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Behind the theater: How Dudz Teraña got the role of Thalia in PETA's 'Care Divas'

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Totel V. de Jesus

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/life/12/12/behind-the-theater-t.jpg"/><figcaption>&#x27;Inosente. Pero huwag mong iiwan sa kusina mag-isa. Sasabog ang gasul sa bahay.&#x27; Dudz Terana as Thalia. Photo courtesy of Dudz Terana</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA -- How do gay actors prepare for memorable gay roles?“Nanuod ako ng mga Barangay Miss Gay,” Dudz Teraña, one of the busiest actor-directors these days, told ABS-CBN News. He knows it’s not enough he’s gay and he’d just be himself on stage. Teraña plays Thalia in the Philippine Educational Theater Association’s “Care Divas,” the hit musical co-written by Liza Magtoto, Vincent de Jesus (composer, musical director) and directed by PETA’s artistic director Maribel Legarda.Together with PETA’s other classic works, De Jesus’ election satire “Si Juan Tamad, ang Diyablo at Limang Milyong Boto” and Charley dela Paz-Lucien Letaba’s sung-through musical about the Andres Bonifacio-led Philippine Revolution against Spain titled “1896,” “Care Divas” is having an encore weekend and being streamed on KTX for 24 hours only. It started 12 noon (Manila time) on Saturday, December 12 and will be made available until 12 noon of Sunday, December 13.Streaming simultaneously is the documentary about PETA’s struggles and triumphs since it was founded by Cecile Guidote-Alvarez on April 7, 1967, titled “Living Voices,” which is directed by Teraña.As announced by PETA on its social media pages, after two weeks and 10,000 online audiences, the online festival of new works dubbed “KE-Pop” is also being streamed. KE-POP stands for Kalinangan Ensemble Performers Overcoming a Pandemic.“Care Divas” is inspired by the story of a real group of club performers composed of gay Pinoy care givers in Tel Aviv. Besides being a highly entertaining, funny musical, it also explores discrimination, depression, paranoia, among other hardships that Overseas Filipino Workers endure in order to support their loved ones back home.Teraña was part of the original cast when “Care Divas” premiered in 2011 and took home seven major awards from Philstage’s “Gawad Buhay.” It has since been re-staged many times and the role of Thalia he shared with another PETA regular, actor-teacher Jayson Barcial.Thalia is one-fifth of the eponymously named Care Divas, the group of talented drag queens composed of the romantic Chelsea (played by Melvin Lee), the alaskador mother hen ironically named Shai (played by De Jesus alternating with Ron Alfonso), the carbonated Kayla (Ricci Chan, Jerald Napoles), and the eccentric Jonee (Phil Noble, Buddy Caramat, Thou Reyes).<div>Signature role</div>Thalia is the delightful gay bimbo character, the one who throws the dumbest dialogues and punchlines.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/life/12/12/behind-the-theater-2.jpg"/><figcaption>Dudz Terana before quarantine. He was part of &#x27;Under My Skin,&#x27; PETA&#x27;s advocacy play on HIV-AIDS awareness. Photo courtesy of Dudz Terana</figcaption></figure></div>“Dinevelop ko ‘yung attack ni Thalia slowly, based from her lines and logic ng character development,” Teraña said.“Nag-observe talaga ako during that time ng mga gay beauty pageants. Halos ang dami kong napanuod. Even sa side stage tumitingin talaga ako kung paano mag-interact ang mga bading,” he recalled.He may not have acknowledged yet it but for many theater followers, Thalia has become his signature role. Looking back almost a decade ago when “Care Divas” was being conceptualized, he was hesitant to join the cast.“Maribel (Legarda) told me to audition. At first, I didn’t want to because it’s a musical. And I don’t audition in PETA,” Teraña told ABS-CBN News in Filipino.“I was afraid to audition. I may not be able to get in. But because it was the artistic director who asked me to, I had no choice.”“Ang una pina-try sa akin na role ay Kayla sa audition then eventually nalagay ako sa Thalia na role. Sa character ni Thalia, mas nag-dwell ako sa ‘commedia del arte,’” he recalled.<div>Thalia as ‘slow character’</div>“Para mas lalong magbago si Thalia as character sa ‘Care Divas’, pinalitan ko ang speed. Kasi during rehearsals, silang apat na kasama ko sa play mabibilis magsalita,” Teraña said.