About the author It feels great to be onboard CarouselPinoy.Com! And I’d like to share this great feeling to all the loyal followers of this widely-read Pinoy Entertainment Portal in the US! For the past 12 years, I’ve been writing, handling public relations (PR) projects, and even teaching the science of PR to prospective practitioners at De La Salle University-Manila. It started out really serious for me as young professional to be handling corporate PR accounts for Pepsi Philippines, Dao Heng Bank, PICOP Resources, and some land and investment holdings in the first 8 years of my practice. I definitely learned a lot from the experience. But, hey, I feel I needed to let my hair down! Heaven-sent Philippine theater stalwarts Bart Guingona (Actor’s Actors Inc.) and Audie Gemora (STAGES) came into the picture to “rescue” me. I tried it out first as a freelance publicist to Guingona and Gemora’s theatrical production of Off Broadway hit “The Last Five Years.” The theater bug finally bit me and ‘til now I’m handling a huge slice of the pie of the biggest theater shows in the Philippines like Trumpets’ productions of “Mr. Noah’s Big Boat,” and “Joseph the Dreamer;” Actors’ Actors Inc.’s productions of Broadway shows “Oleanna,” “Art,” “Once On This Island,” and “Death and the Maiden;” Dulaang UP’s grand production of “St. Louis Loves Dem Filipinos;” and of course my homebase – STAGES’ production of hit Broadway musical “Footloose,” and the upcoming full stage production of Disney’s “High School Musical.” Moreover, my post in STAGES as resident publicist and PR consultant, has been paving the way for me to work on the publicity needs of big mainstream artists such as Christian Bautista, Gary Valenciano, “Little Big Star” grand prize winner Sam Concepcion, Heart Evangelista, Rachelle Ann Go, Bituin Escalante, Lara Fabregas, Franco Laurel, Philippines’ premier rock band The Dawn, among others. The chance to also work on the much-needed publicity for independent films like Clodualdo del Mundo's “Maid In Singapore,” and “Pepot Superstar,” Denisa Reyes and Mark Gary’s “Sandalang Bahay, and more recently Adolf Alix’s “Donsol,” and Mike Sandejas’ “Tulad Ng Dati came into my way. PR works for marine resources and whale shark (butanding) conservation in partnership with Greenpeace Philippines, and underwater cinematographer Carina Escudero have definitely fueled in more passion into my practice. When Carousel Pinoy’s publisher Terry Badiola offered me a column space on his highly popular portal, I just couldn’t say no. I firmly believe that the Philippines has been blessed with amazing talents, arts and culture, travel destinations and marine resources; and the rest of the world must know that. Sadly, most of our kababayans in the US are not even aware of these amazing tidbits about the Philippines. I hope that my column “STAGESCOPE” will be a worthy expanded avenue for our kababayans in the US and for that matter all over the world to appreciate more of the Philippines. The Philippines is not as bad as what you read in the papers or watch on TV. Allow me tell you the other side of the story. I urge you to read on, and the great wonders of the Philippines will unfold. God Bless. I love the Philippines. Oliver Oliveros stages_pr@i-manila.com.ph Pinoy hip hop dancers from Mindanao win the Dunkin’ Donuts Icy Coolers dance tilt June 21, 2009 Pinoy hip hop dancers Next Block Crew from Butuan and Experience Kidz from General Santos snagged the top prize of P100,000 each at the recent Dunkin’ Donuts Icy Coolers Dance Dunkdown 2009 Grand Finals Night held at the Music Hall of SM Mall of Asia. Dance groups Batang Mama from the National Capital Region and Dance Pull Kids from Bacolod were the runners-up and awarded with P50,000 each. The Grand Finals night started with a bang as the 14 finalists from all over the country heated up the dance floor to the Pussycat Dolls’ hit “Jai Ho.” Two of the most popular names in the industry, Karylle and Vhong Navarro, hosted the event and also performed. Judges were made up of the hottest names in Pinoy hip hop today, dancer-choreographer Jason Zamora of the Manoeuvres; member and