The rigors, pains and joys of getting into Artista Academy

When we first met Malak So Shdifat, she was among a batch of students at La Consolacion in Mass Communications under a friend, theater director Lito Casaje, who felt they would gain from what Artista Academy (AA) was offering in its reality/talent show over TV5. Lito asked us to bring them to the Araneta Coliseum for registration among the 13,000-plus who filled up the venue.

It was a long process trimming down the 13,000 through interviews and performances to the Final 16. Malak was among the 16 and here began her new life, an entirely different one from what she had led before.

If her activities prior to getting into the Final 16 AA selection was school, friends and occasional car shows as model, today her schedule at AA is hectic, starting early in the morning and ending late at night. But strangely enough, Malak didn’t complain. When we suggested we could get an excuse when she had fever, she refused to miss the acting class.

Leo Martinez introduces AA students to the system of No Acting

Malak’s teachers at La Consolacion cooperated, finding substance in an education, albeit different from the academic kind. Lito, in particular, felt she could be allowed to miss a semester from school while attending lessons in acting, singing, dancing and personal grooming, manners, and bearing that a respectable artista would be expected to exhibit. Lito told us, “I found her an average student in school, inconsistent in her performance. She seemed to be looking for something to excel in.” He was right. Having been chosen an Academy scholar out of 13,000 who were auditioning must have boosted her morale, and given her the impetus to do good.

Unlike other talent/reality TV shows, Artista Academy is fortunate for having been created by the network and to be working in conjunction with the Asian Academy of Television Arts (AATA) headed by TV bigwig Wilma Galvante, previously with GMA. The AATA is where the 16 scholars are enrolled for basic classes in acting, singing and dancing. Mac Alejandre, current head of TV5’s Talent Center, explains that by its very nature, it involves a search for actors who would become future superstars. “It is an Artista plus one or two; magaling sa acting plus singing, or acting plus dancing, or all,” he clarified.

Long time director-actor Joel Lamangan is Acting Adviser; composer-musical, director Louie Ocampo is Singing Adviser; Georcelle Dapat-Sy, founder of G-Force is Dance Adviser.

The author with Malak So Shdifat

Trainers from various other fields have also been called upon to mentor the scholars for specific needs. We spoke with Leo Martinez, head of the Film Academy of the Philippines, who gave the scholars the basic process of how to approach film and television acting (as opposed to theater acting). After days of sessions using the Eric Morris system of “No Acting,” Leo told us he feels the scholars now have an idea of what to do. This was the particular training session that Malak didn’t want to miss, despite the fever.

“None of our actors are equipped with character building,” Leo said. “These scholars are very lucky to be given the chance to become brilliant, but they will have to work at it, to practice on their own. It will really be up to them what they will do with that knowledge.”

Hosting the AA shows are Cesar Montano on Saturdays and Marvin Agustin on weekdays. Live exams are aired Saturdays with voting from Wilma and Mac. Live Exam critics are Lorna Tolentino and Gelli de Belen. Tabulation together with the text votes determine the final fate of the scholar to be taken out. Last Sept. 1 was the fourth Live Exam which left 12 scholars standing, with Chris Leonardo, Jon Orlando, Julia Quisumbing, and the latest Brent Manzano out of the running.

Mac told us he was happy his gut feel in the Top 16 has been proven right. “I have always believed that the Top 16 deserved to be among the Top 4. Now, the competition is getting stiffer. Nasasala na ang nakikipagtunggali. I am very proud of them. Ginulat nila ako sa acting portion that was precisely written to be very difficult,” he said. 

We asked Perci Intalan, head of TV5’s creative and entertainment productions to assess the competition so far. He replied, “We have very good feedback; surprised even, in view of competition from the other networks airing reality talent shows. As far as ratings go, it is steadily going higher.” Perci added that Boss man MVP (Manny V. Pangilinan) was so pleased he decided to bring the scholars on a trip to Hong Kong.

(E-mail us at [email protected])