Bright days ahead after Alakdana

MANILA, Philippines - As the fantaserye Alakdana comes to a close, it also signals the start of a promising future for its fresh-faced leads who are being groomed as the next big Kapuso stars with a movie as their follow-up project.

The top-rating afternoon drama Alakdana is the biggest break for Louise delos Reyes, who plays the scorpion-tailed heroine Adana and Alden Richards as her love interest Joma.

Prior to assuming the full-fledged lead in Alakdana, the 17-year-old Louise was enjoying a second wind in showbiz via another network, but as part of the ensemble cast of its youth-oriented programs. Louise, who grew up in a family of police officers, found her way to showbiz through a children’s program when she was only eight years old, but she left the scene when she entered the awkward teenage phase.

Louise has no regrets taking that break because she had time to focus on her studies. She finished high school in Cavite with honors, and is now making a good balancing act between tapings and schooling as an incoming third year Foreign Service student at the Lyceum of the Philippines University on an academic scholarship.

She says, “The break was worth it because I didn’t miss out on being young. Actually, if it comes to a point wherein I had to give up my career for my studies, I am willing to do so because for me, mas may mararating ka kung mayroong kang natapos. Kasi sa pag-aartista, kung may mali ka, maraming nag-aantay na pwedeng pumalit sa ‘yo. I learned that you’re never sure of your place in showbiz, so you better have a life outside it.”

Even so, her promotion to lead status was as unexpected as her transfer to GMA 7. One day a talent coordinator told her that the big bosses of GMA 7 wanted to check her out, the next meeting she was given a script and was instructed to shoot for a new show the very next day. She joined Pilyang Kerubin, then Tween Hearts, then got pulled out from the latter because Alakdana came.

Eighteen-year-old Alden, on the other hand, had zero acting experience before Alakdana. He was a commercial model who pounded the circuit only two years earlier.

He bested four others in the Alakdana auditions despite being the only neophyte in the group. But Alden believes that the whole Alakdana experience is fate plus a fulfillment of a dream that he and his late mother shared. Three years ago, his mother died from complications due to pneumonia.

The middle child of three says, “When my mom was alive, she’d always tell me to become an actor. So, there’s not a day when I don’t wish that she would be around to see all of this. At the back of my mind, I do feel envious when I see actors my age being accompanied by parents, particularly by their mothers, to shoots. But I am comforted by the fact that this is what she wanted for me. I was very close to her and my personal loss is where I draw my emotions for the dramatic scenes.”

As Louise and Alden maneuver the ins and outs of showbiz, they are also discovering the upsides and downsides of it.

“I’m not going to lie about it — one of the best things is the income. I’ve been allowed to manage my own finances, with the help of my father and grandmother who really taught me how to use my money wisely. I invested in a second-hand car, and saved the rest in the bank,” says Alden.

Then there are the travel perks, with Alden saying that he’d never be able to ride a plane, business class at that, if not for the regional promo tours of Alakdana.

The downsides, obviously, are the intrigues. Louise says, “I’ve become open to it, although I still get affected if my mom is being involved. She has been called konsintedor and that’s definitely foul to me. While I believe intrigues come with showbiz, I still hope for more positive things because there are stars who survived and became very successful in the industry without the negative press, like Ms. Gloria Romero.”

What challenges them more, however, is the level of expectation that they have to live up to, given the projects that await them after Alakdana. A primetime teleserye is said to be in the pipeline, but definitely, they’ll be part of the Tween Hearts, the Movie, starring in a “love square” with Barbie Forteza and Joshua Dionisio. 

“My greatest fear really is not pleasing the bosses because sino ba naman ako para bigyan ng ganitong break? It was a large risk on their part, so I’m very thankful, and I need to be good,” admits Alden.

But he gleans encouragement from the kind words of colleagues, and the biggest compliment he received was from co-star Jean Garcia during the farewell party for the cast. Alden says, “She gave me a hug and said, ‘You’re such a good person and actor, I look forward to working with you again in future projects.’”  

For Louise’s part, facing up to expectations is an everyday process, saying: “Hanggang ngayon, pinapatunayan ko pa sa kanila kung bakit nag-ra-rate yung show. Hanggang ngayon, kahit papaano, ginawa ko naman lahat to prove that I deserved this role. I’m happy because my efforts are being noticed. But to be honest, I am not yet satisfied sa mga nakukuhang reactions from others and from myself. I need to do a lot of workshops because there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”

Alakdana is slated to end tomorrow, but with the right head on their shoulders and a better understanding of how the industry works, there’s little doubt that these youngsters will go places.