choreographer of the international hip hop group Philippine All Stars Lema Diaz; and iconic Philippine hip hop choreographer and music producer Jungee Marcelo. They were all optimistic about the performances of each finalist and commented about each group’s hippest moves. “I’m looking for a group that starts fresh and finishes strong” said Jason. “I want to see variety, popping and locking, not just the same krumping style,” chimed in Lema. “For me precision is the edge,” commented Jungee. Teen heartthrob Sam Concepcion, the endorser for the Dunkin’ Donuts Icy Coolers Dance Dunkdown also performed, sending the audience squealing as he danced the Icy Coolers jingle. “The kids I saw were not just the usual dancers you see on the streets, and some of them I think have what it takes to be professional dancers some day,” Sam shared. As the night ended, all were delighted to see happy faces and were thankful for having been part of the Dunkin’ Donuts Icy Coolers Dance Dunkdown as the kids look forward to another year. Local show biz personalities Julia Clarete and Pauleen Luna announced the grand winners on noontime show “Eat Bulaga.” For queries, you may contact Oliver Oliveros, Senior Public Relations Officer/Consultant, STAGES, at tel. no. 818-1111 loc. 225, mobile no. 0928-7725254, email add. stages_pr@i-manila.com.ph or web site http://oliverpublicist.blogspot.com Karylle is everybody’s favorite cover girl June 18, 2009 Since December 2008, the Divine Diva’s daughter has lent her serene face, toned body, and contagious smile to numerous magazine covers. Such was the demand for this young lady that there was even a time that she did six in a month. Karylle, to date, is undeniably one of the country’s most sought after cover girls. “I hardly did magazine covers before. I always felt like I could never be a cover girl,” admits Karylle in an interview, while waiting for her hair and makeup to be done for a magazine pictorial. But these days she finds herself ready to face the things that life throws at her. And when she does, she finds herself in the middle of a miracle. “I learned that once you accept the things that can happen to you, that’s when it started coming,” affirms the multi-talented artist. Before she became in demand in the glossies, Karylle would always sheepishly smile with her maternal grandmother’s request. “My grandma would always say, ‘Padalhan mo naman ako ng mga magazines na ikaw ang cover.’ And I’d always be like, Wala naman eh,” recalls Karylle. But her Las Vegas-based grandmother was just in town last month and she beams with pride that she can now give her copies of the long-time request. “In ASAP, they laugh at me when I would ask permission to plug my magazine covers. Laugh in the funny kind of way because I would tell them, ‘Can I plug my cover? Sige na, ngayon lang ito nangyari sa buhay ko,” she relates candidly. Despite the royal treatment being accorded to her by the industry, Karylle is far from being overbearing. If cover girls are commonly perceived to convey standards of physical beauty, this multi-media performer admits that she is not. She cannot recall ever being extravagant on a beauty product. In fact, she claims that it is her mom who buys her makeup stuff, which she uses for pictorials and TV guestings. As Karylle lets the makeup artist and hairstylist do their jobs, she multitasks during the shoot. Her constant companions are her laptop - to do her emails and check her Facebook account - and her cell phone. In one cover shoot, she was able to organize a reunion with her friends while on the wait. “I always try to manage to do a lot while on a shoot. Time is so precious,” stresses Karylle. And while Karylle has managed to execute different magazine cover concepts in the past, she talks about her dream cover. “I haven’t really done a nice beach shoot or like a Batanes scene. I want something that we can showcase what is good and beautiful here.” The good and the beautiful that Karylle is talking about is bound to roll along in the days to come. Her third album, “Time For Letting Go,” is out in the market. She shares a song with mom Zsa Zsa Padilla in “I Live For Your