Jake to study acting in NYC

MANILA, Philippines - Jake Cuenca will take a month-long break from the showbiz scene to study at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York. The Kapamilya star will be the first Filipino actor to be trained at the institute, which is famous for schooling actors in Method Acting. Among its alumni are Hollywood heavyweights Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, Jane Fonda, Jack Nicholson, Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson, Robert De Niro and Sean Pean.

He was inspired to sign up for the full and intensive Master Class after he underwent the Ivana Chubbuck workshop this year, which was conducted by the esteemed acting coach and author herself who was flew in to the country by ABS-CBN’s talent management arm Star Magic to further hone its stable of stars.

“I just want to master my craft. I was triggered by the Ivana Chubbuck (workshop) because I was taught things I’ve never heard from anyone before. But I want to learn more,” Jake told reporters yesterday.

Jake said that he truly felt the benefits of the Chubbuck workshop, meriting praises for his last work — his portrayal of Franco, one of the lead characters in the Book 1 of the primetime series Ikaw Lamang. The Chubbuck acting technique draws from inner pain and very personal experiences, according to Jake. 

“I don’t want to bank on one performance that I did. I don’t want to be complacent. I want to keep on learning and the only way I can do that is to study. Halos nagawa ko na po lahat ng workshop dito sa Pilipinas. The workshops here are very good… But I just want to broaden my range, my perspective when it comes to acting. I just want to keep on pushing myself to keep better. The industry has been so good to me that I feel as if I owe it to my audience, my directors, my co-actors to give them an original performance, something that they have not seen before. That’s what I want to do when I return here from New York,” he said.

The one who recommended the institute to Jake was his seasoned Ikaw Lamang co-star, Cherie Gil, whose daughter is also taking up acting studies there.

“She told me if you’re gonna study acting in the States, you have to go to Lee Strasberg, because that’s one of the best schools. She said, ‘You (need) to have a good portfolio,’ and luckily, I get accepted by the school,” added Jake, who also reckoned that his acting nomination for his role as an abusive father in the indie film Nuwebe at the 4th Queens World Film Festival in NYC early this year added weight to his application.

Admission to Lee Strasberg requires a stringent process. Jake had to submit an essay and a video documentation and do a Skype interview. He applied for himself and spent for everything, although he said that the tuition is reasonable and it is the cost of living that is more expensive.

Upon learning that he got accepted, “I wanted to scream in my car. I was  getting nervous because it had been a week already since my interview and yet they hadn’t gotten back to me. Then my mom called me up and sent me the e-mail (saying I was accepted). I was so happy because this is one thing I’ve been set to do. In the middle of doing Ikaw Lamang, I already planned on this.”

What does he know of the institute so far?

“All I know is that all my idols studied acting there. Aside from that, the method that is being taught is based on (the technique created by the Russian actor/director) Constantin Stanislavski, which is Method Acting talaga. Method kasi iniiwan mo sarili mo sa bahay mo. You really live in your character’s shoes. I’ve read the book (about it). More or less, I have some sort of interpretation of it but I’m going there and it’s not just going to be a good experience for me as an actor but also as a person. I’ll be going there as a newbie. No one knows me there. I’m going to start from scratch.”

The actor added, “Hopefully, I can set an example for the new ones later on. If people say, magaling ka na, you shouldn’t stop there, you have to continuously improve yourself. Even the senior actors, they still refresh their acting.”

Even with all his efforts to self-improve, Jake acknowledged that he won’t run out of critics and bashers, but clearly he has adopted a more mature attitude towards them. “When I was younger, I used to get so affected by those things but for me, it’s so easy to be a critic. I’ve already come to terms with myself that I can’t please everyone really, as much as I try.”

Jake is scheduled to leave on Sept. 29 for the US but before that, you can catch him in the Sept. 20 episode of Maalaala Mo Kaya and will be headed for Indonesia with Jessy Mendiola for the DZMM Caravan there, also on Sept. 20. He is also renewing his contract with ABS-CBN for another two years, and when he comes back, he will attend pitching sessions for a teleserye and movie projects.

Jake will also be part yet again of this year’s Bench Underwear Fashion show, titled The Naked Truth, to be held at SM Mall of Asia Arena come Sept. 19. He said that it will be his last appearance for the underwear show because “I’ve done everything already. (The audience) can still expect the unexpected from me but I’m going to leave the theatrics to the new ones. But I’m going to make it count because this is my last.”