Vince Tañada
While awarded playwright, director and theater actor Vince Tañada debuted and made his mark as a film actor in Elwood Perez’s “Otso” that premiered Sept. 11 at the Sineng Pambansa National Film Festival All Masters Edition, he is not leaving theater for a movie career.
According to Vince, starring in “Otso” was merely a break for him. He agreed to take on the lead role because of the director Elwood Perez, whom he has “idolizes” since he was a kid.
“I love my theater group and the people around me and we will continue to produce plays. I believe that we are part of society and we are here to uplift the arts and in culturing the public. I will still do plays and this is not a crossover,” he explained. Vince Tañada is the force behind the very active theater company named Philippine Stagers Foundation (PSF).
As regards “Otso,” Vince enjoyed working with Elwood. He didn’t give his director a hard time, always arriving on set prepared for the day’s shoot. Many who’ve seen “Otso” agree that Vince did well as Lex, a screenplay writer looking for his muse or inspiration. Some described his portrayal as intelligent, mature.
According to Vince, he related well to Lex being an artist and playwright in real life. He intimated that as writer, he could see the world in a different light and in a different form.
“A writer creates his own characters and his own conflicts. A writer even has his own share of eccentricities and frustrations. The biggest struggle of a writer is to always tell a great story,” Vince related.
Why did he take on “Otso” when he has no plans of becoming a movie actor?
“‘Otso’ was one way of feeding my passion as an actor and it’s a new kind of art form for me that’s worth discovering,” he said in our interview.
He further explained that though his past plays have been nationalistic, his decision to do “Otso” was rooted on what he is – an artist.
“I’m an artist and as an artist I’m also an educator. In doing plays I truly believe that I’m not only propagating nationalism, but also educating the people. But at this time, I’m an artist and this is an art film,” he remarked.
Vince stressed that he is “more in-love” with theater and the people in it. He described the “theater people” as real, selfless and grateful. His love for the theater arts is showcased not only by his performances but what he continually does for it.
Vince founded the Philippine Stagers Foundation (previously known as Dulaang Bedista Alumni Production ) of which he is President and Artistic Director.
“Hindi ko maiiwanan ang teatro kasi maraming nagtratrabaho sa akin. I’ve changed the perception ng mga tao na theater is not financially rewarding. I’ve decided to give the actors a monthly salary. I want them to believe that this is a professional career for them,” he said.
Vince’s hard work in theater paid off when he was recognized twice by the Aliw Awards as the Best Actor for Theater in a Musical in 2007 for his performance as Ramses in the play “O’Moises” and once again in 2011 for his sterling performance as Peter in the play “Cory ng EDSA,” which also garnered him the Best Actor in the 2011 Broadway World Awards. He wrote and directed both plays.
Other milestones in his career included winning Best Director for “Ako Si Ninoy, A Filipino Musicale” in 2009. The same play also won the Best Musical. In 2010, he earned the Best Director trophy for the play “Enzo… Santo.” “Cory ng EDSA” won the 2011 Best Musical from both the Aliw Awards and Broadway World Awards.
Vince Tañada shines in ‘Otso’, but will stay in theater
Source: Mb.com.ph (September 14, 2013 at 10:30AM)
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