MANILA, Philippines — Arman Ferrer has shown again what he is made of as an artist: Reliable, resilient and a triple threat.
His embodiment and portrayal of Rama in the successful staging of the Filipino rock opera ballet titled Rama, Hari is proof of that.
“Yes, it is,” said the theater actor and classical trained tenor about Rama, Hari as one of the biggest projects he has done thus far in his career during a virtual one-on-one with The STAR, held five days before the show culminated its run at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater, “because it’s not every day you get a work that (features) five National Artists. Two of them are alive, I get the chance to work not just with one but with two. It’s a blessing, and I’m very lucky to witness how they work, how they teach, and a lot can be learned from them.”
Arman was referring to National Artists Alice Reyes, also the production’s director, and Ryan “Mr. C” Cayabyab. The three others are Salvador Bernal, Bienvenido Lumbera and Rolando Tinio, whose artistry is captured in Rama, Hari’s production design, lyrics and libretto, and English translations, respectively.
“When you see them work, you’ll realize that age is just a number. I think their energy, when they teach, is super amazing,” shared Arman, who considered working with Reyes and Cayabyab also a form of learning beyond the confines of what one may say as brick-and-mortar. This afforded him the opportunity to appreciate how theories of performance being applied and put into practice.
As for scoring the male lead role, Arman said, “Technically, I was invited to do the role.”
Reyes and Cayabyab are familiar with his shows. Thus, they know his capabilities as a singer and an actor. Arman’s previous performances have proven his worth in carrying out a challenging task such as essaying a king role in Rama, Hari.
“When they announced the return of Rama, Hari, I was really willing to audition because you know you don’t expect things to happen. You have to make sure that you grab every opportunity to audition or to get what you want,” recalled he. “Ako naniniwala kasi ako na kung para sa’yo, para sa’yo (I believe if the role is meant for you, it will find you), but again, you still have to work for it, di ba?”
Aside from singing and dancing, Arman also got to dance with Karylle Tatlonghari as Sita.
“Pinasayaw kami ni Ms. Alice, pero ano naman hindi naman ganun kahirap, but she wanted it very precise, kasi siyempre kahit madali siya, kung sloppy naman yung work, sloppy yung dance or mali yung dance, it will not work. She made sure that we did the choreography right.”
Whether he is doing a straight play or a musical, Arman’s preparation goes like this:
“Well, of course, again, we all need to prepare physically, mentally and emotionally when it comes to playing roles. Physical because we need to survive the rehearsals, we need to survive the shows, and mental because everything should be memorized. There’s no prompter,” said he. “With all the theories and with all the techniques that you have, you need to be emotionally invested because you have to be the character. I need to be Rama. Even if I’m playing him, there’s still a hint of Arman. I think when it comes to preparation, the latter is just the same, it’s just that the level of difficulty is different.”
According to him, his role is more serious and heroic as compared to previous ones.
“I have to put my consciousness into Rama’s consciousness, which is he is very in love with Sita, he is also a king, who loves his people. There are different levels of love there. So, kailangan mahimay mo yun (So, I needed to have careful thought and understanding about it) in order for people (the audience) to see that here is Rama, the lover of Sita, and here’s Rama as the king. There are many elements (involved in becoming the character),” said he.
“As a king, he wants the greater good for his people, there’s a song (that goes) ‘Kung ako ay lalayo,’ in which he seems to be talking to his people. ‘Narito ang aking puso.’ ‘Even if I’m away, I’m still here with you, guys,’” added he. “Well, again, (Rama, Hari shows) different levels of love. When you don’t see the person that you love and when you have longing for your love, you have that internal struggle.”
Such a conflict was one his character had to deal with throughout the entire musical narrative. Arman remembered that when he and Mr. C were going through the songs, they discussed how Rama would handle it.
“Since you’re heroic, even though you have a struggle inside, hindi ka dapat naglulupasay, kailangan strong ka because you’re the king,” said he. “I’m not saying it’s a formula (in approaching the role), usually ganun eh, parang kapag meron conflict, the king will always have to be strong even if nahihirapan na siya, even if he’s desperate, kailangan strong pa rin siya. Kahit nahihirapan ka, you have to hold (or stand) your ground kasi ikaw yung pinag-le-lean-nan nung mga tao (people lean and depend on you, especially in tough times).”
Also, a must for getting into the psyche of Rama is reading the story of Ramayana, the basis for the Pinoy musical.
“That’s the first thing that we needed to do, at least we know the context,” said he, who found his co-star Karylle “very generous.”
“When you’re in a love team, you (and your stage partner) have to be very comfortable with each other in order for it to work and in order for it to translate to the audience that you’re a love team,” shared he. “We (would) talk a lot and bond off stage, we talked what we should do… when you’re open to each other and when there’s open communication, it’s easy to work together.”
After his stint in Rama, Hari, Arman will be among the featured artists in Pinoy Playlist, a music festival on Oct. 1. This time around, he is tapping the singer in him.