The big leap from indie to soap

Soaps. These used to be called afternoon teacup dramas most probably because its listeners (mainly women) held teacups as they stayed riveted to every twist and turn of the convoluted plot dramatized by voice talents on radio.

These programs, however, were eventually labeled soap operas because its advertisers were mostly soap brands. And now we call them soaps and these are spread from afternoon till evening on local television.

Over the weekend, Startalk had the pleasure of interviewing the three so-called Dramarama sa Hapon Princesses on GMA 7: Kylie Padilla of Blusang Itim, Bianca King of Sinner or Saint and Jackie Rice of Sisid  with all their programs doing very well in the ratings game. All three are afternoon dramas and they are the reason why most Filipinos today no longer enjoy their siesta.

Pinoy viewers have good reason to say goodbye to power napping. The stars of the three afternoon soaps are not only pretty, they are intelligent and sensible as well. My co-hosts Ricky Lo and Lolit Solis (Joey de Leon was in Italy with the Eat, Bulaga! gang) were pleasantly surprised to discover these qualities in these three young women during the interview. Their answers were all spontaneous  peppered with wit, humor and a lot of honesty.

That immensely interesting segment with Kylie, Bianca and Jackie made me think about the success of soaps in this country. Aside from exciting plotlines, these programs are also dependent on its stars  both in the lead and support categories.

The leading lady has to be lovely (or in the case of Kylie has to be prettified in some scenes in Blusang Itim where she plays the role of a hideously ugly girl)  with the leading man dashingly handsome to attract viewers.

Casting supporting parts is an even trickier part because these characters eventually serve as pillars in the story.

In recent years, the casting directors of major TV networks have discovered where to look for these talents: They found them in indie movies, ironically.

I say ironically because soaps had long been identified with popular taste (widely viewed by the masses), while independently-produced films cater only to a select audience.

I don’t know if Coco Martin still remembers this or if anyone else would lay claim to this, but I do recall being the first to call him indie prince through this column. He was doing indie after indie, but he could not be called king yet because Jeffrey Quizon and Ryan Eigenmann still ruled the indie world that time.

Coco never got to be called indie king because he was eventually snatched by television and is now a soap opera royalty.

Even former indie empress Irma Adlawan was lured by the call of soaps.

Don’t look now, but Edgar Allan Guzman, who is the new indie prince, seems to be trekking the same path taken earlier by Coco.

A former Mr. Pogi winner in Eat, Bulaga!, he found his niche in indies and was cast in significant roles in the films Imoral, Astig and Magdamag where he and Rita Avila (who almost won the Urian Best Actress award) were the only characters in this film that takes place only in one night.

 He is undeniably the star in the Cinemalaya Film Festival that opens this week as he appears in two entries: Ligo na U, Lapit na Me, directed by Erick Salud and Jeffrey Jeturian’s Bisperas.

Produced by Noel Ferrer and written by Jerry Gracio (based on the best-selling novel of Eros Atalia), Ligo is the story of two best friends (Edgar Allan and Mercedes Cabral), who try not to fall in love with each other. It is expected to be this year’s Cinemalaya biggest crowd drawer. Bisperas, on the other hand, is a tale that takes place on Christmas Eve and how a burglary reveals the secrets of a family.

After wrapping up production on these two indies, Edgar Allan jumped straight to his first regular soap  The Sisters on TV5.

He will be another proof that the indie kingdom is the best breeding ground for soap opera talents.

Indie regulars are perfect for soap because the working conditions in both are practically the same. The working hours for soaps run for practically 24 hours or even more. It is the same with indies where oftentimes the entire film is shot from 6 a.m. to 6 a.m. of the following day.

Indie actors have also become in demand for soaps because they are so versatile  having been honed playing assorted roles in various indie productions. I can imagine them to also be dream talents for TV directors because indie veterans can motivate themselves since their training calls them to be self-sufficient. They also do multi-tasking: Coco told me once that during his indie days, he even did crowd control in scenes he is not involved in.

During the early days of indie movies in the Philippines, everyone thought that indie actors were wasting their time doing films nobody watched. But talent will always find a way of getting recognized.

Indie performers have finally found glory in soaps. Do we call them a sell-out? No, it’s called making a living.

When soap opera fans finally get a peek at Edgar Allan’s talent, they should not be surprised anymore why this young actor brims with brilliance: He was honed in the disciplined ways of the indies.

 He is the reigning indie prince  now on his way to soap royalty.