kasi it&#x27;s honest,&quot;  he said. &quot;If it&#x27;s really good, sasabihin nila sa&#x27;yo na maganda talaga. If it&#x27;s bad, you get it right away as well.&quot;

Veteran actor Jake Cuenca continues to expand his horizons with forays into theater.

Veteran actor Jake Cuenca continues to expand his horizons with forays into theater.

'That's what I live for': Why Jake Cuenca embraces theater

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'That's what I live for': Why Jake Cuenca embraces theater

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 15, 2026 07:25 AM PHT

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theater

Jake Cuenca

The Art of Breaking Up

Teatro Kapamilya

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