“So one way to really create the character, ang magic texture ay gawing slow. Slow mag-isip, slow magsalita, slow sa reactions. Maybe dahil na din ito sa ‘commedia del arte.’” Matatawa ka na lang kasi sa katangahan n&#x27;ya sa life.”<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/life/12/12/behind-the-theater-3.jpg"/><figcaption>Dudz Terana went to the islands after the &#x27;Care Divas&#x27; premiere staging. Photo courtesy of Dudz Terana</figcaption></figure></div>Then came the rehearsals and Thalia was much applauded. She has become one of the most memorable roles created among PETA’s original musicals.“At first, I didn’t know it would work but during PETA night (a dress tech performance whose audience members are from PETA), I heard the positive reactions of those from PETA on Thalia. I told myself, it would work,” he recalled.“Syempre, nakakatuwa na maraming nagkakagusto kay Thalia pero hindi ko alam kung love nila si Thalia o natatangahan lang talaga sila sa character. I guess s’ya &#x27;yung ngiti ng group. Tragic &#x27;yung mga kuwento ng apat pero s&#x27;ya, sa mundo n&#x27;ya masaya na s&#x27;ya kung ano ang mayroon sya,” Teraña said.During the actual run, he got positive reviews. For the 2011 Gawad Buhay Awards, he was nominated for Male Featured Performance in a Musical, the equivalent of best supporting actor.&quot;Unexpected ang mga reviews ng mga critics sa akin. Even &#x27;yung pagka-nominate sa akin unexpected talaga. Siguro may nakita sila sa pagganap ko na hindi ako aware. Kasi sa play kapag nagsimula na, Thalia na ako from backstage once na magmake-up na ako. Character kung character talaga.”But since “Care Divas” was a major hit, he was competing with other actors in the musical in the same category. Also nominated were Myke Salomon and Paul Holme, who both played multiple characters in “Care Divas.” The award eventually went to Michael Williams for his role as Captain Hook in Repertory Philippines “Peter Pan.”Teraña would play Thalia in several re-runs of “Care Divas. Bad days won’t ruin his performances.“May mga araw na hindi ka masaya pero siyempre kailangang tuloy ang palabas. Challenging sya.”Eventually, regular audience members of PETA who kept on coming back over the years and never missed the reruns of “Care Divas” were calling him “Thalia.&quot;“Pero nagugulat siłą kapag nakita na nila ako ng walang makeup kasi total transformation talaga. Though sa mga umuulit ng maraming beses, Thalia ang tawag sa akin more pa sa pangalan ko talaga.”<div>More extra rice</div>After all those years of doing “Care Divas,” among other works in PETA, he had become real-life close friends with De Jesus, Caramat, Lee and other “Divas” cast members.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/life/12/12/behind-the-theater-4.jpg"/><figcaption>The grueling editing phase of &#x27;Living Voices&#x27;, the documentary about PETA&#x27;s struggles directed by Dudz Terana. Photo courtesy of Dudz Terana</figcaption></figure></div>“Oo naman. Kasi mahahalata mo kung hindi nag-gegel ang mga actors or hindi. May mga alternates kasi kami. At kita mo talaga sa amin na ang turingan talaga ay magkakapatid,” he said.“Even sa backstage, kahit mga pagkain ko nangingi-alam ang mga kasama ko sa productions kasi ang takaw ko talaga. Nakakatatlong rice ako kaya may mga year si Thalia na buntis ako są stage at manas kaka-kain,” he added, laughing at the thought of it.“Eh &#x27;yun ang masarap sa amin, kahit sa stage alam mo na kung kailangan ng saluhan sa stage.”After “Care Divas’s” premiere run in 2011, it was restaged the following year at the Onstage Theater in Greenbelt One, with guest actors from Repertory Philippines led by Joy Virata. In recent theater history, “Care Divas” holds the record of uniting both pioneering theater groups in one big hit original musical.It 2017, “Care Divas” returned to open the season celebrating PETA’s 50th anniversary.“Na-master na namin ang isa’t isa. And &#x27;yung flow ng usapan mahirap kung hindi talaga nag-ge-gel ang group kasi may tendency ito na bumagsak. Pero awa naman ng Diyos, parating masaya ang play,” Teraña said.<div>Carrying on at FEU</div>Teraña started acting when he was in high school. He was invited to attend a workshop in PETA and became a member of the Metropolitan Teen Theater League, the youth arm of PETA.