Jesse Lucas, a multiawarded composer for film, television, theater and the arts, was born in the Year of the Rooster. This year, he has started to give back to the passion that continues to give him so much joy and happiness.
He recently started a free masterclass workshop to more than a dozen participants to share his expertise on the art of writing music for film and television. “I’ve been in the music industry for around 30 years and music has given me immense joy and a comfortable life, so I thought of sharing whatever I can to aspiring composers who’d like to learn more about creating music.”
Lucas posted his desire on social media and he was floored with the number of inquiries and interested participants. “I read through their application forms and focused on why they wanted to be part of the masterclass. Classes started at the onset of the new lunar year of the rooster, and we’re enjoying every session.”
The winning streak of Lucas continues. The list of 2017 Gawad Tanglaw awardees has just been announced and Lucas won Best Music for the Star Cinema movie, The Unmarried Wife. He also scored the debut short film of US-based actor Jay Españo, titled Mahal, which won the Diamond Award at the California Film Awards recently.
“I’ve worked with Jay on some projects when he was still Manila-based and we kept in touch even while he pursued his dreams abroad. I was glad that he asked me to create the music for his debut film, a bittersweet narrative of a retired musician’s attempt to reconnect with his wife who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. The material tugged at my heartstrings,” Lucas said. The film will screen at the 2017 Human Rights Film Festival in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and has also been selected for the the 2017 Blackbird Film Festival in New York.
Lucas has also finished composing the tracks for the Asian premiere of Prelude to Macbeth, presented by Artist Playground. Directed by his longtime companion Roeder Camañag, Prelude to Macbeth is the prequel to the Shakespeare classic Macbeth. Set in the Middle Ages, the play is written in blank verse, considered fashionable among playwrights during Shakespeare’s era.
Written by James Chalmers in 2009, the play has been performed in many countries in Europe and the Americas. The Asian premiere of the play stars Paul Jake Paule, Mitoy Sta. Ana, Catherine Go, Gio Cabanlit and Tasha Guerrero, among others
The performances dates of Prelude to Macbeth are scheduled on February 23 to 26. For tickets and inquiries, call 0975-9193179.
HUMOR HAS IT
GMA has started to brighten up Saturday nights for those who’d rather stay and chill at home with its newest show, Full House Tonight.
Obviously inspired by and patterned after America’s Saturday Night Live, this one features bestselling singer and occasional actress Regine Velasquez as the leader of a gang of funny men and women tasked to sell humor to the TV audience.
While the network has its long-running weekly comedy show Bubble Gang still going strong, the creative heads promised that Full House Tonight will be entirely different in terms of execution and material. We were told the show will showcase the individual strengths of its cast members, and will feature original standup comedy, improvisation, parodies and comic sketches both inside and outside the studio.
Velasquez enthused she’s elated to be hosting a comedy-musical. “I get to perform and throw funny lines with a truly talented cast. Of course, every episode requires me to sing, too. With the very high level of stress that we all are experiencing these days, the show is definitely a stress-reliever.”
Among the regular cast members are network love team Bianca Umali and Miguel Tanfelix and sexy siren Solenn Heussaff, but the ones that are expected to really spice up the show are the comedians that include Philip Lazaro, Kim Idol, Terry Gian, Sarah Brakensiek, Tammy Brown and Nar Cabico.
We are most excited to see how Cabico and Brakensiek will perform. Cabico won the grand prize in GMA’s Superstar Duets and has been getting project after project from his mother studio. The edge of theater-trained Cabico is that he is an exceptional musical talent and he converses very well.
Brakensiek is a relatively new face but she is naturally funny. She is better known as a production executive for independent films, having churned out many award-winning movies in the last few years. “This is my biggest break and I’ll be all out in what I do best—making people laugh!” the newly-married Brakensiek said.
Under the direction of Louie Ignacio, who is also a respected contemporary painter, Full House Tonight looks like it has all the ingredients for a really entertaining comedy-musical show.
STAR MAGIC CELEBRATES SILVER
Star Magic is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and its roster of celebrities continues to go places.
We’d like to congratulate the many teams behind the continuous success of Star Magic, the artist management and marketing arm of ABS-CBN. Special mention goes to Thess Gubi, Johnny Manahan and Mariole Alberto.
Among those who have stayed with Star Magic through the years are John Lloyd Cruz, Angelica Panganiban, Bea Alonzo, Piolo Pascual and Jodi Santamaria. The newer ones include Daniel Padilla, Kathryn Bernardo, Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano.