by Bot Glorioso, The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines – It seems the popularity of TV drama series is not dying anytime soon as TV networks continuously offer attention-grabbing plots that effectively capture televiewers’ interest. One of them is TV5 which is coming up with another soap, titled Glamorosa, to premiere in November.

TV5’s latest drama offering will premiere in November. It topbills Lorna Tolentino (third from left) and
Alice Dixson under the direction of Eric Quizon (leftmost) with (from left) Ronaldo Valdez, Lotlot de Leon,
Tonton Gutierrez and Zoren Legaspi in the cast.

The title itself connotes beauty and sophistication but its tagline — Huwad na pag-ibig, huwad na pangarap, huwad na pagkatao — implies Glamorosa is more than just about looking good and being always in style.

“Yes,” said director Eric Quizon before the start of the scheduled 2 p.m. story conference at Victoria Place where The STAR was exclusively invited to “eavesdrop,” witness costume changes for pictorial and interview Glamorosa stars. “Glamorosa will show some cosmetic surgery procedures and the glamorous lifestyle but the glamour is just the backdrop of the show.”

More than the elegance, direk Eric said, the show remains to be a love story and a family drama.

 “There’s also an illustration of how anger can lead to vengeance and deceit. But of course, the success of the show is not only dependent on the story but also on the stars and the people working behind the camera.”

Lorna Tolentino and Alice Dixson topbill the drama series as Natalia and Paulina, respectively. The former will play the beautiful and kind cosmetic surgeon while the latter is the clinic assistant who secretly is plotting an evil scheme against her.

Asked if direk Eric personally chose Lorna and Alice as main stars, he replied, “No, I didn’t. It’s a joy to work with them. They are very professional, alam naman natin ang kakayahan ni LT and one thing with Alice is she’s working hard on her scenes, kahit ano gagawin n’ya.”

Direk Eric was also Alice’s director in the recently-concluded Babaeng Hampaslupa while he had worked with Lorna in the 1997 hit movie Pusong Mamon. 

Is he the type who would turn high-pitched or raise his voice when cameras start grinding?

“(Laughs). I don’t normally shout but I talk to them and tell them what I want because I believe if you have an open relationship with your actors, workflow is smoother. As for new talents (Ritz Azul, Meg Imperial and Victor Silayan), they’re all okay. If they become a headache, well, their heads will ache more, ha, ha, ha,” quipped direk Eric.

“Me? I can’t tell you anything yet about my role because it’s only now that everything has been finalized,” said Martin Escudero, who was already seated on the table with Ritz and Meg when we arrived at the venue 15 minutes before the start of story con. “What I know is I have to dress up this good (pointing at his get up) all the time.”

“This is our first meeting and it is only now that we will get to know our respective roles,” offered Ritz, who later found out that she will play Lorna’s daughter Giselle. “I’m nervous because it’s my first time to be working with veteran stars.”

Martin has started working out weeks after learning about the project. “Kailangan maganda ang katawan ko kaya double time ang pag-e-exercise. I run and do therapy training for muscles and shoulders,” he added.

Acting-wise, Martin is at ease doing drama. His recent portrayal of a young architect in Babaeng Hampaslupa and that of a gay in Zombadings proved that he could act — be it in drama or comedy. Still, Martin feels he has to be on his toes all the time “because they’re all good actors, ‘di pwede pa-bandying-bandying.”

Zoren Legaspi, on the other hand, was clueless about how Glamorosa would unfold. It’s been two weeks, he said, since he asked for the script.

“I want to read the whole story so I can complement my look with the character like how should I dress up or anong klase dapat yung gupit ko,” Zoren added.

Even Alice and Lorna are still thinking of a better approach to their characters. Glamorosa is Lorna’s first TV project after she signed a one-year exclusive contract with the Kapatid network. Lorna kept on asking direk Eric how she should look. “Do I have to wear glasses?” “Do I need to put heavy make-up?” “Am I beautiful from beginning to end?”

For her part, Alice revealed that playing bida is tough but it’s even tougher to play an effective kontrabida which she has to portray this time.

“But it’s something I look forward to (doing) para maiba naman. I will research for my character to see all the different ways so I can give another dimension to it.”

Will the show somehow promote beauty clinics or cosmetic surgery?

“I’m not sure but I think it might have an effect because we’re going to show some procedures. I hope people will find the show interesting because it’s not just about beauty but also drama. Life is full of drama, lahat tayo may ganyan,” direk Eric said.