“Hindi ko alam audition workshop pala &#x27;yun na magiging part ng MTTL. Then ayun history na. Nakalubog na ako sa theater. Masaya eh. Kahit hindi kalakihan ang kita, iba ‘yung naibibigay n’yang kaligayahan less stress compare sa ibang fields. I think,” he said, before bursting into that contagious laughter that reminded us of a dressing room and a living room set in Tel Aviv.Only few may know it but Teraña has been part of the academe, teaching theater at the Far Eastern University (FEU). For the past 11 years, he has also been serving as artistic director of the eight-decade-old FEU Theater Guild.His stint started in 2009 after he resigned as production head of PETA Kalinangan Ensemble and by pure coincidence, the historic university-based theater guild was looking for an artistic director. PETA’s “Batang Rizal” was toured at FEU and Teraña’s performance was noticed by its management.The FEU Theater Guild was founded by Sarah K. Joaquin in 1934. Its string of alumni included the likes of Nick Agudo, Rustica Carpio, Eddie Ilarde, Joan Orendain, Johnny Wilson, Frankie Evangelista, Pete Roa, Bert “Tawa” Marcelo and in recent years, the magnificent Jonathan “Tad” Tadioan of Tanghalang Pilipino.“Hindi ko ine-expect na tatagal ako sa FEU. Feeling ko nga one year lang. Now, 11 years na ako sa FEU. Iba din kasi ang energy ng mga college theater group compare mo sa professional,” he said.“Maraming saya at lungkot. Of course, sa professional may budget, sa school maliit lang pero natuto akong mag-adjust at ilabas ang lahat ng natutunan ko sa PETA. I treat my theater org as mini PETA. Alam nilang lahat yun. Lahat may boses. Isang bilog lang. Pantay pantay sa lahat.”Teraña’s guidance for FEU Theater Guild has produced some of the most memorable plays in the less-publicized corner of Manila.Among these were the Filipino stage adaptation of the short stories of Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Last year, the guild re-staged “Makikitawag Lang Ako,” an adaptation by Teresa Lorena Jopson of Marquez’ short story “I Only Came to Use the Phone” from his book “Strange Pilgrims.” It was initially staged in October 2014 at the FEU Auditorium.Also adapted by Jopson, the guild also staged “Ang Pinakamakisig sa mga Nalunod sa Buong Daigdig,” from Marquez’s “The Handsomest Drowned Man In the World.”Besides Terana’s original works like “Sampung Minuto Kada Buwan,” “Confessions” and “Usapang X,” the guild had also staged Allan Lopez’s “Anatomiya ng Pag-Ibig” and Dominique La Victoria’s “Mga Bata sa Drum.”This year, brought by the pandemic, he encouraged his students to write and perform their own plays as part of their online theater classes.“I really want to explore different literature, from contemporary to classics, para ma-experience nila ang iba’t ibang klase ng pagtatanghal,” he said.At this point, we wonder if he still has dream roles, or wishes in particular?“Wala naman. Siguro ibalik lang ang ‘Care Divas’ at ‘yung naputol na play na ‘Under My Skin’, nabitin kami kasi dahil sa pandemic. Sayang pero I hope maibalik kasi masaya naman ‘yung play na yun kahit mabigat ang topic n&#x27;ya.”“Sana siguro makabalik na tayo sa dati. Nakaka-miss ang theater, ang tao, ang rehearsals at kainan sa backstage. Sobra lang nakaka-miss at sana ‘yung mga tao, kapag nagbukas na muli ang theater, bumalik na sila, maging part na ng new normal ang mga plays sa (live) theater. Kailangan natin ng malaking support sa theater. Kasi kami yung industry na sobrang affected,” he lamented.Like what he tells his students, his advice to budding actors is to explore, enjoy, have fun, play.Teraña said: “’Yun naman ang spirit ng theater, maglaro ka lang, laruin mo ang isip ng mga magnunuod, mula sa mga pagtatanghal. Huwag matakot kung hindi nagwork sa simula, subukan ulit. Ganun naman ang process.“At siyempre, mag-aral. Kasi ang theater, hindi naman basta-basta ka lang makakapasok kailangan mong aralin syang mabuti. Read theater history books, watch plays, explore. Ganern.”

“Care Divas” is having an encore weekend and being streamed on KTX for 24 hours only. It started 12 noon (Manila time) on Saturday, December 12 and will be made available until 12 noon of Sunday, December 13.

“Care Divas” is having an encore weekend and being streamed on KTX for 24 hours only. It started 12 noon (Manila time) on Saturday, December 12 and will be made available until 12 noon of Sunday, December 13.