MANILA, Philippines — To the various creatives he has worked with, Rahyan Carlos is known as a scriptwriter, a director, an acting coach or an artist center head. He wears each hat with commitment and passion.
His experience and expertise in the last two will come in handy in his new post as the head of training and development of the MQuest Artists Agency (MQAA).
For this academic, it’s a familiar territory, and at the same time, a new career beginning.
“It’s a new journey for me. That’s the reason why I accepted the work. It’s a challenge to help pioneer an artists agency (and) to bring it to (new) heights. It’s exciting and that’s exciting,” said direk Rahyan in an exclusive interview with The STAR.
Training artists and developing their talents speak of his calling. Rahyan has worked before in a similar and related capacity with two of the reputable talent centers in the country.
This time, he will collaborate with and work under the leadership of Jeffrey Remigio, vice president for content acquisition at Cignal TV and head of MQAA, to further hone the talents of its artists.
“I’m not only training the artists (and) the actors of MQuest, but (I’m here) to also bring to the public the workshops that I know,” added he.
Again, these are public workshops in acting, dance and voice, according to a piece of information given to this paper, “with the goal of discovering and cultivating new talents. Following the workshops, participants will have exclusive access to auditions and the opportunity to join the MQAA talent pool.”
Aspiring talents and practicing teachers may join the intensive workshops, with registration and enrollment this Nov. 23 to 24 on a first-come, first-served basis, it said.
What Rahyan will also share, specifically in the acting worshop, is the Hollywood Chubbuck Technique of Hollywood acting coach Ivana Chubbuck. Among her A-list clients are Halle Berry, Jim Carrey, Brad Pitt, Sylvester Stallone and Charlize Theron.”
“I’ve been teaching acting for the past 26 years. Since 2012, I was accredited to be the only Filipino authorized to teach the Hollywood Chubbuck Technique,” said he.
“And I’m bringing in the brand of Chubbuck Technique for MQAA,” shared Rahyan.
It’s a great opportunity for everyone to learn the Hollywood Chubbuck Technique in understanding what acting is and what it entails. It provides actors the way to land jobs and win awards.
In Rahyan’s acting classroom, the actor has to embrace the creative and learning process that unfolds in each workshop.
“You go to the workshops. You’ll never go wrong with training, dala-dala mo yan (it will stick with you),” said Rahyan. “What I’m bringing to MQAA is the training, it’s the discipline that is at par with (or on a par with) the world. I’m not competing with other techniques. They are there to help (and guide) the actors.”
According to him, some acting techniques that artists employ are the ones developed and taught by Eric Morris (being) and Sanford Meisner. The latter tackles “emotional connection” and instinctive reaction, as an online source puts it.
“This is about helping the actors and the industry to professionalize acting,” said he, emphasizing also the value of studying acting as the craft. It means attending workshops and training, regardless of the actor’s stature or level in the profession.
Rahyan said even Hollywood stars recognize the importance of training. It’s only in the local scene when attending a workshop indicates and implies that a talent is lacking.
The acting teacher in Rahyan also shared that a student should be teachable and vulnerable.
“Iba ang pakahulugan ko ng vulnerability, maganda sa Tagalog (I have a different take on vulnerability and it has nice word equivalents in Tagalog),” said he. “Bukas, basag at wasak kasi in acting, nothing beats pain. Ako, I use, in the Chubbuck technique, pain as fuel to win. Nothing can beat that.”
He viewed acting as “a lifestyle of learning. You’re just as good as your last work.” And the actor should present “a living and breathing character” in each acting project, said he. Thus, the artist disappears into his or her role and the audience sees the character rather than the personality, if one may add.
“The only way to portray that is to use your own pain in life, creating catharsis towards the character and you, nothing can beat you. Walang makakagaya sa’yo (no one can imitate you by) using your own pain.”
Aside from utilizing imagination, he said that “acting is all about being personal and how you will use that being personal, and creating emotions not as an end result but as a way to empower a goal.”
“We teach actors not to use their emotions as an end result,” he added, referring to crying and laughing.
Nevertheless, actors are guided to figure out the objectives of their characters. Thus, the actors, in understanding the being of their characters and in becoming them, are considered collaborators. And that makes the public workshops, crafted by Rahyan, purposeful.
For registration, visit the MQAA Facebook page @mqaaworkshops or Instagram: @mqaaworkshops or e-mail the artists agency at mqaa.training@gmail.com.