MANILA, Philippines — As head of training and development of MQuest Artists Agency (MQAA), director Rahyan Carlos is in a quest, as a manner of speaking, to teach newbie talents about the rudiments of acting and retool and further mentor established ones in their forthcoming and recent projects.
“At the moment, it’s really starting, it’s really pioneering,” said Rahyan about the artists agency and its talents in a recent virtual interview with The STAR. “We have, I think, something like 30 talents, and out of the 30 talents, I already trained 15 of them, half of them, intensively.”
The director-scriptwriter-and-academic assumed the position in September of this year and made a thorough assessment of MQAA artists.
“But the most important thing for me is the discipline, the ethics,” added he.
The training Rahyan provides is patterned after the Chubbuck Studio in Hollywood, Melrose Avenue, wherein he studied under the Hollywood acting coach Ivana Chubbuck.
“There are levels. I have an introductory level, advanced level 1, advanced level 2, and the masterclass. You need to earn your way up there,” said he. “For the entire batch, I will assess you, it’s either you will level up or you will be retained.”
Rahyan, the teacher doesn’t give remarks such as “naka-pasa” (pass) or “bagsak” (fail) and he looks at the progress of every student in a wholistic way.
“Part of that is, napaka-importante sa artista that you are workable and professional, especially nowadays when the generation of today is very entitled. Kailangan mo lang paalalahanan (you just need to remind them).”
In his class, participants should value time and follow what he said as “American time” and “Japanese time.”
“Here, in the workshop, you have to give your best shot. I always tell them that it feels like you’re being paid to attend the workshop, pero ‘pag libre sa’yo, hindi mo susulitin, ma-la-late ka, hindi ka magtatrabaho (if you attend the workshop for free, you tend not to make the most of it, you also become uninspired to work and come late),” said he.
“I’m starting this batch of actors with MQAA to become workable and professional, (and to instill in them the) ethics for actors.”
This makes talents under the tutelage of Rahyan land jobs and eventually win awards.
The training gives them a better grasp of his perspective on acting as a lifestyle of learning.
“Ngayon mahusay ka, bukas pwedeng hindi (today, you’re able to deliver, but tomorrow you may not). Bukas naman mahusay ka, pwedeng hindi na naman (tomorrow, you’re good, but the following day, you’re not), it’s really a push and pull, pero are you still studying even at your age?,” said he, who emphasizes the importance of constant learning about the craft.
Along that line is the value of being in constant collaboration with the director and an acting coach or a teacher.
He shared that the director should also know the language of actors. It may be viewed as the latter’s way of making sense of the characters, scenes, and script, as one may add.
Through that, the director will be able to incorporate personal experiences of the actors and “the pain in life” to win or achieve a performance goal by unearthing the character’s objective in the narrative.
“Mas matutulungan ka (your work as a director will be easier) if you let actors understand what they’re doing,” added he.
“I want to produce empowered actors,” said he. “Kapag sinabi mong empowered actors, may project man o wala, nandun yung zest nila to audition (when you say empowered actors, whether they have a project or they don’t have, their zest to audition remains there). Nanduon yung interest nila at yung passion nila (their interest in and passion for acting is there). While waiting, (they have this thinking that) I will still study, yung gutom sila (they are hungry and motivated to act). Napaka-importante sa artista na gutom, eh. I’ve seen actors who come and go. Once money and fame creep in, there’s laxity. I want to train and produce empowered actors.”
Aside from providing MQAA talents training, Rahyan also holds public workshops.
Recently, his team announced such an initiative in acting, dance, and voice, “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,” said a piece of information given to this paper.
MQAA is not only looking for actors, dancers, and singers, but also artists who have the potential to be a triple threat.
For details on MQAA and its workshops, visit the artists agency’s Facebook page @mqaaworkshops or Instagram account @mqaaworkshops.