One of my favourite tracks from The Kitchen Musical, which I’ve been trying to catch every week. Also, this was kind of our theme song for a while when my sister and I were living together in Melbourne.
Friends tell me that watching a show in non-HD (what’s the correct term for that?) doesn’t affect its sound quality, but having watched the show on two different channels, HD and um, the other one, I swear there’s a difference.
I was lucky to meet and interview the very lovely cast down in Singapore during the show’s Press Day in August, so here’s a little bit from my chats with Karylle Tatlonghari and Arthur Acuña, who both feature in the song.
Karylle Tatlonghari
Plays: Maddie Avilon, a rich kid who goes to work in her father’s restaurant
You’re a huge star in the Philippines, but is this your breakthrough role in terms of Asia?
Yes. Actually, it’s my first lead role. I’ve been acting for a while now, but I’ve never really been the lead. I’m so thankful. This is my first lead role and it’s an international production. Never in my dreams did I think I would do anything like this.
Has it made you hungrier for more?
Well, I’ve always believed that good things are going to happen for me, but I was never this specific. As for more, I have a band as well and I write songs, so I really want to perform my songs in concerts and festivals.
Well, you have an amazing voice. What is it about the Philippines…
…and singing?
Yes! You guys produce such amazing vocalists.
I don’t know. My mum and sister are singers as well. Everyone just loves to sing. I own two [karaoke outlets] with a couple of partners, and we’re opening a third very, very soon. Business is just crazy because everyone loves to sing. We have one room that’s for 120 people. When we opened it, it was a big risk, but now it’s one of our best-selling rooms. I think it’s just a natural love for music.
Do you cook?
I can bake a cake from scratch. I just do a simple sponge cake with whatever fruit. And I like to put them into little silicon containers so I can share them with everyone.
You’re also a bit of an athlete, apparently.
[Embarrassed] I’m not an athlete. I’m actually a baby runner. I train with a coach who is an actual athlete, a champion runner, and he really took me under his wing. I run races, but that doesn’t really make me an athlete.
Distance running?
I’ve only gone up to 10km. I’ve been running for a year, and I found that singing while running actually gives me better stamina, so I do that. They call me the iPod.
Why run competitively? Why not just do it like, every Sunday?
I find that I’m quite competitive. I’ve actually won two races.
Describe yourself in three words.
I like to think I’m creative. I’m very positive. And I’m very loving.
***
Arthur Acuña
Plays: Harry Shaw, General Manager of The Avilon restaurant
What was the biggest challenge for you doing this?
A big challenge, because it’s new to me, is recording a song. And actually filming it, which is you singing to your song. I’ve never done that. But I’m surprised it’s not as difficult as I thought it would be. I was just more nervous about my product because I’m not a recording artist like Karylle and Christian (Bautista). They do that a lot.
What’s your favourite thing about playing your character?
He’s complex from moment to moment. I like that he’s always trying to just hang on by the seat of his pants every hour of the day. I think he wakes up thinking, I just hope the next half hour’s going to be good; I’m just going to do my best. And that makes for a complex way of living so if I can translate that on screen, why not?
Are you like that in real life?
Sometimes. But that’s just being very present. There’s nothing wrong with that. How many times do you plan something for the next year or the next week? You really have to adjust because things change along the way, and it’s not what it was going to be.
Are you interested in food and cooking?
Cooking, not so much. Food, yes. The only cooking part about this that interested me is I’ve worked in restaurants. I’ve managed restaurants, I’ve tended bar. I’ve never worked in the kitchen, but I connected what I know of the rhythm of a kitchen and a restaurant to how my father was, and he was quite a cook.
So, having managed restaurants, would you say the show is pretty true to real life?
Yes and no. Yes, some chefs are like [Alex Marcus], but there are so many different kinds. One thing is common among them, though – they’re stressed. I’ve never met a relaxed chef yet. There’s something about the pace of a restaurant and getting food out exactly and, depending on how creative the chef is, the stress factor is so high. That’s why divorce rates, alcoholism and drugs are very high with kitchen people. It’s a fact.
Describe yourself in three words for us.
Eat my shorts [laughs]. Questions like that always catch me off-guard. Okay, driven, ambitious and stubborn.
