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'Reluctant commercial star' Marco Viaña remains focused on theater

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Totel V. de Jesus

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/02/21/marco-viana.jpg"/><figcaption>Marco Viaña plays the title role in Tanghalang Pilipino&#x27;s latest production &#x27;Coriolano.&#x27; <em>Handout</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA -- After playing lead in William Shakespeare&#x27;s &quot;Coriolanus&quot; at London&#x27;s West End (2000) and in the film adaptation (2011) that was also his directorial debut, Ralph Fiennes was asked what advice he can give young actors. </p><p>&quot;Never lose sight of the things that move you as an actor because there&#x27;s is so much bulls**t in this business, and flattery and pretense. Keep the quiet focus of your own intent to be an actor and to give yourself to that life with all its ups and often very unhappy, unsettling downs. Don&#x27;t give up, develop an interior strength to weather all those things, because if you have those skills to be an actor, those skills will always be there with you. It&#x27;s just how life treats it. So the advice is find your interior strength for the life ahead of you,&quot; he saud.</p><p>Though more known for his film roles like Lord Voldemort, the English actor got his earliest training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before acting for the Royal Shakespeare Company. In his younger days, he was also ranked among the best looking actors of all time. </p><p>We&#x27;re reminded of Fiennes because talent, good looks and focus seldom mix nowadays but somewhere on the other side of the globe, there&#x27;s Marco Viaña of Tanghalang Pilipino (TP). </p><p>Viaña is also playing the lead in TP&#x27;s opening play this year, &quot;Coriolano,&quot; a translation of William Shakespeare&#x27;s text by playwright-director-actor Guelan Luarca. Directed by Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, &quot;Coriolano&quot; runs all weekends starting Friday, February 22, until March 17 at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.</p><p>The young actor has yet to embark on a career in film or television but with TP, he&#x27;s played a lot of lead roles that earned him the respect of fellow actors and some well-respected theater critics. </p><p>Among these recent groundbreaking roles were John Proctor and Reverend Parris in &quot;Ang Pag-uusig,&quot; a Filipino translation of Arthur Miller&#x27;s &quot;The Crucible,&quot; for which Viaña won the Male Featured Performance in a Play trophy in last year&#x27;s Gawad Buhay Awards, or the equivalent of best supporting actor. </p><p>There was also Dingdong Novenario&#x27;s &quot;Daddy&#x27;s Girl&quot; for the annual Virgin Labfest in 2016, opposite Skyzx Labastilla. Way back in 2013, he played Antonio in TP&#x27;s &quot;Der Kaufmann: Ang Negosyante ng Venecia,&quot; Rody Vera&#x27;s adaptation of Shakespeare&#x27;s &quot;The Merchant of Venice.&quot;</p><p>Now, Viaña is playing the complex hero Coriolano, in what was believed to be one of the last two tragedies written by Shakespeare. </p><p>&quot;Marco is a serious theater actor, but a reluctant commercial &#x27;star&#x27;, even if he has the physical qualities of a matinee idol. Marco is so hooked up to theater work, not only as an actor, but as an educator and a cultural worker,&quot; Fernando &quot;Tata Nanding&quot; Josef, artistic director of TP, told ABS-CBN News.