Love.” Three cuts from the album were originally written by her. She continues to share the spotlight with Kristine Hermosa in the remake of “Nasaan Ka, Maruja?” Karylle will also star in ABS CBN’s new soap, “Dahil May Isang Ikaw,” together with Gabby Concepcion, Lorna Tolentino, Kristine Hermosa, Jericho Rosales, Chin Chin Gutierrez, John Estrada and Sid Lucero. She is in the cast of SineDirek film, “Litsonero.” Apart from her weekly ASAP gig, Karylle continues to be active in supporting the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and charities for White Cross Orphanage and ChildHaus. She is also the celebrity endorser of popular brands Bench Body and Blue Water Day Spa. For more information about Karylle, contact STAGES at (632) 818-1111 loc. 225 or visit www.stages.com.ph or www.karylle.com. Reymond Sajor topbills World Vision concert June 14, 2009 Reymond Sajor, Grand Champion Solo Vocalist at the 2007 World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA), lends his powerful pipes to attract additional World Vision sponsors for poor Filipino children getting ready for the new school year. “I’ll Be There…A World Vision Concert” goes on stage at the Music Museum on June 27, 2009, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with Gerard Salonga as musical director and The CompanY as special guest. Reymond, who leads the local artist pool of the international advocacy organization, mentioned in a recent interview that, “We still need around 7,000 new sign-ups to meet our target for the year. World Vision in the Philippines is currently sending some 122,000 children to school. Around 16,000 of these youngsters are supported by Filipino sponsors.” In this concert for a cause, expect Reymond to deliver a powerhouse performance highlighting songs that have so far inspired his journey as an international performer; his newest single “I’ll Be There”, composed by Filipino American songwriter Ritchie LaPaz; and uplifting musical numbers pertaining to the Filipino youth, their dreams and aspirations. Reymond, who is being managed under the Ambient Media Group, will be working on his first international album right after his concert for World Vision. His management team is all set to finalize negotiations with a Singapore-based talent company that is engaged in promoting world-class performing artists around Asia. World Vision International is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Sponsoring a World Vision kid to school will only cost P600 every month. Apart from Reymond, other World Vision endorsers include Miriam Quiambao, Karen Davila, Nikki Gil, Christian Bautista, Sam Concepcion, Sam Milby, Lea Salonga, Christine and Julius Babao. Beverly Salviejo, Eula Valdez, Kris Aquino, Ruffa, Richard and Raymond Gutierrez, Charice and Cesar Montano, among others have been World Vision Philippines’ avid supporters. For tickets to “I’ll Be There…A World Vision Concert”, contact 5579283, 09088815694, 09174739227 or Ticket World 8919999, Music Museum 7216726, 7210635. Ticket Prices: Balcony: P500, Orchestra: P1,000.00. Revelation launches debut album Amor y Sueño June 7, 2009 MANILA, PHILIPPINES. June 5, 2009. Revelation, 2007 World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) multi-medalist and Zamboanga’s Pride, officially launched their debut album Amor y Sueño (Chabacano phrase for Love and Dream) Friday night at Ratskys Tomas Morato in Quezon City. The album is released through Zone 7 of Candid Records Philippines. Revelation is comprised of Zamboangueño siblings Jimboy Calisang (vocalist/keyboardist), Shalmai Calisang (vocalist), Nuel Calisang (bassist) and Isaac Calisang (drummer). Although they all started performing in a gospel choir at a young age, the Calisang siblings grew up with different musical tastes. Collaborating on an album with all original works was indeed very challenging, but it was worth all the effort -- Amor y Sueño showcases the fusion of pop, jazz, R&B, classical and Chabacano musical influences of the band members. Produced by veteran album producers Arnold Jallores and Marlon Silva, Amor y Sueño’s carrier track is the very pop and bouncy “Ikaw” written by Jimboy, Shalmai, Marlon and Andrew Guevarra. The single has been enjoying heavy daily airplay on top radio stations 90.7 Love Radio, 101.1 Yes FM and 93.9 IFM for three weeks now. Each song in the 12-track album is written based on personal relationships and recollections of the band members. Shalmai, for instance, wrote “Daddy’s Girl” for her sister who passed away and was a personal favorite of her father. Jimboy penned “Peace for Our Motherland” about twelve years ago as a hymn to Zamboanga. It was performed as an original competition piece ten years later at WCOPA in Hollywood, USA. Isaac, on the other hand, finished “Ignore” a few hours after his breakup with his girlfriend. Other original ditties in the album are titled “Baby Come Home,” “Amor,” “Baby I Love You,” “No More,” “Kaibigan,” “Meant As One,” “Hymn to the Sea,” and “Sueño.” Classically trained Jimboy stresses, “We wanted to apply equal treatment among the instrumentalists in the band. In the track ‘Hymn to the Sea,” for example, the bass player hogs the spotlight. He doesn’t just provide reverb for the band’s technical sound all the time.” Prior to joining WCOPA, Revelation was awarded the Orgullo de Zamboanga (Pride of Zamboanga) in 2006. Honorable Mayor Celso Lobregat has all praises for the band, “The band’s songs Amor and Sueño help reintroduce the Chabacano, a Spanish derivative language, to more people beyond Zamboanga. Singing Chabacano songs is a way of not only preserving but also strengthening the Chabacano language and culture. Revelation joins the roster of mainstream musicians that include Buddy Zabala of Eraserheads/The Dawn and Bossa Nova Queen Sitti Navarro who also hail from Zamboanga. Catch Revelation at Sta. Lucia Mall in Cainta, Rizal on June 14 and in Ormoc City on June 17. For booking inquiries, call STAGES at 818-1111 loc. 225 or 0917-8822838. Revelation’s sponsors include Mohesaka Health and Beauty Centre, Salon de Mayo, Ratskys and the Calisang family of Zamboanga. For queries, you may contact Oliver Oliveros, Senior Public Relations Officer/Consultant, STAGES, at tel. no. 818-1111 loc. 225, mobile no. 0928-7725254, email add. stages_pr@i-manila.com.ph or web site http://oliverpublicist.blogspot.com ‘Harana’ tours the Netherlands June 2, 2009 Philippine Opera Company’s (POC) hit show “Harana” tours the Netherlands on June 8-15, 2009. A first for the country’s premier opera company, “Harana” will also have a special performance at Theater de Compagnie in Amsterdam on June 11 at 7:30 p.m. “Harana” features eight of country’s highly celebrated singers Ana Feleo, Deeda Barretto, Karla Gutierrez, Florence Aguilar, Sherwin Sozon, Lawrence Jatayna, Noel Rayos and Miguel Castro. When the show opened last year, it reaped good reviews from both the audiences and critics: “How long have we waited for such an endearing piece of artful, delightful entertainment,” said Jullie Yap-Daza in the Manila Bulletin. “’Harana’ has garnered prolonged, deafening applause,” noted Rosalina Orosa in her column in the Philippine Star. “Harana” (serenade) refers to the traditional form of courtship where a man woos a woman’s affection by singing underneath her window. In the 1920s, harana or kundiman became a mainstream musical style, with many popular performers including Diomedes Maturan and Ruben Tagalog performing it. “Harana” takes its audiences to a spectacular cultural journey showcasing the very best of Philippine music. From the indigenous Cordilleras and pre-colonial period to contemporary and fusion, each musical suite is theatrically presented with authenticity and visual excitement. The show consists of six suites: Igorot, Maria Clara, Rural, Muslim, Folk and the Contemporary. Repertoire includes timeless classics like “Bituing Marikit,” “Dahil Sa Isang Bulaklak,” “Pamaypay ng Maynila,” “Iyo Kailan Pa Man,” “Kalesa,” “Ang Maya,” “Ano Kaya Ang Kapalaran,” “Dumbele,” “Ay Salidumay,” “Waray-Waray,” “Sa Kabukiran,” “Manang Biday,” “Atin Cu Pung Singsing,” “Pobreng Alindahaw,” “Saan Ka Man Naroroon,” “Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal” and “Hindi Kita Malimot.” The creation of each “Harana” suite