‘Boba, stupida, pangit’: Dolly de Leon, Lea Salonga reveal ‘traumatic’ experiences in theater
MANILA, Philippines — “Boba, tonta, stupida, gaga, tanga, pangit” — these were some of the bad words Dolly de Leon had to swallow like a bitter pill in years leading to her becoming the first Filipino to get a Golden Globe and British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) nomination.
“Coming from growing up in that world, I mean, I've been called boba, tonta, stupida, gaga, tanga, pangit when I was growing up,” she reminisced some of her most traumatic experiences as a thespian during a talk recently in Samsung Performing Arts Theater, Circuit Makati for the upcoming play “Request sa Radyo,” where she and Lea Salonga alternate as lone actors.
Being yelled at and called names, unfortunately, were part of their training as actresses, Lea and Dolly admitted.
“I didn't take it too personally because there, it was a kind of a ‘hampas lupa’ sort of approach,” Lea recalled an experience with a Repertory Philippines director. “But then after rehearsals were over, she would be nicer. She would be kind and yeah, I mean, obviously my experience is a little different because I was very young when I was working with Repertory Philippines and I just learned a lot from watching her as an actor as well as a director. And yeah, I heard the yelling, I've heard that yelling so much, but maybe some calluses must have built up at some point because when I got to working in New York like, oh my God, they're not yelling at me. This is nice!”
She, however, clarified that an actor can still get a scolding even in Broadway.
“But the expectation to perform and you still get yelled at, baby, but if you were not performing up to the level that you were expected to, then you'll get yelled at. Sure. I'm not against getting yelled at if you deserve it, but I just get ahead of that.”
According to Lea and Dolly, although they received a lot of yelling and name-calling, they did not take these personally.
“I really think about it as passion rather than… Yeah, and it's not personal. It's yelling to try and get the best out of (you),” said Lea.
Filipino-American Tony winner Clint Ramos, who moderated the talk, said that he experienced worse because not only did he receive shouting and name calls, but was literally thrown with things.
“To be honest, when we were doing theater, you know, we got shit thrown at us – like ashtrays and everything,” he shared.
“And I can't say, despite the fact na masama ‘yon, I can't say na pinagsisisihan ko na ganu’n ang ginawa sa’kin eh. Because dahil du’n, it shaped me into that person that I am today. I think I’m really strong because of that and I'll still be forever grateful to them for, for treating us like shit basically when we were students,” Dolly laughed.
Related: ‘Tigang ka talaga!’: Dolly de Leon recalls her famous line that began road to stardom
She, however, clarified that she “don't welcome any environment where there's name calling or screaming or insulting or making people feel small.”
She even called out a theater professor in the audience: “'Di ba? Tinerorrize din kami n’yan,” she said, making the professor and his students in the audience laugh.
“That was a very big part of shaping us into the people that we are today. And I can't say that was the best method, but it was the method that I went through and it equipped me with, it made me strong, it made me manhid, it made me… Yes, medyo manhid ako ngayon. Pero the thing is if I witness people screaming at especially young, if I witness a director or a big person in a production, screaming or name-calling or insulting students, it really throws me off. It really makes me feel really traumatized. Yeah, it triggers me. I think that's the word… It brings back so many, you know, negative feelings that I don't like how it feels. Now, if malakas loob ko, kino-call-out ko, ‘Wag naman tayong gan’un, ‘di ba?',” Dolly pointed out.
Lea nodded, agreeing that the new generation of artists do not have to experience trauma as part of their training.
“That’s not supposed going to happen anymore,” Lea said. — Video by Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo; video editing by Martin Ramos
