Philippine Showbiz

  • An Interview with Steven Silva

    An Interview with Steven Silva

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    Amiciness was given the opportunity to interview my first (and hopefully not the last) celebrity guest, Steven Silva of La Cage Aux Folles.

    Well, close enough since this was done only via email. I don’t think I’m ready for an actual face-to-face interview not to mention I still get easily starstruck by literally anyone or anything. We’ll get there. I’m still nurturing the inner journalist in me. Anyhow, the teaser for this interview gained a lot of views so I guess, I’m not the only one excited to read Steven’s answers to this set of witty questions, Amiciness style. I won’t prolong your agony. Here we go!

    Steven's tweet that started it all
    The tweet that started it all. (Screenshot by me circa 2011)

    Amiciness: Time flies so fast. It has been more than half a decade since you joined showbiz. You even had a different Twitter handle before. (I was always responding to your tweets. LOL. I remember one time, you asked how to describe the taste of blood and I tweeted “like licking a pad lock.”). You are now entering a new chapter in your professional career. How will you compare Steven then with the Steven now?

    Steven: I do remember that particular tweet! I have no clue what I was thinking that day when I posted that but I did appreciate your unique response. 5 years is a long time and a lot has happened within those 5 years. The Steven of now I believe is more refined, experienced and aware of himself. I feel more aware in the sense of – I better understand my strengths and weaknesses as a person and an artist.

    (more…)

  • In Defense of Steven Silva

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    As a fan of Steven Silva for a few years now, I feel the need to address GMA Artist Center‘s (Steven’s management for the past few years) statement in turn addressing Steven’s sentiment about his being a GMA talent. Steven has been under GMA Network and GMA Artist Center for the last five years. He won as the Ultimate Male Survivor for the 5th batch of the reality artista search Starstruck.

    It’s unfair that GMAAC is putting Steven in a bad light by implicitly describing him as unappreciative for his career. The statement is uncalled for and harsh. Steven is thankful for what he has been given, but at the same time, he is disappointed with the way his career has been going. He wants to do more, but he isn’t given the opportunity to do so.

    GMAAC even says that they have given Steven many opportunities. That is probably true, but those opportunities are probably not the right ones for his career. Ask a random stranger on the streets of Manila what projects Steven has been in. Sadly, you might not get an answer, as they would probably, and again sadly, have forgotten who Steven is (aside from Kapuso and theatre fans) less so his projects. This is because Steven was given projects that were not up his alley. I know he is very passionate about his music and singing career. Did they give Steven an album under GMA Records? No. Instead they made him one of the regular dancers in their Sunday noontime show, from SOP up to Sunday All Stars. And I think this goes for all the artists under GMAAC’s roster. GMAAC should evaluate their talents and give them the proper projects to hone their talents more. Career planning is what’s needed.

    Nonetheless, even though GMAAC has not given Steven projects for the past few months, it’s good that he has been keeping himself busy. He found his calling in musical theatre, and has been part of 3 theatrical productions so far, the latest being the successful Philippine staging of La Cage aux Folles (which is going to have a rerun soon :D). As Jean-Michel, I have seen Steven’s growth throughout the years, from the first time I saw him on Starstruck. I’m also happy that he’s been doing TV shows by way of TV5, something that GMA and its Artist Center can’t give him right now.

    I’m proud to be a Steven Silva fan, and I support him in whatever he does next. 🙂

    Read the full statements for both sides here:

  • That Thing Called Tadhana with Sid Lucero

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    That’s me with Sid Lucero after watching PETA‘s Arbol de Fuego last March 15. This was one of the few surreal moments of meeting actors in real life. It made my body literally shiver like I was vertically thousands of feet away from the ground on top of Mt. Pulag. I was supposed to take pictures with the actual cast members: Cherie Gil, Bembol Roco and Raffy Tejada (one of my basic acting weekend workshop facilitators) among others. Unfortunately and fortunately while waiting, I saw Sid outside. I was hesitant at first but the adrenaline of the that week just kept on coming. I decided to take the chance and just do it. I asked him for a photo and he didn’t hear me so I tapped his shoulder. Out of nervousness, I just posed for the camera even if he wasn’t ready. He saw the camera and said: “Oh.. Okay.” Hahahaha AWKWARD.

    My friend was using my phone but for some reason the shots were too exposed. She asked us to change positions hoping that it’d solve the problem (it didn’t but good thing it didn’t, I really like the effect). We posed but my friend was having a hard time adjusting the focus of the camera so it was really an awkward couple of minutes. Sid put his arm on my should and I started shaking. He felt it and said “You’re shaking, man.”. I died (and wished that the earth’d swallow me whole).

    I’ve been watching Sid since Etheria (Encantadia’s prequel) and I’ve always admired his acting skills. This was quite an experience. Looking forward for more celebrity encounters. Watch out! I’m going to post my other “celebrity encounters” in the future. 🙂

    Side-note:  Arbol de Fuego was so nice. The performances were great. I’ve never seen a straight play that had more than four characters. Everybody brought something to the table and the script sounded natural considering it was in English, Spanish, Tagalog and Ilonggo. The overall theme of the play was all about letting go. Being less attached to the past to embrace the gifts of tomorrow.