Essaying a young married couple, Liam and Joyce, in The Write One is another acting test to Ruru Madrid and Bianca Umali. The real-life sweethearts, with the uniname RuCa, have welcomed the challenge and never backed down from delivering the emotional range demanded by the characters.
Their Liam and Joyce are both subject to varied timelines and realities brought about by a magical, antique typewriter. The latter has given Liam, the TV writer the chance to change (rewrite) the course of his love and life story.
Given the what ifs, or should one say second chances embedded in the storyline, will Liam and Joyce, who has also taken the Savana persona, finally write the right ending for themselves? Well, it’s something viewers should look forward to as the GMA “romance drama with a touch of fantasy” airs its finale tonight at 9:35.
“Who doesn’t dream of going to and all the more being able to work in Paris?” said Bianca of her and Ruru’s taping experience in the City of Love with its iconic landmark Eiffel Tower for The Write One’s finale week in a recent virtual press interview. “For me, I never thought it would (happen) this soon. Yes, it was a dream and it felt so surreal that we were there. ‘Pag nakikita namin yung photos of tourist spots in Paris, we can (now) say we’ve passed by or we’ve had a shoot in that area. We’ve been there already.”
In a statement given by the show’s team, Ruru shared that “Pangarap naman talaga namin makapunta dun at nasuwertehan lang namin na magkasama kami (It was our dream to go and visit Paris and we were lucky to have done this project together).”
Aside from The Write One being a welcome addition to their engaging and successful TV assignments, Bianca and Ruru are fortunate to have headlined the first-ever collaboration between GMA Public Affairs and Viu Philippines and “the first GMA series shot abroad (after the pandemic). Ang sarap to be part of it,” said the actress, who got teary-eyed while watching the music video played during the press chat.
“I can still remember the efforts made by all the people behind this project,” shared Bianca. “Nararamdaman ko na parang worth it lahat yung pagod nila, namin lahat (I feel that the hard work we put in it is all worth it).”
Among the snippets in The Write One music video is a mature scene that captures the passion and longing Liam and Joyce have for each other.
“We were asked if we could do this kind of scene,” recalled Ruru. “We never had second thoughts. Sabi namin, ‘Game kami,’ kasi kailangan siya sa eksena. For us, kumbaga sukli na rin na kailangan nating ibuhos lahat sa proyekto na ito dahil, like what she (Bianca) has said, we’re just very grateful to be part of this program.”
While completing the scenes and after saying it’s a wrap, Ruru and Bianca were able to squeeze in some time to appreciate the sights and sounds of Paris. The music video took him down memory lane.
“For the very first time in my life, the whole Paris trip remains vivid in my mind,” he said. “Maybe because I seemed to be more present in the entire (duration of our stay) there. It seemed that I enjoyed shooting in Paris. That’s how special it was for us. Sabi ko nga, habang buhay kong hindi makakalimutan itong proyekto na ito (As I’ve said, I will never forget this project for the rest of my life).”
Although he didn’t give details on his takeaways from playing Liam, Ruru said that he has gained valuable insights about his work and intends to apply them in his future projects. The Kapuso actor and actress were glad and grateful to creative persons who made their first series together happen.
During the group interview, Ruru and Bianca were also inquired about the top on-screen and off-screen moments that left a mark on them. There was definitely an array to choose from but she chose the days spent on building the relationship with their tandem and that of Mikee Quintos and Paul Salas during workshops. This meant so much to her.
Mikee and Paul played fashion editor-politician’s daughter Via and human rights lawyer Hans, respectively, in the show.
“I’m all for knowing people for who they truly are,” said Bianca. “Ruru and I have been friends with Mikee and Paul for a long time, but the relationship wasn’t that deep as compared to when we finished our workshop days, iba yung pakiramdam at meaning nung mas nakilala namin sila. We got to know them not only as friends, but also as real individuals.”
She could attest to its significant role in establishing a fun atmosphere on set.
With Ruru, he enjoyed the creative journey of presenting a compelling narrative that, as one may put it, holds the audience members’ attention and in some way keeps them on the edge of the seat.
“It’s tough to choose a specific scene or moment (that is unforgettable) because I enjoyed every time we were all together. Part of that was despite that we were tired we would go to Tagaytay for a shoot and go home after. The journey of doing The Write One was what I (truly) enjoyed the most and that included the challenges, the happiness as well as the learnings that came with it.”
“Ang sarap niyang balik-balikan (It’s a great feeling reminiscing about those moments),” added the actor, “and the appreciation (of the work done) by every person involved in this project… it’s the journey itself in doing The Write One (for me).”
Tonight, Ruru and Bianca will officially take a curtain call for their roles that have shown everyone about the boon and bane of fulfilling what-ifs and having second chances.