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 Christian Bautista sings for World Vision Philippines April 30, 2007 Christian Bautista, a World Vision sponsor of two Filipino children, will lend his soothing romantic vocals to help raise funds for the organization through a concert dubbed “Christian Bautista Live!” at Music Museum, Greenhills, Manila on May 18, Fri. at 8:30 p.m. “Christian Bautista Live!’ will showcase songs from the balladeer’s newest top-selling covers album of the same title. Christian will serenade the audience with classic love songs “Trying to Get the Feeling,” “Got to Believe in Magic,” “Only Reminds Me of You,” “Beautiful in My Eyes,” “Fixing a Broken Heart,” “Of All the Things,” “Be My Number Two,” among others. Equally talented Sam Concepcion, who will star in the Philippine stage adaptation of Disney’s “High School Musical,” Reymond Sajor, “Philippine Idol” top finalist and 2007 World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) delegate in Hollywood, and sponsored kids from World Vision Philippines, will be onstage as Christian’s special guests. “Christian’s concert is a must-see for World Vision’s friends and supporters. Apart from Christian’s endearing music, the concert also serves as a kick-off event to World Vision Philippines’ 50th anniversary celebration,” says Nathalie Velasco of NNV Enterprise, the show’s producer. World Vision is a child-focused Christian, development, advocacy and relief organization that helps over 100 million people in 96 countries in 2005 alone. It is one of the world’s largest child sponsorship and relief agencies. In the Philippines, the organization assists more than 120,000 children in 34 provinces and 22 cities across the country. For tickets to “Christian Bautista Live!” call Ticketworld at (632) 891-9999, Music Museum at (632) 721-6726 or World Vision office at (632) 372-7777. “Christian Bautista Live!” at Music Museum is made possible with the support from SYNE Food Ingredients Trading, Trapik.Com, Skechers, Voice Power Studio, Multilingual Inc., Xando Block and Burn tablets, Essensuals Toni & Guy, Kiseki, Rodriguez de Alba Bespoke, Hairshaft at The Podium and Jay Javier Photography. Hundreds of teenagers troop to audition for STAGES and Trumpets Playshop's 'High School Musical' April 17, 2007 If the rousing success of the recently-concluded auditions for STAGES and Playshop's production of "High School Musical" was to be an indicator, then this stage adaptation of the original Disney telemovie is bound to be this year's most anticipated theater event. Almost 300 hopefuls trooped to the Podium Mall last April 11-13 to have the chance to share the stage with young Crush ng Bayan Sam Concepcion, who plays the musical's lead Troy Bolton. These auditionees performed in front of distinguished members of the panel including the show's director and STAGES top man Audie Gemora, choreographer and assistant director Chinnie Nepomuceno, and STAGES caster and talent manager David Cosico. The list of hopefuls includes Super Inggo cast member Steph Cuevas, STAGES talents Tippy and Jackie Dos Santos, Iñaki Ting, Kathleen Francisco, Kevin Concepcion, and Little Big Star alumna Krissha Viaje. "High School Musical" is set to conquer the local musical theater realm starting June 22 at the Meralco Theater. For more information about the show, interested block buyers and sponsors can contact the STAGES office at telephone number (632) 818-1111 loc. 209 or email add. stages@i-manila.com.ph. Disney’s “High School Musical” is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). 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 Video: Gian Magdangal, Jay-R, Iya Villania in STAGES' "Footloose the Musical" LINK: http://johanndf.multiply.com/video/item/3 Sponsors needed for World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) contestant April 1, 2007 Reymond Sajor of "Philippine Idol" fame is one the Philippines' official contestants at the 11th Annual World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) in Los Angeles, California USA, July 26-August 6, 2007. We are presently looking for sponsors for Reymond. For interested sponsors, call (63)928-7725254 or email stages_pr@i-manila.com.ph. WCOPA, the only official “Talent Olympics” for aspiring performing artists, expands in 2007 to create a system of competitions designed to provide invaluable experience and exposure for achieving artists around the world. WCOPA contestants, like Reymond, must be qualified and invited by Scouts and licensed National Directors in order to participate in the World system of competitions. The “Juniors” are ages 15 and under, and “Seniors” are ages 16 and over. Contestants from 50 countries compete for “The Gold” in dance, vocal, modeling, acting, comedy, bands, instrumental and variety (various ages, females and males, individuals and groups). The finals spotlight a competition unrivaled in the history of performing arts to celebrate… “The Champions of the World”! Agents, producers, directors and others from the entertainment industry are invited to judge, and screen new faces and talent! Special emphasis is placed on entertainment value during judging. However, this in no way takes away from the technical aspect of the performances. Judges are looking for that special charisma and marketability that major entertainers have. Past celebrity guests include Debbie Allen, Pauly Shore and legendary Hollywood manager and discoverer of “superstars”, Jay Bernstein. The grand prize at these Olympic-style events is the GOLD MEDAL, symbolizing excellence! Most contestants attending the Olympics state that just being able to represent their country is prize enough! The grand prize at the WCOPA is also the Gold! However, besides awarding gold, silver and bronze medals, Olympic-style awards are presented to overall and grand champion winners in various categories of competition, along with $50,000 in scholarships to the famed School For Film and Television in New York, culminating with the coveted “Grand Champion Performer of the World” titles. It is encouraged that every contestant would look for sponsors from their respective countries that will pay for his/her registration fee, airfare, hotel, and meals at WCOPA. For more info about "Philippine Idol" finalist Reymond Sajor, visit his official web site at www.reymondsajorreigns.com For videos related to Reymond, visit www.youtube.com. Search for Reymond Sajor. You may reach the writer at email: stages_pr@i-manila.com.ph or blog site: http://oliverpublicist.blogspot.com