Why Jenine Desiderio was scared of ‘M. Butterfly’ role

CEBU, Philippines —  Fitted with a blonde wig and sporting a somewhat French, somewhat German accent, Jenine Desiderio is almost unrecognizable in “M. Butterfly,” the world-class masterpiece that will make its final bow in Cebu today with 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. stagings at the Centerstage of SM Seaside City Cebu.

Jenine, who started off as one of the chorus girls in the original production of West End’s “Miss Saigon” and eventually taking over the lead role of Kim for four years, portrays Gallimard’s wife Helga in this year’s M. Butterfly Philippine National Tour.

The seasoned singer-actress has done work on television, film, theater, concerts, and has recorded two albums. Her first album yielded the song “Hindi Ako Si Darna.” Her other theater credits include “Once On This Island,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Fire Water Woman,” “Etiquette for Mistresses,” “All About Men” and “Ibalong.” She also represented the Philippines in the prestigious Midnight Sun Song Festival in Finland.

After the cast and crew’s meet and greet with fans last week at SM City Cebu, Jenine chatted with The Freeman on the challenge of playing Helga, how she keeps her fire for performing burning and why she begs off on queries regarding her daughter, the actress Janella Salvador, whom she used to have a public rift with.

What was your first thought when offered the Helga role in “M. Butterfly”?

I was very hesitant because this is my first theatrical straight play. I’ve done several musicals, but this is the first time that I’m not relying on my singing skill to get by. So it was very scary for me. When I sing, it’s something natural to me as a singer. Just to act on its own is a bit scary for me. And then coming after my friend Pinky Amador who is an actress from birth, parang ang hirap. There will be comparisons and all that. But with God’s grace, I was able to survive. I asked Pinky for tips. I had to learn an accent for this role. I worked on the accent just to make it sound, if not legit, at least passable for a European woman.

Did you see “M. Butterfly” last year before you were cast for the 2019 tour?

Yes, I watched with my fellow “Miss Saigon” friends Jamie Rivera, Isay Alvarez and Robert Seña in support of our friend Pinky. They are my closest friends in the whole world. We also saw it together in London many years ago with Anthony Hopkins playing René Gallimard. I was very young at that time so I don’t really remember much. I wasn’t much into theater back then. I was a singer, so I was more of a music person.

I was also jetlagged so I fell asleep.

This Cebu leg being your umpteenth run, how have you kept the enthusiasm and energy up?

I can’t speak for everybody, but for my role, I try to challenge myself to do it just a bit differently every show. Of course I cannot violate the blockings, because there’s a lighting design, and you have to be at a certain place at a certain time. But I challenge myself to tweak the character for every show just to keep it fresh for myself and to motivate myself. It’s a conscious effort. There’s physical effort involved that before going onstage, I really have to jog in place so the energy is there.

Being among the veteran actors in the cast, have the young ones approached you for advice and what do you tell them?

Si Aira [Igarta], the alternate of RS [Francisco], anak-anakan ko yan eh. Maya Encila is also like a daughter…most of them actually. But more on Aira, because the pressure on him is very big especially with RS just winning last December Best Actor in a Play at the Aliw Awards. And this is Aira’s first starring role. So he would ask me, ‘Tita, how was that? How should I do this?’ And I just give him my thoughts. Sometimes he agrees with them, sometimes he doesn’t. He chooses to do it the way he would want to, which we honor, because he’s a very…if you can see his passion and his energy while he was talking a while ago. He’s very passionate with how he does things. He also experiments a lot which is good because he grows every single time. From the first time I saw him until now, he’s grown leaps and bounds as an artist. Nakakatuwa.

What would you tell an aspiring theatre actor?

Don’t stop learning. Just keep on doing the things that you love doing. And don’t lose the spark. Don’t lose the passion because it begins to feel like work, as in really work, once you stop enjoying.

How do you not lose your spark?

I challenge myself to find something new. Example, my script doesn’t leave my hand. Up to now. This is our nth show. I know my lines, I memorize it, but before going onstage, I read it all the time, trying to find new nuances, new intentions, new motivations, new angles, new colors. These are the same lines and I know them by heart. It’s just that when you read, ‘Ah!’ I don’t know if it’s the Holy Spirit working on you, but every time I read, it seems that there’s something new. And my script is untouchable. It’s with my water. That’s my security blanket. I do that to keep the spark going.

What has been the most memorable comment/feedback about your Helga portrayal?

The most flattering, well RS says, since he’s been doing this since the 90s…I’m the fourth Helga he’s seen and apart from him, they say I put in something new into the role and some prefer what I do. 

What are your pre-show rituals?

Lots of water – when I sing, but here, I don’t sing. Well, there’s one line that I fake-sing. But I shouldn’t sound good, because I’m supposed to be a non-singing character. So there’s really no pressure. It’s so laidback compared to my discipline when I’m supposed to be singing in a show or a musical. Since it’s just acting, I have to find ways to effectively connect with the audience. In theatre, there’s a fourth wall, right? Because I have an accent in the show, so I have to struggle to be understood. The accent is fictitious because it’s not identified in the script what my nationality is. I’m somewhat European. I’m the daughter of an ambassador to Australia, not an Australian ambassador. I had to create a cross between a French accent and a German accent. And Olivier’s [Borten, potraying Gallimard] French, so minsan nahahawa ako sa kanya. Minsan nagiging Swiss. But the one thing I did not want to lose was the truth of the character as a person. Being a minor character, this is the first time, since I’ve always had lead characters. So the biggest challenge for me here is to find something special in the role.

You put women half your age to shame with your fit figure. How have you kept it that way?

As you see, I ate two platefuls of food. I was first to dig into the lechon!

I love food, I’m a foodie. I also cook. This is me being big as far as getting big is concerned. Coming from Dumaguete, we had a lot of sylvanas and sans rival. When I did ‘Miss Saigon,’ I was 18 so I had baby fats. And I love to eat, so I was always eating, no discipline, no workout…But because we were wearing the bikinis, I had to learn how to discipline myself. But I also reward myself…I love chocolates. But I have to limit myself and work it out.

How are you and Janella?

I’m sorry, I don’t answer questions regarding Janella when I’m in a project. Not for anything, I just want my career and hers to be separate because people are beginning to say that I’m getting work because of her which is not very fair on my part. So I’d rather not talk about her at work.