is a product of thorough research with the commitment to preserve indigenous Philippine music and its appropriate dance and folklore. Direction by Kokoy Jimenez, music arrangements by multi-awarded composer/arranger Von de Guzman, choreography by Irina Feleo and costume designs by Zenaida Gutierrez. “Harana” is produced in cooperation with the Yuchengco Group of Companies, Narda’s, Dita Sandico-Ong, Shangri-la Plaza and Onesimus. “Harana” (the album) is also now available for purchase, exclusively distributed by Pixelgrain. For more information, log on to www.philippineoperacompany.com. Stephanie Reese wins Manila concertgoers May 20, 2009 Filipino American chanteuse and musical theater actress Stephanie Reese recently held her first solo concert in Manila entitled “I am Stephanie Reese” at the Teatrino, Promenade in Greenhills Shopping Center. The one night only concert was packed with young and old, Filipinos and foreigners alike. The concert narrated Stephanie’s personal and musical journey from her childhood to how she became a singer and actress and to how she was able to get back to her roots in the Philippines. The singer/actress started the concert by singing the songs that her lola (grandma) taught her when she was young. The audiences were brought back to her childhood days when she gave a compelling rendition of “Que Sera Sera,” “Doggie in the Window,” “Somewhere My Love” and “Hi Lily Hi Lo.” Stephanie recounted that while growing up in Seattle her parents sent her to different training centers to enhance her skills in singing, dancing and acting. After getting enough working experience, Stephanie reached the dream that every Asian American like her wants to portray in the world of musical theater. She starred as Kim in Miss Saigon in Germany. Before Stephanie gave her concert audience a feel of Saigon that evening, she impersonated her grandma and told a short story of how her lola started a sari-sari store and sold mongo beans. She did a heartfelt performance of “Sun and Moon” in German and English as the Reese family portraits were flashed on screen. The svelte songstress demonstrated her incredible vocal power by performing a number of showstopping opera numbers: “Malaguena,” “Spente le Stelle,” “Habanera” from Carmen. She also performed her original composition called “Choca Locka Boom Boom” that’s always the most requested song in any show she does. But what really impressed the audience was her effortless performance of the popular opera aria “Nessun Dorma” from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot. It was her rendition of this aria that made Patti LaBelle call her the “little girl with a big voice,” and which also earned Stephanie the title “Standing Ovation Queen.” Before the evening ended, Stephanie showed her versatility as a singer by singing a wide range of repertoire and this included singing some kundiman and Original Pilipino Music (OPM) hits. She sampled the audience with a medley comprised of “Dahil Sa’Yo,” “Sarong Banggi,” “Usahay” and “Ikaw.” Finally, Stephanie thanked the people who made the concert a reality, one of whom is her best friend Sarah Soliven de Guzman. Stephanie called on their mutual friend George Yang to sing a duet with her. In their rendition of “The Prayer,” the audience just marveled at how complementary their voices were. George even sang some parts in Italian with a flawless diction. As the show came to a close, Stephanie said that she had one more “audition” to do that night. “I stand before you as Stephanie Reese the Filipino. I hope by the end of this song, all of you will accept me as a true Filipino.” And she gave an intense and sincere interpretation of “Bayan Ko” and “Ako ay Pilipino.” On that note, Stephanie had the audience on their feet as an approval and welcome that she is a Filipino, and true to the moniker that she is the “Standing Ovation Queen.” Oliver Oliveros Senior Public Relations Officer/Consultant STAGES Unit 606 Greenbelt Mansion Perea Street, Legazpi Village Makati City, PHILIPPINES Tel no. +632 8181111 loc. 225 Mobile no. +639287725254 stages_pr@i-manila.com.ph http://oliverpublicist.blogspot.com