鈥淲e tend to compare ourselves to other actors but that鈥檚 not fair to us. So try to stay away from that. Don鈥檛 compare yourself to other actors because you are competing with yourself. Because there鈥檚 this saying we always use in theater: 鈥榃e鈥檙e only as good as our last performance.鈥 So it鈥檚 always us that we have to watch over.鈥
Award-winning theater and film actress Dolly de Leon shared this to the participants of the workshop Auditioning for a Role and Landing It.
The workshop was the launching activity of the newly-established Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (DUP) Studio.
At the workshop, De Leon shared the steps she goes through for auditions, her experiences, and the ups and downs of participating in auditions.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e thinking, 鈥極h my God, gagawin ko iyan sa harap ng maraming tao. And then you鈥檙e going to do it. And then at the end, you didn鈥檛 get the part.鈥 So that鈥檚 the reality of an audition,鈥 De Leon said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not easy. Why? You go to a place that is empty with a bunch of directors or casting directors. And you鈥檙e made to perform in a space that is not what鈥檚 written in the script. So you have to use imagination. You have to imagine yourself in that space. And actually believe that what is happening in the scene is happening in your reality,鈥 she added.
As a fan of American award-winning actor Bryan Cranston, De Leon showed a video clip of Cranston giving an inspirational talk.
In the clip, Cranston said, 鈥満诹献ㄇ 18 years ago, I had this cognition that I realized I was going into auditions trying to get a job and that simply wasn鈥檛. It wasn鈥檛 what I was supposed to be doing. An actor is supposed to create a compelling, interesting character that serves the text. You present it in the environment where your audition happens. And then you walk away, that鈥檚 it. Everything else is out of your control so don鈥檛 even think about it. Don鈥檛 focus on that. You鈥檙e not going there to get a job.鈥
In closing, De Leon reminded the workshop participants that it is about telling the story.
鈥淩emember, we are there to serve the story. It鈥檚 not about us. It鈥檚 not about us looking good. It鈥檚 not about us performing well. It鈥檚 about us telling this story and being faithful to the character that we鈥檙e playing,鈥 she said.
De Leon is an alumna of the pioneering batch of the Certificate in Theatre Arts program of the UP Diliman Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts. She gained international acclaim for her role in the Palme d鈥橭r-winning Triangle of Sadness where she won the Guldbagge Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She also won the Cinemalaya 2023 Best Supporting Actress for the film Iti Mapupukaw. In June 2023, De Leon was invited to be a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which presents the annual Academy Awards or Oscars. Her recent film is the box-office hit A Very Good Girl with Kathryn Bernardo.
Meanwhile, DUP Artistic Director Issa Manalo Lopez said, 鈥淪ana marami pang sessions na ganito鈥攊yong makabubuo ng bagong kaalaman hindi sa top-down na paraan pero iyong matututo tayo sa isa鈥檛 isa.鈥 She added, 鈥淜aya sinimulan ang initiative na ito ng DUP kasi gusto rin naming buksan ang pag-unawa sa kung paano tayo magkakaroon ng mas malalim na kaalaman sa pagbubuo natin bilang Pilipino, kung paano nga bang umarte, paano nga ba sa teatro, paano nga ba sa pelikula at iba pang creative industries.鈥
The three-hour workshop and launching of the DUP Studio were held at the Ignacio B. Gimenez鈥揔AL Theater on Nov. 25.
According to the DUP鈥檚 Facebook page, the DUP Studio 鈥渁ims to create a space for deep and genuine connections that empower performance makers to contextualize and respond to the current issues and trends in theatre and performance studies and the call for safe and sustainable performance practices.鈥
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