Wasn’t he sweet, wholesome Shawie, her hair parted on one side, her shoulders exposed in her trademark attire, five minutes back? So how did he morph into feisty Miriam Defensive in the wink of an eye? Jon’s repertoire of impersonations is so wide you can wind up feeling dizzy at all the instant changes – voice, costume, movements, etc. – he assumes in the flick of an instant.
"Open my car and you’d think I’m some sort of murderer or mad scientist," Jon jokes in his usual deadpan manner. "You’ll see an arm here, a shock of hair there (translation: wig), a leg, etc."
These are the tools of the trade Jon won’t get caught without. These are his bosom buddies that take him to places far and wide – from the cozy Comfort Room he co-owns with Candy Pangilinan, to corporate shows in swanky hotels, and soon, the Music Museum, where he will mount Jon Santos Live and in Person (s) on Oct. 11, 9 p.m.
Jon will bring the kind of laughter that brought the house down at a recent show in Onstage Greenbelt.
Jon has the energy of a coiled spring that can jump from one venue to another, and bounce back, as strong as ever.
"I can perform nightly all over the country," he says.
How does he do it? The guy knows how to delegate. Jon taps a pool of writers way back from his MAD (Martin After Dark, Martin Nievera’s show then on GMA-7) days. His fellow scriptwriters know Jon’s brand of humor, his taste for comedy and feel for irreverence.
"It means a cut off my budget, but that’s okay. It comes back to me in terms of more shows. This way, too, I can concentrate on acting," he says.
"Besides," Jon adds naughtily, "it allows me to do things I enjoy."
Like? "Going to the gym, the spa, exploring the mountains, Europe!"
Yes, Europe. Work hard, play hard, Jon always tells himself, also because "it makes me more diligent."
So off he goes to London to catch a show at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival, steps out of the theater and eyes – he holds his breath – Hugh Grant no less, sipping coffee, undisturbed. Jon’s heart beats like a bongo drum, he fishes out his cellphone and clicks away at the unsuspecting Grant.
Voila! Jon has Grant’s photo, which he shows off to envious friends in Manila. That’s what he and long-time friends Deo Endrinal and Enrico Santos do every year: save enough money for sabbaticals abroad.
"It’s our second decade as friends," Jon recalls his struggling days as a writer fresh out of college and sharing a dorm with three of his just-as-aspiring colleagues. That was, of course, years before he appeared on cam over MAD, and the writer turned into a celebrity himself.
It’s been a long way since for the guy Tessie Tomas singled out years back for his wit with the pen, and his skill with words. Mentor and protege even performed together, trading wit for wit in a show at Comfort Room.
Jon is also vocal about his debt of gratitude to Willie Nepomuceno, who saw the spark of talent in his then unknown PA (production assistant) and co-actor.
There’s no false modesty there. Jon, an Aliw awardee for Best Male Solo Performer in Music Lounges, Bars and Clubs admits it. "We rotate as performers," he says.
By "we," he’s referring to Mitch Valdes (his guest in the Music Museum show with the Apo Hiking Society), Nanette Inventor, Allan K, John Lapus and Rex Navarrette.
These are the names that always crop up the minute comedy performers are needed.
And they never had it so good. Take a cruise along West Avenue and you’ll see the parking area along Laffline and Punchline filled with late-model cars. The same scenario repeats itself in Klownz and Comfort Room, which Jon boasts is the only comedy bar in Makati, undisputed in the area.
"Our only competition as entertainment spot in the area is a friendly one- lO KTV Bar. We also put up the place," this Economics graduate from UP adds.
Thanks to the Filipinos’ love for comedy (see all those jokes in your inbox?), Jon notes, the Philippines has the lowest suicide rate in the world.
But before he and his colleagues let their hair down, Jon says this is actually a double-edged sword.
"The Pinoy is hard to please," he notes matter-of-factly. "Deliver the same text joke the same way and you fall flat on you face."
The sheer diversity of our culture is another hurdle. "We’re so ethno-diverse that, save for jokes about such familiar characters as Spiderman or F4, one joke may be funny to a group of people and corny to another," states Jon.
But is he complaining? Never!
Jon loves that challenge of improvising, a new comedy technique that hinges heavily on audience participation, and lots of thinking skills instead of physical humor.
"The audience has become less visual, more cerebral. Before, a comedian has to come on stage in full costume. Now," Jon reports. "I can come in a plain shirt. The audience has become less spoiled. They’re now open to monologues," Jon, 15 years of live comedy behind him, says.
That’ s good news for Jon and his ilk who will continue to spoof anyone who is fair game, even President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, if called for. Never mind if some people think otherwise.
"That’s the price of popularity. We comedians are indicators of what’s popular, what’s not," Jon states.
So it’s on with the show for Jon and his friends. He’s even training the future "Tessie Tomases and Willie Nepomucenos" by guiding the young writers of ABC 5’s Ispup, where Jon is a mainstay.
It’s Jon’s payback to an audience who has given him the greatest gift a performer can ask for – applause, lots and lots of it.