Theater actress Kakki Teodoro is being interviewed by ABS-CBN reporter Jervis Manahan.

Jervis Manahan

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1737265908067IMG_0569.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Theater actress Kakki Teodoro is being interviewed by ABS-CBN reporter Jervis Manahan."/>Theater actress Kakki Teodoro is being interviewed by ABS-CBN reporter Jervis Manahan.</div>MANILA — It took decades for Kakki Teodoro to make it into the prestigious Metro Manila Film Festival.Teodoro, now 37, was awarded Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her portrayal of Nimia in the musical film &quot;Isang Himala.&quot;But prior to her win at the MMFF Gabi ng Parangal, Teodoro has already been a pillar of Philippine theater for many years.She has given life to many characters, most recently as the law professor in the stage adaptation of the 2017 indie film &quot;Bar Boys&quot;, Queen Femina in Ateneo Blue Repertory&#x27;s &quot;Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal... &#x27;Yun Lang!&quot;, and Jose Rizal in Tanghalang Pilipino&#x27;s &quot;Pingkian.&quot;<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/1/2/meet-kakki-teodoro-who-beat-lorna-tolentino-chanda-romero-for-mmff-best-supporting-actress-1739">Meet Kakki Teodoro, who beat Lorna Tolentino, Chanda Romero for MMFF best supporting actress</a></div>Her love for theater, she said, is rooted in her early exposure to Disney films.&quot;I think &#x27;yun yung pinaka-umpisa na nahilig ako sa buhay na may musika, sa storytelling, na may kasamang music, song and dance, ganyan.&quot; She added: &quot;And I was raised by a single mom and maraming titas and titos. But being the first child, I think dun nagkaroon ng maraming chances na okay, we&#x27;re gonna work muna and then watch muna this &#x27;Little Mermaid&#x27; or &#x27;Sleeping Beauty&#x27;.&quot;She said this, and her titas introducing her to musicals, made her inclined towards a musical life.&quot;But I never really considered being an actor until, really, college,&quot; she added.While in grade school, Teodoro took acting workshops in Trumpets Playshop.&quot;Naimbitahan ako ng kaibigan ko noon, my friend Camille Cabrera. She&#x27;s an amazing actress. And nung naimbitahan niya ako sumali ng workshop, hindi ko alam kung ano yung workshop!&quot; Teodoro said.&quot;Inisip ko parang yung nagpupukpok ka ba ng wood. As in, talagang, bakit ako magwo-workshop? Yun pala it&#x27;s acting, it&#x27;s singing. So sumali ako. I just started with workshops. And every summer, and it was also a great way to make friends,&quot; she added.Teodoro eventually took Communication at the Ateneo de Manila University, initially dreaming of becoming a news reporter.&quot;Yung gusto kong maging nung bata ko is what you&#x27;re doing now. Kasi gusto ko talaga, gusto kong maging newscaster or ganyan, or news reporter paglaki. And then, sometimes life really dinadala ka sa kung ano-anong parte ng buhay. And then you realize na acting pala. Acting pala ang gusto ko,&quot; she said.<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WjwJSbO_CNY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>While in college, Teodoro became part of the Ateneo Blue Repertory, doing work both on and offstage.&quot;So, nag-enjoy talaga ako sa Blue Rep. And then, doon ko na-realize na, wow, theater is something that, yung hindi ko na mamalayan yung trabaho. Parang, yes, it&#x27;s hard. Yes, maraming oras nag-rehearse after school. Pero, nai-enjoy ko siya. Hindi ko nabibilang yung oras kapag nandun ako. Gusto ko nandun lang ako sa theater. I wanna do things related to theater. Ticket selling, marketing related to theater,&quot; she said.After college, Teodoro pursued theater but had to juggle other jobs for financial stability.&quot;I was a writer for ABS-CBN. Yes, I was writing for Star Studio Magazine. I was writing for the Lifestyle Network. And then, dahil na-inspire ako doon at the time with the whole process,&quot; she said.&quot;I was also blessed with a great leader sa Lifestyle Network who would allow me na, &#x27;o sige, as long as masubmit mo yung assignments mo, you don&#x27;t have to go to the office everyday.&#x27; You can go maybe twice a week, thrice a week, and then, as long as magawa mo yung job mo by the deadline, yes.&#x27;.