The Professional Actor — Irma Adlawan Talks About Theater vs TV & Film

I requested director and actor Irma Adlawan – Marasigan to enumerate three differences between working in Philippine theater versus that of the world of TV and film.

The Waiting Irma Adlawan warns theater actors, “When you’re asked to come in, you will not know when you would be doing anything. So if you’re called in at 8, supposedly in the morning, you’re lucky to be going on camera by 1 o’clock in the afternoon. Kung medyo malas-malas ka ng kaunti, gabi na (If you’re not so lucky, then you’ll be shooting in the evening).”

The Memorizing of Lines The well respected actor points out that one will not have the luxury of time and rehearsals to develop a character. “Wala ka ng time to think or study your lines before you go on the set. So dapat ready ka. Dapat quick learner ka. Dapat madali kang mag-memorize. That’s very important in TV. (You will not have the time to think or study your lines before you go on the set. So you have to be ready. You have to be a quick learner. You must be fast in memorizing your lines.)”

The Star System “Sa teatro walang star. Hindi naghihintay ang mga tao bago magsimula, bago dumating ang star. Sa telebisyon, most of the time ganoon. (In theatre, no one is a star. People don’t have to wait for the star before they can start. However in television, that is the norm.)”

Even if it’s “heartbreaking,” Irma Adlawan shrugs off the star system as a fact of life. Obviously preferring the work ethics of theatre, Irma kindly shares her philosophy regarding sharing her time and talent for television and film — “I do the acting for FREE. They pay me for waiting.”

Photo Courtesy of Repertory Philippines
Photo By Jojit Lorenzo

The FAMAS awardee will be portraying the role of Candida Marasigan in the Nick Joaquin classic Portrait of the Artist as Filipino. None other than Jose Mari Avellana himself will direct the Repertory Philippines production. The play will run at OnStage Theater from 16 January till 08 February 2009. For tickets, please call Ticketworld at 891.9999 or Repertory Philippines at 887.0710

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