What’s Kean’s priority?

MANILA, Philippines - Not many artists can easily shift from singing to acting like Kean Cipriano does. He can do crazy antics weeknights on ABS-CBN’s Banana Nite and appears once in a while in Banana Split Extra Scoop without losing a bit of his appeal to music aficionados every time he performs on stage as lead vocalist of Callalily.

“I’ve been with Banana Nite for almost a year now and so far there has not been any complication or whatsoever to my being a musician,” begins Kean who seems so at home in the comedy gag show which is marking its first anniversary this month.

But between acting and singing, Kean prefers the latter not because he cannot pit acting talent against  the likes of Angelica Panganiban, John Prats or Zanjoe Marudo but “I see music as the totality of my being — the whole me — compared to acting. Besides, I won’t be here (acting) today if not for my being a musician. I’m also happy that I can enjoy the best of both worlds,  yung napagsasama ko sila at napaghihiwalay ko sila at the same time.”

His first acting role was in the indie Babae sa Septic Tank topbilled by Eugene Domingo. It was followed by several big and small screen outings until he became a regular in Banana Nite upon accepting director Bobot Mortiz’s offer. 

According to Kean, doing Banana Nite doesn’t feel like work at all. For him, going to tapings every Tuesday and Thursday is as equally exciting as attending elementary school because “I know I’ll be playing with my friends while doing some gags then we will eat together.”

That’s why, it no longer came as a surprise when Kean tells that the Banana Nite cast and crew is like second family to him. Given their different personalities, Kean is amazed at how they still complement one another. “To sum it all up, it’s so much fun working with all of them.”

Not once, Kean adds, did he see the director shout at them, “despite our being so makulit. Direk Bobot is a cool dad on the set. He knows what he’s doing that’s why we respect him all the way.”

Asked about the acting advice he often hears from direk Bobot, Kean said the kind of approach the director is showing them is enough to get the message loud and clear: Just have fun.

Still, Kean feels he has to do his part well. “Dapat mataas lagi ang energy and so if anyone of us need to up his energy level, we say it in a funny and polite way; walang pikunan.”

Another thing Kean loves is the respect everyone shows to one another. He admires how their second unit director gave in when he felt uneasy dancing onstage.

Until this day, Kean cannot exactly tell what he is capable of as an actor. “I’m just enjoying every single thing that wherever I am now, di ko alam. Callalily is the air that I breathe yun talaga ang susi sa lahat ng ginagawa ko dito sa acting. I’m sure at the end of the day it will all boil down that this is for Callalily.”

Kean shares that Callalily is going back to the studio soon to record a new album. Its current album Flower Power under Universal Records is still available in record stores nationwide.

(Banana Nite airs weeknights after Bandila while Banana Split Extra Scoop is every Saturday night.)