&quot; She added: &quot;Na-experience ko nang matulog dito sa ABS. I think, meron akong deadline so matatulog ka na lang dito tapos may tatapusin kang isulat. &#x27;Yun yung mga nangyari. I would host and I would do voice-overs. Ganun. Nag-host din ako for Hero TV,&quot; she said.<div>THEATER SHOWS </div>Teodoro&#x27;s foray into professional theater started with roles in the ensemble, where she found so much joy.&quot;I was happy to get any role. So, ayun, sasayaw ako Prince Ali. Ganon. And then, ako yung magko-cover ng mga genie dancers at one point. It was happy, I was very happy to be part of that ensemble. In Blue Rep, &#x27;Bye, Bye Birdie&#x27;, ensemble ulit. And then, we&#x27;re just gonna find our moments. And, yun. And then, masaya kasi, masaya yung maghanap ng moments,&quot; she said.&quot;Yung ika yung mag-create yung &#x27;gawin ko kaya to sa character na to?” Hindi yun nakasama sa script, pero I&#x27;ll find a way para para nakakatawa siya kung idadagdag natin to. Or maganda tong idagdag. It will make the scene brighter. So, yeah, nag-enjoy ako doing that one,&quot; she added.For many decades, Teodoro jumped from one show to another, from one theater company to the next.She even landed roles in several films and series on the Kapamilya Network.Kakki was part of the cast of Kathryn Bernardo and Dolly de Leon&#x27;s &quot;A Very Good Girl&quot;, and was Principal Amanda Perino in &quot;Senior High.&quot;&quot;I&#x27;m very lucky na yung mga roles na nagawa ko so far sa pelikula at sa sa TV, it&#x27;s because of directors seeing me in theater. Napanood po ako ni Petersen Vargas sa &#x27;Every Brilliant Thing&#x27;. And then, he invited me to be part of &#x27;A Very Good Girl&#x27;, which was, magsisimula na yung shoot noon in like, in two days... So, dahil nakita nila kung ano yung kaya kong gawin, tapos dadalhin nila yun, and parang meron lang silang tiwala na you can do this,&quot; she said.<div>ISANG HIMALA</div>Prior to the MMFF film, Teodoro first became Nimia when &quot;Himala: Isang Musikal&quot; was staged at the Power Mac Center Spotlight in Circuit, Makati in 2018 and 2019.She said that the audition was a long and tedious process as the producers wanted to find the best cast for the roles.This, she said, was understandable given the original material was a classic masterpiece by National Artists Ishmael Bernal and Ricky Lee.&quot;Yung &#x27;Isang Himala&#x27;, sa mundo ng teatro, is one of the hardest musicals to do. It&#x27;s, sobrang demanding niya sa actors, emotionally and vocally. Ah, and yung mga notes na ginawa ni Sir Vincent De Jesus talaga, they are very difficult but they&#x27;re also very rewarding kapag magawa mo. So, sabi ko talaga sa sarili ko, kung magkaroon ng chance na ma-restage ito sa panahon ko, ilalaban ko ito,&quot; she said.Because of a conflict in schedule, Teodoro had difficulty auditioning for the role of Nimia.&quot;Iniyak ko siya, tapos sabi ko, alam mo, kung para sa akin to, kung gusto nila ako at yung anong ginawa ko ng audition, magkakaroon ng isa pang pagkakataon,&quot; she recounted.&quot;After, nung audition process, kasama namin yung director na si Ed Lacson. So, kung kumakain kami, sabi ni Ed, &#x27;By the way, Kakki, ikaw na si Nimia.&#x27; Honestly, doon palang, ano na yun, What a win. What a win na yun for me. Kasi, before before Nimia, yung mga roles talaga na ginagawa ko nun, would always be comedic roles&quot; she added.But aside from rehearsing the role, Kakki did diligent research by going around bars to study the actual lives of women in sex work.&quot;Pumunta kami sa tatlong bars. Nakaka-shock yung mga ganap. Grabe yung hustle. And, may sistema, may sistema na doon sa ilang mga bars. So, yung last bar, doon ako nakapag table ng worker. And, ayun, nagkaroon ng time to talk,&quot; she said.&quot;Kinwento niya yung buhay niya. Kung paano siya napunta sa Maynila. Ganyan. And then, doon ako na-inspire because she looked so different from all of the others. Tapos, nagustuhan ko yung kanyang &#x27;it’s just life&#x27;. Yung gano&#x27;n, yung walang drama, shinare lang niya,&quot; she added.&quot;Doon ako nakapag-build ng Nimia. I saw that and I&#x27;m like, okay, I saw her. I saw Nimia there. Tapos, alam ko na kung paano ko siya i-build. May gano&#x27;n eh, nakakuha na ako ng inspiration and then, ito na yung magiging Nimia ko. Ito yung gagawin ko sa kanya.