</p><p>&quot;For a time, he could not figure out which would be his priority, because he could actually be good in all three fields. But, very recently, he confidently declared, &#x27;Tang, sige actor muna ako,&#x27;&quot; added Josef, a veteran actor for film, television and theater. </p><p>&quot;I think he knew that he has still to learn so much more as an actor, even as he religiously attends the Actors Company (AC) classes. Marco, just like the rest of the ACs, exerts the same effort when assigned to do small or big roles,&quot; he said. </p><p>&quot;But, I know that Marco sees &#x27;Coriolano,&#x27; not only as a big challenge because he is doing the title role. Knowing Marco, I could tell that he is scared, but, knowing him all these past 7 years, I can also tell that he is ready to take on the challenge, not just for himself but for Tanghalang Pilipino,&quot; added Josef, who is part of the upcoming teleserye &quot;Sandugo&quot; starring Ejay Falcon, Aljur Abrenica, Cherry Pie Picache and Ariel Rivera.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/life/02/26/022617-eurydice.jpg"/><figcaption>(From left) Lhorvie Nuevo, Juliene Mendoza and Marco Viana at curtain call of &#x27;Eurydice.&#x27; <em>Vladimir Bunoan, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>&quot;I am proud to say that Marco and the rest of the Actors Company, by this time, have internalized Tanghalang Pilipino&#x27;s unwritten, but, practiced rule, &#x27;the actor is part of a big whole&#x27;; the TP actor, given a title role or cameo role, practices the same sense of artistic discipline, the same dedication, the same sense of responsibility as a co-actor, a team player in the ensemble,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;I am confident that Marco will be a good Coriolano, just as the rest of the Actors Company and our powerful guest artists will be equally great. &#x27;Coriolano&#x27; will showcase a powerful ensemble of exceptionally talented actors/&quot; </p><p>Viaña&#x27;s fellow actors have nothing but good words for him. </p><p>Ybes Bagadiong, a TP Actors Company member and one of Viana&#x27;s co-actors in &quot;Coriolano&quot; told ABS-CBN News: &quot;Generous kasing tao si Kuya Marco, mapa loob o labas man ng teatro. Naalala ko lang one time sabi niya sakin, nakalimutan ko na &#x27;yung exact words e, pero ganito &#x27;yung punto. &#x27;Huwag mo hayaang ma-stereotype ka.&#x27; Ginagawa namin &#x27;yung re-run ng &#x27;Ang Pag-Uusig&#x27;. Magkaibigan kasi &#x27;yung character namin sa kwento. Bigay sya ng tips, pointers. Ganon sya. Tutulong talaga siya &#x27;pag kailangan mo. Nagkataon pa na suspended ako &#x27;non. Kung iba &#x27;yon, hahayaan ka na lang kung ano gawin mo na atake sa character, &#x27;di ka iko-correct, pero siya pupulutin ka niya tapos itatayo ka niya.&quot;</p><p>JV Ibesate, another TP Actors Company member, recalled: &quot;When our batch was starting in AC, Marco was one of the senior members who went his way to make us feel like we’re already part of the company. He is a abled leader and a dependable co-actor. His genuine ways of caring for his co-actors make every scene with him a breath of fresh air.&quot;</p><p>Here are some excerpts of ABS-CBN News exclusive interview with Viaña: </p><div><strong>Q: Kindly tells us the time you were told that you will be playing the lead role.</strong></div><p>A: Around the third quarter of 2017, pinatawag ako ni Tata Nanding Josef para sabihing nagka-usap sila ni Guelan Luarca and Sir Carlitos Siguion Reyna para sa posibilidad na gawin ang translation or adaptation ng &#x27;Coriolanus.&#x27; Pinapasabi raw ni Sir Carlitos na ako ang gusto niyang gumanap bilang Coriolanus na magiging isa sa mga dula sa 32nd season ng Tanghalang Pilipino. Noong mga panahon na iyon, hindi ko pa masyado inisip dahil alam kong marami pang pwedeng mangyari. </p><p>Pwedeng maurong, mapalitan, o magbago ang mga desisyon dahil isa &#x27;yun sa mga realidad sa paggawa ng mga dula — palaging walang kasiguraduhan. Nitong rerun ng &#x27;Pag-uusig&#x27; na lang, nang makanood si Sir Carlitos at nasabing huwag raw akong magpagupit at mag-ahit para sa pictorial ng &#x27;Coriolano,&#x27; doon ko na lang talagang napaniwalaan at nag-sink in na tuloy na ang pagtatanghal at dapat ko na paghandaan ang pagganap kay Coriolano.</p><div><strong>Q: After receiving the good news, what kind of preparations did you do? </strong></div><p>A: Nagsimula lang ako maghanda para sa &#x27;Coriolano&#x27; nang matapos ang run ng &#x27;Manila Notes.