A tale of 2 directors

Viva Concerts should be commended for the brilliant idea. Night of the Champions promises to bring in crowds at the Araneta Coliseum with not just one but three of the hottest singing idols in one big show: Star For A Night’s Sarah Geronimo, Search For A Star’s Rachelle Ann Go and Star In A Million’s Erik Santos. This doesn’t only feature the three champions. Taking full advantage of this American-Idolesque trend in Philippine entertainment, the concert also includes other singing star hopefuls who may not have won votes from the judges but definitely earned a solid fan base in their quest. Among these are Mark Bautista (first runner-up in Star For A Night), Raymond Manalo (second placer in Search for A Star) and Christian Bautista, (a finalist in Star In A Million). Even Star Circle Quest love team Sandara Park and Hero Angeles will appear onstage in a special duet.

No one will deny profit was the main incentive. But the commercial project doesn’t lack for artistic value. Making sure of that is Bobby Garcia whose reputation as a director (he is Lea Salonga’s favorite, after all) is nothing less than impressive. The concert’s title came from his lips. Why beat around the bush when the concert is all about artists’ triumph?

"Somebody first suggested that we give each of the three singers their own spots where they could do consecutive songs. But I thought that wouldn’t be any different from the shows they’ve been doing lately. It’ll be like three mini concerts. What I had in mind was to celebrate the three of them in one show. I also didn’t want the show to be like a competition where they would be outdoing each other. It took a while to come up with what we were gonna do. And this did not involve just me but also the musical director and the people at Viva," he clarifies.

Adding flavor to the creative team is assistant director Bong Quintana for whom the concert marks a personal triumph. He is often mentioned in the same breath as life partner Boy Abunda whose popularity is a stark contrast to Bong’s preference for staying away from the limelight. Insiders know he is Boy’s secret behind keeping Backroom in top form despite a hectic broadcasting career. But the public knows very little about Bong and he prefers it that way. His developing career in concert directing provides him with unexpected thrills. Though he looks forward to even bigger projects, Bong remains camera-shy – declining a Raymund Isaac pictorial to solve Backroom’s need for his official press photo.

"I never considered myself a director," he says laughing at how that sounds. The truth is that Bong has been the unofficial director of Backroom artists for years. The Backroom staff often double as production team in small gigs. During those occasions, Bong often steps in to oversee everything. "I was just concerned with the flow of the show. How artists would enter and exit the stage without jeopardizing the entrance and exit of the succeeding artist. Di ko alam directing na pala yun!"

The career did creep up on him. In recent years, he has gone from directing Backroom shows to handling bigger productions. Bong has become the resident director for the Ministry for Youth Affairs of the Archdiocese of Manila. He directed Bigkis Youth Festival at the Folk Arts Theater in 2002, the 4th World Meeting of Families in 2003 and the Ka-Talk Youth Forum last February. This week, he directed the touching farewell concert for Bishop Soc Villegas who was assigned by the Pope to Bataan. Bong enjoys the variety of the shows he directs. Night of the Champions could be considered his debut in mainstream concert directing.

"Last Nov. 8, I handled Band-ing sa Riverbanks which is a project of the Ministry of Public Affairs. Dun ko lang natanggap na director na ako." Bong insists. "They told me I was the director. I was also interviewed by a reporter for the first time as a director. Nakalagay pa sa tarpaulin banner na ‘directed by Bong Quintana.’ Nakakakilig pala."

Boy has always been quietly supportive. So quietly, in fact, that Bong complains that whenever he seeks Boy’s advice, the latter manages to get Bong to answer his own questions. It was Bobby, not Boy, who is actively urging Bong to pursue directing. In fact, the young director immediately thought of Bong when Viva told him he could pick his own assistant director. But before the deal was set, Bobby asked Boy first. That was the polite thing to do. After all, the influential talent manager successfully launched Bobby’s local career.

The question begging to be asked was: "Why go to Boy first?" Bong asks his director teasingly even before reporters could say a word. Without hesitating, Bobby says he wanted Boy’s honest opinion.

Nodding in agreement, Bong admits: "Boy is honest. He would really tell Bobby if hindi ko pa kaya. I was flattered when he told Bobby to go ahead and ask me. Because he used to tell me talaga kung di ko kaya to handle a production. He’ll give you compliments when you deserve it but it is very seldom that he does. Kaya naman nakakalaki talaga ng puso when I get a compliment from him. He wants excellence. He does not settle for mediocrity. It’s either you’re bad or you’re good. Napapansin ko na lang that Boy trusted me to handle productions on my own."

This is not to say that Bobby is a gambling director. He has watched Bong’s productions. The two have also worked together more than once. Undoubtedly, their first collaboration makes for good conversation. MTV’s 1999 VJ Search at Ratsky’s Manila is unforgettable because it happened in darkness. That was the night jellyfish robbed the entire Luzon of electricity.

"I don’t know how we made it through the night," Bobby confesses emphatically. "We were already thinking of all the options. We used even the camera lights to light the stage. Manila Manor across the street allowed us to plug a few sockets into their generator so we had two lights onstage. But we had no aircon so it was so hot. Some of the people in the audience took off their shirts so they were seated there in their sandos."

Obviously, this experience put their working relationship through the acid test. Bobby and Bong survived and managed to do other shows together. Their friendship makes it easier to work together. "Fun" is how Bong describes Night of the Champions. It could be as exciting as the time they went scuba diving in Bohol. (Boy stayed on the boat and watched them go deeper and deeper into the water.)

Bobby and Bong are so comfortable that the interview transforms into freewheeling talk. The director says that Bong was Lea’s first choreographer. That was her immediate comment to Bobby upon seeing Bong again after so many years. Both Lea and Bong were in their teens when they did a school production for OB Montessori where the future Miss Saigon was a high school junior.

Today, Bobby swears Bong shows great promise as a director. "He is so organized. Everything is malinis and in order. Someday, I can even see him directing theater productions. But I think it’s easier to do concert directing with a theater directing background than vice versa. Theater is a more complete form so it’s easy to just shift."

Directing is something Bong seriously wants to pursue. Boy is encouraging him to take seminars and participate in workshops. Aside from formal training, Bong plans to observe Bobby in action.

But all that has to wait until after the Night of the Champions tour in August. By that time, Bobby will be busy with Atlantis Productions’ fifth year presentation of Baby which stars Lea. Bong will take over as director for the provincial tour which will hit at least four major cities in the country. The itinerary will depend on the demand of the fans. Meanwhile, the Araneta concert will have a repeat on Aug. 13. The show will be aired at a later time on ABS-CBN.