Even legends get the jitters

Another musical event to look forward to.

By Elizabeth Lolarga,VERA Files

It may come as a surprise to some that seasoned pianist Cecile Licad, ballerina Lisa Macuja and singer Lea Salonga, who continue to light up stages here and abroad, confess to pre-concert jitters.

A blunt Licad says, “I’m always agitated and nervous before every show since I was seven. But as I get older, I’m less afraid of screwing up things. Everything in life is not perfect so why not make an art of screwing up? I’d ask the presentor if I can have a siling labuyo (hot chili pepper), I eat it. The taste keeps me awake.”

Salonga shares that she paces a lot before a show starts, apart from warming up her throat, to free herself of nervousness. She adds, “I can’t sit still. I go through the blocking and lyrics in my head. I stay hydrated and don’t talk too much. Praying keeps my calm.”

What’s going inside her backstage is like being trapped in a cage. Once she releases the first song onstage, she feels fine.

Licad butts in, “It’s like delivering a baby!”

Macuja goes through a full ballet class, doing stretches, bends and jumps to warm up. She keeps 10 pointe shoes in her bag and tries each one on, mentally assigning a pair to a number or act she is set to do. The shoes are lined up beside her makeup table.

She tries not to lose that body warmth in the theater’s air-conditioning. Seconds before she goes onstage, she takes off her leg warmers and blows air into her shoes, a practice she saw and learned while a student in Russia where it is wintry cold. While going through these rituals, her partner at the moment fidgets and reminds her, ” Lisa, we’re almost on.”

Putting three piano, stage and dance superstars is a historic first that could’ve been realized earlier had not a would-be concert organizer balked. The idea remained with Macuja who felt the dream project is worth producing “before I retire. I have to make it happen and work with these two women,” she says.
She self-disparagingly adds, “Of the three, I’m the one with an early expiration date. If I were on a grocery shelf, I’m the one that’s pushed forward.”

Wearing her other hat as producer, Macuja says the major work was arranging their schedules so they can have two weeks, one dedicated to rehearsals under stage director Roxanne Lapus . The latter refers to them as “the three muses.”

The first time the three got together was at a photo studio where the call time was 10 a.m. They were there promptly at 9:30, put on their makeup and costumes with no fuss. Such was their professionalism that the pictorial ended two hours early.

Licad recalls the immediate chemistry that sparked off when she met the other two, “I don’t know, but they look crazy. Parang lukaret!’

Salonga smiles, adding, “That’s the truth in a nutshell.”

Macuja’s other dream is to “bring (the show) all over the Philippines, even on a world tour to show that the Filipino artists can, that our country is not about corrupt officials.”

Already she is getting inquiries on when a similar show will be mounted, but meantime they’re concentrating energies on “The Legends and the Classics” on March 17 and 18 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Theater.

Lapus, who has directed dinner theater, romantic comedies and pop singers in the past, assures that she understands “the weight of this project.” The program will respect the individual artistry and integrity of the performer and allow each to join the others as duos and trios.

Pleased that the three women have no diva airs, she says a video screen will be used excessively to add as backdrop and there will not be too much talking, save by Lea (and her short spiels). We want to remove the kasosyalan (familiar socializing) of a mediocre pop concert.”

Licad says of jamming with the two others, “I’ve always been open to new things. When we’re together, we’re always laughing. That’s a good sign. The vibes are good, the food is good. And the makeup’s nice.”

Salonga says, “It’s not rocket science. We’re just three persons doing something together and we each love doing. I’m a quick study with songs so the stuff we will do is something we can do in our sleep.”

She explains each of their turning-point moment came early in their lives which makes the viewing public think they’ve been around a long time. “It’s about finding your joy, finding what is you’re supposed to do. For others, it’s a harder road. It’s finding what it is and you don’t want to let it go.”