&#x27; Tulad ng madalas na proseso namin sa Actors Company, binasa ko ng mga ilang ulit ang naging translation ni Guelan. Malaking tulong din ang online research dahil hindi ako masyadong pamilyar sa partikular na dula na ito. Ilan din sa mga hinanap ko online ay sino ang mga personalidad at anong mga recent events ang maaaring sumalamin sa mga karakter at mga eksena ng &#x27;Coriolano.&#x27; Politikal ang dulang ito, at tingin ko ay napakaraming dahilan para buksan muli ang kwentong ito at itanghal ang &#x27;Coriolano&#x27; sa panahon ngayon.</p><div><strong>Q: Have you seen the movie adaptation that was Ralph Fiennes directorial debut? </strong></div><p>A: Sa totoo lang, palagi kong iniiwasan makanood ng mga naging pagtatanghal ng dula o kahit ng movie adaptations ng mga dulang gagawin ko para hindi ako maimpluwensyahan sa magiging pagtatanghal. Naniniwala kasi ako na bilang aktor, challenge niya ang kulayan at bigyang buhay ang mga karakter na ginagampanan niya, at bahagi nito ang unti-unting pagkilala sa karakter. Sa karanasan ko, nawawala &#x27;yung joy at challenge sa paghuhukay ng character traits na pwedeng gamitin sa dula kung may impluwensya ng dating pagtatanghal. Kadalasan rin, magkaka-iba ang mga layunin kung bakit itinatanghal ang isang dula, at malinaw na iba ang layunin ng Tanghalang Pilipino at ni Sir Carlitos kung bakit siya itatanghal sa kasalakuyan. Papanuorin ko na lang ang version ni Sir Ralph Fiennes matapos ang run ng &#x27;Coriolano.&#x27; </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/02/18/juan-tamad-1.jpg"/><figcaption>Marco Viana designed the set of TP&#x27;s &#x27;Nang Dalawin ng Pag-ibig si Juan Tamad.&#x27;<em> Photo by Fred Hawson</em></figcaption></figure></div><div><strong>Q: Objectively, what do you think of Corolianus as a character?</strong></div><p>A: Dalawang salita -- brutally honest. Kung buhay siya at makikilala ko siya ngayon, hindi ako sigurado kung gusto ko bang marinig ang mga lalabas sa bibig niya. Kaya ang gandang pag-aralan nito. Kailan at bakit nga ba nagiging brutal ang katotohanan para sa akin o para sa karamihan? Isa ito sa ilang mga tanong ko noong una kong nabasa ang dula, at layunin ko ngayon bilang aktor na ilahad at kahit papaano masagot ang mga ito para sa mga manonood.</p><div><strong>Q: Would you say this could be your most challenging role ever? </strong></div><p>A: Isang rason para masabi kong challenging ang isang karakter, ay kung malayo ang katotohanan niya at ng mundong ginagalawan niya sa sarili kong truth, pero ang mga ganitong karakter ang pinakamasasayang aralin at gawin. Ngayon na nasa proseso kami na inaaral/kinikilala si Coriolano, masasabi kong malayong malayo ako sa katotohanan niya. Magkatulad lang kami dahil pareho kaming mama&#x27;s boy. (laughs)</p><div><strong>Q: How many Shakespearean characters have you played and who is your favorite, kung meron, before &#x27;Coroliano&#x27;?</strong></div><p>A: (Year) 2007 ako unang nakipaglaro kay Shakespeare bilang si Romeyo nang gawin ng Mapua Tekno Teatro ang &#x27;Romeyo Labs Dyulyet&#x27; sa direksyon ni Sir JK Anicoche. Jologs adaptation ito ng &#x27;Romeo and Juliet,&#x27; translation ni Rolando Tinio, at hango sa nauna pang pagtatanghal ng Tanghalang Pilipino na &#x27;R&#x27;meo luvs Dew-lhiett.&#x27;</p><p>Noong 2013 gumanap ako bilang Antonio sa adaptation ng &#x27;Merchant of Venice&#x27; ng Tanghalang Pilipino, ang &#x27;Der Kaufmann.&#x27; Actors Company play ito sa direksyon nina Sir Tuxqs Rutaquio at Sir Rody Vera. </p><p>Most recently, noong 2016 itinanghal ang &#x27;Pangarap sa Isang Gabi ng Gitnang Tag-araw,&#x27; a translation of &#x27;Midsummer Night&#x27;s Dream,&#x27; kung saan gumanap ako bilang Lisandro. Ito ang pangalawang pagkakataong naging direktor namin si Sir Carlitos Siguion Reyna. </p><p>Wala akong paborito. Baka magalit si Shakespeare! (laughs)</p><div><strong>Q: In relation to that, what would you consider your most challenging roles in TP and in the Virgin Labfest? And why?