Lea Salonga 'Backstory' 12/10/2009
Mich
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view/20091210-241119/Tomorrow-night-I-sing-your-songs
BACKSTORY
Backstory : Tomorrow night, I sing your songs
By Lea Salonga
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: December 10, 2009
I’M SITTING in my darkened bedroom after a long soak in the tub.
Monday was my dance rehearsal day with the Philippine All-Stars and Ai-
Ai de las Alas. My feet are sore and my hips hurt. And yes, that’s a
good thing.
Tomorrow night is our big night at the PICC to unveil “Your Songs.”
We’re all working very hard (many of us subsisting on nothing but
caffeine and inspiration) to finish everything that we need to. Our
set is being constructed, costumes being made (and remade if
necessary), music arrangements and orchestrations are getting done,
blocking thought out and taught, talking points mapped out. I want
this to be a tight and well-paced show. It has to be, given that we
have a lot of songs to perform! It cannot be a boring night!
As of this writing, we haven’t heard FILharmoniKA play the
arrangements by my brother Gerard’s team of geniuses, so I can’t wait
to get to that rehearsal! It’s one thing to imagine what it all might
sound like; quite another thing altogether to be in a closed space
with these musicians doing what they do best. I shall be sharing this
rehearsal with my co-singers (all guests and back-up singers), so that
they can also listen to exactly what they’ll be hearing on stage
during the concert. (This is my favorite part of any rehearsal
process, hearing the orchestra for the very first time.)
Concert night
On concert night, we’ll step on the stage for the first time.
Choreography, spacing and blocking will be adjusted to accommodate our
performance area. Although, front to back, there won’t be that much
room, from side to side we’ll have carte blanche. I will then also be
rehearsing with costumes (if there are last minute changes, we can
determine them right then and there) and shoes. I’ll be dancing!
Tripping and falling down are not allowed.
Doing a big concert brings out so much out of a big crew of people.
There is a lot of stress involved (I know what it’s like to make
changes at the eleventh hour) … sleepless nights … short tempers … and
physical exhaustion. However, doing a big show can be one of the most
fun and fulfilling experiences. As for those eleventh-hour changes,
sometimes they turn out to be the best things in a show.
Sincerest thanks
Before things get crazy over the next few days, I’d like to express my
sincerest thanks to: our director Bobby Garcia; scriptwriter and
associate director Chari Arespacochaga; musical director Gerard
Salonga; our orchestra FILharmoniKA; our presentor AmbientMedia; our
venue the PICC; our guests, The Philippine All-Stars; Ai-Ai de las
Alas and Richard Poon (plus one very special surprise guest!); our
broadcast partner NET 25; our back-up singers, arrangers,
orchestrators, sound people; set builders, lighting crew, production
and stage management; ushers and everyone else who has become part of
our team.
Most of all, thanks to everyone that sent their requests! Because of
you, we’ve got a show! We all hope you enjoy what we’ve put together.
And with that, I am off to get some sleep.
©Copyright 2001-2009 INQUIRER.net, An Inquirer Company