Trumpets alumni: Out of the wings, into the spotlight

MANILA, Philippines - For the past 20 years, Playshop has been setting the stage for anyone and everyone who has the passion and drive to make their dreams of performing for hundreds and thousands of people come true. No matter how long it takes.

One of the people whom Trumpets Playshop is more than proud to call its own is Tippy Dos Santos, winner of the 29th Star Award for New Female Actress for the critically-acclaimed hit I Do Bidoo. But none of this happened over night; as the saying goes, good things come to those who wait, and Tippy has been waiting in the wings for six years.

Tippy started in Playshop in a 2004 Children’s Musical Theater Class. Impressed with her talent, Trumpets Playshop got her to be part of The Playshop Kids two years later, where she got to experience what it was like to perform for events and audiences in and out of the Philippines. It was also during this time that she learned something that some performers only understand at a later time.

“I learned how to share the stage,” says Tippy when asked to recall her time as a Playshop kid and eventually a Playshop teen. “It’s not always about being a good performer, but it’s also knowing how to give your peers a chance to shine.”

Tippy soldiered on, doing her best to be a good student, a good performer and a good daughter. “It can get really tough at times,” she admits, “and sometimes there are nights when you just can’t get enough sleep.”

When asked what kept her going, she once again gives back the credit to the time she spent in Playshop. “Your talent isn’t the sole thing that will take you to where you want to be,” says the incoming sophomore in UP Diliman. “Passion is one thing that you always need because it will keep you fueled to work hard and to pass through all the struggles.”

The same thing goes for other Playshop alumni who are in other parts of the world, making a name and continuing to grow themselves in order to further hone the God-given talent that will make their dreams come true.

Twenty-five-year-old Mikki Villa, a vocalist in Hong Kong Disneyland, started in Playshop in 2001. It took him eight years before being able to perform in the Happiest Place on Earth. Professional theater actress Mica Pineda, on the other hand, started in Playshop when she was 12 and is now finishing her masters in musical theater at the prestigious Royal Central School of Speech and Drama of the University of London.

Another Playshop alumna making her mark in London is Christine Allado. Since starting her post-graduate degree in musical theater at the Royal Academy of Music, she’s performed in three West End theaters and with the reputable BBC orchestra.

They all agree with Tippy when she says that “waiting in the wings doesn’t mean that all you can do is stand there and ‘wait.’ Sing, dance and act on the wings!” Because of their passion, faith and impeccable training from Trumpets Playshop, they all owned their moment when they got pulled into the spotlight.

Aside from Playshop celebrating its 20th year and Play It Forward, the Playshop grand alumni homecoming concert on June 1 at the RCBC Theater, the much-awaited musical Bluebird is also hitting the stage in September with all the energy, magic and heart that only Trumpets can offer.

For details, log on to www.trumpetsplayshop.com.