&quot;<div>WINNING THE MMFF</div>Teodoro would soon reprise her role of Nimia when &quot;Himala: Isang Musikal&quot; was again adapted back to film, this time, as part of the lineup of Metro Manila Film Festival 2024.The film was shot in 16 days, with live singing during the taping.&quot;It was challenging for a lot of us because, marami sa amin, first time, to be in that film setting, first time umarte sa harap ng, sa harap ng camera. To perform a dance number, tapos, nandiyan yung dolly tapos, nandiyan yung riles, pero, hindi ka pwedeng tumingin sa baba or, hindi mo ipapahalata na may nakaharang doon. Yun, that&#x27;s one of the first challenges but again, very technical. Kailangan lang naming masanay, inayos lang namin,&quot; she said.&quot;Ang tricky ng bagong set, kasi nga, sanay kami sa, yung lumang Kupang na nasa musical, ay katulad ng Kupang na nasa film. Empty, disyerto, alam mo yun, tahimik, ganyan. Pero itong Kupang na criniate is, masikip, rocky, parang kami nasa bundok. So, it affected our characters and added a little something else,&quot; she added.&quot;Na-enjoy ko rin yun, kasi, di ba, from theater to film, parang, na suportahan pa rin namin yung isa&#x27;t isa, yung, the Cupang family, the HimaLoves, na, what we call each other, na, nagpagpatuloy namin yun.&quot;Teodoro admitted being proud during the Parade of Stars, and also starstruck to be in the company of the country&#x27;s biggest names in the entertainment industry.&quot;Kasama yun yung mga panaginip mo, mga dreams mo before, or napapanood mo lang siya na... So, parang yung mga bata, nung nandun na kami sa parade, sa float namin, for example, talagang nagsigawan kami,&quot; she said.But her biggest victory came during the &quot;Gabi ng Parangal.&quot;&quot;Walang may alam kung sino yung mga nominees. Pero, may mga, syempre may mga bulong-bulongan of people who, diba, nag-premiere muna kami bago yung awards night, syempre. Tapos maririnig mo na yung may nominate ka, mano-nominate ka, ganyan. And then, ayoko lang isipin because, honestly, nung Gabi ng Parangal, I wasn&#x27;t feeling well,&quot; Teodoro said.&quot;Aicelle was announcing the names, di ba? Tapos, hindi ako makatingin sa kanya, nakatingin ako sa screen, kasi nandun yung name, hindi yung name ko. Sa gitna ng mga pangalan na ito, my gosh, President Nadine Lustre is there. So, parang ako, kukunin ko yung cellphone ko, gusto ko siya picturan. Kasi, &#x27;oh, ang cute!&#x27; Parang gano&#x27;n. Tapos, na-announce yung name ko. So, I swear, gulat talaga ako. And then, hinablot ko na lang yung cellphone ko, agad, because the names are there. And then, ayun na,&quot; she said.Teodoro won Best Actress in a Supporting Role among other nominees who were also veterans in acting.&quot;I needed to introduce myself because I&#x27;m very happy to be here. And, yun lang talagang sabi ko na, kaya sinabi ko na, &#x27;Ako po si Kakki Teodoro. Ako ay 37 years old. Ako po ay mula sa mundo ng teatro.&#x27; Iyak, iyak na naman ako. What a moment, what a moment sa buhay na ma-experience yun,&quot; she said.&quot;And, I needed to say my age. I wanted to say my age because it&#x27;s important to me na, people know na, I&#x27;m not young. I&#x27;m 37. I&#x27;ve been through a lot sa teatro. Ilang dekada na ako sa teatro. And, minsan, you can fulfill your dreams at any age.&quot;But for Teodoro, awards are just a bonus and the real fulfillment comes from doing the work you love.&quot;The reward is in the work. You have to always find your joy in the work,&quot; she said.It&#x27;s in the journey. You can never put it sa end of the journey or you shouldn&#x27;t chase after awards as the point of you being an actor, it&#x27;s never that. The reward is already in the work.&quot;

Kakki Teodoro spent decades in various theater shows before bagging the MMFF 2024 trophy.

Kakki Teodoro spent decades in various theater shows before bagging the MMFF 2024 trophy.

'Tao Po': Theater actress Kakki Teodoro's colorful journey to MMFF victory

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'Tao Po': Theater actress Kakki Teodoro's colorful journey to MMFF victory

Jervis Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 19, 2025 06:34 PM PHT

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Updated Jan 19, 2025 09:19 PM PHT

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