</strong></div><p>&#x27;Kafatiran&#x27; (2011) ang kauna-unahang Virgin Labfest play ko. Baguhan pa lang ako noon at wala pang malinaw na proseso bilang aktor. Nagpa-agos lang ako at nagtiwala sa direktor naming si Sir JK Anicoche at mga co-actors na sina Kuya Ian Lomonggo, Abner Delina, at Acey Aguilar, kaya nagawang humarap sa manonood bilang &#x27;tagong&#x27; Katipunero.</p><p>Ang &#x27;Tiyo Vanya&#x27; at &#x27;Pahimakas sa Isang Ahente&#x27; naman ang dalawa sa pinakamahabang dula na nagawa ko. Humagulgol ako sa takot noong tech week ng &#x27;Tiyo Vanya&#x27; sa pag-aakalang hindi ako aabot sa pagmememorya ng mga linya.</p><p>At nitong rerun ng &#x27;Pag-uusig,&#x27; salitan kong binuhay si Reverend Parris at John Proctor. Pareho silang mabigat na karakter sa dula pero magkaibang-magkaiba ang mga objective and traits nila.</p><p>Lahat talaga sila masasabi mong challenging, nakakapagod, pero kahit sinong aktor, tingin ko, hinding hindi ipagpapalit ang kalayaang nararamdaman nila tuwing nasa entablado sila. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/entertainment/10/26/20181026-pag-uusig.jpg"/><figcaption>Marco Viana (center) leads the alternate cast of “Ang Pag-uusig” at the CCP. <em>Vladimir Bunoan, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><div><strong> Q: Pwedeng pakuwento kung saan ka nag-high school, college and how did you become a member of TP? </strong></div><p>A: Electronics Engineering graduate ako sa Mapua Institute of Technology. At habang nasa college, naging miyembro ako ng Mapua Tekno Teatro, at doon nakilala si Sir JK Anicoche na siyang naging mentor/director namin ng ilang taon. Malaki ang naging impluwensya niya sa aming mga miyembro noon, kaya ilan sa amin ay nangarap na magtuloy sa professional theater. Madalas rin kaming nanonood sa Virgin Labfest kaya tuwing mapapadaan sa harap ng CCP, binubulong namin sa hangin na balang araw ay magagawa naming magtanghal sa mga entablado nito. Taong 2010 nagkaroon ng announcement ang Tanghalang Pilipino na naghahanap sila ng mga bagong miyembro para Actors Company. Ilang linggo bago ang audition, iniintay kong makatulog ang mga magulang ko, at patagong nag-aaral ng monologue para sa audition. August 2010, walo sa mahigit 20 na sumubok ang nakapasa sa audition, kabilang ako. Nagbunga ang pagbulong sa hangin ng Pasay, ngayon walong taon na ako sa Tanghalang Pilipino.</p><div><strong>Q: Sino sa TP ang nagcha-challenge sa yo to be your best?</strong></div><p>Si Tata Nanding Josef at Ms. Carmela Manuel (company manager) ang &#x27;tatay at nanay&#x27; namin sa loob ng Tanghalang Pilipino. Sila ang nagiging gabay at tiwalang nagbibigay ng mga oportunidad para matuto at lumago bilang mahuhusay na artist-teachers, pero palagian paring nagpapaala-ala na itapak ang paa sa lupa. Si Sir Dennis Marasigan (Actors Company adviser/script analysis teacher), ang pinaka-nakakakilala sa amin bilang mga aktor. Alam na niya ang mga kalakasan at mga kahinaan namin kaya alam rin niya kung paano kami itutulak na huwag makuntento sa nakasanayan o comfort zone. Binubuksan nilang tatlo ang mga posibilidad para lumawak kami at mas makilala namin ang mga sarili bilang artist at bilang tao.</p><div><strong>Q: May nag-offer na ba sa &#x27;yo to do indie films? Or plan mo ring mag-crossover eventually? </strong></div><p>A: May ilang pagkakataon na rin akong naimbitahan sumali sa mga indie films, pero palaging hindi tumutugma ang schedule. Minsan nakakahinayang, pero sa ngayon, nasa pagtatanghal sa entablado ang puso ko. I always strive to challenge myself, and with the right material and right time, sa tingin ko, maluwag na bubukas ang daan para sa pelikula kapag tama na ang panahon. Exciting isipin &#x27;yun.</p>

<p>Marco Viaña is playing the lead in Tanghalang Pilipino's opening play this year, "Coriolano," a translation of Shakespeare's text by playwright-director-actor Guelan Luarca. </p>

Marco Viaña is playing the lead in Tanghalang Pilipino's opening play this year, "Coriolano," a translation of Shakespeare's text by playwright-director-actor Guelan Luarca.