We had the chance to meet Nar Cabico, Mark Herras and Betong Sumaya a few days ago through our good friends from GMA Artist Center. They've graced different shows in the Kapuso Network and it was nice to see them in a relaxed, no fuss state during our small blogcon in Quezon City. Nar Cabico has graced countless stage productions and has a knack for singing. It is his passion and he couldn't believe how he's been able to crossover from stage to movies, and now on TV. He's still bound to get his biggest break but he's currently concentrating on his work with Encantadia. He's hosting an interactive show on GMANetwork.com called Encantadia Sessions where he goes and talk to real people asking questions, making funny notions so he could get reactions from netizens and people who are watching the epic fantasy series on GMA.
We were also joined by Betong Sumaya, who's now part of a funny comedy series called Conan, My Beautician together with hunky actor Mark Herras (on his starring role). Betong plays an emotional gay beautician (named Mimi the Hugot Queen) who plays with words as he gets his clients believe his views in love, all the bitterness included. He was so funny in the pilot and I hope they would be able to sustain that. He's a little skeptic like the other individuals in the salon because Conan happened to just join them by accident. Mark was being chased by the men of Chika La Chaka (an ugly rich lady who's forcing him to marry her) and ended up entering their salon called Salon Paz. He played along as a gay guy until he met a lovely lady in the persona of Miss World herself Maegan Young.
I mentioned to them how much I actually loved the editing of each scene. That must have been very hard to actually execute. They say it's a style that the director wanted to happen and they do make an effort to make it "become" that way.
Mark Herras also appears on other drama series like "Sa Piling Ni Nanay" (Heaven's Mom/Womb for Hire) and is still active with other shows on the same network, but he feels Conan, My Beautician will definitely make a mark on his Comedy acting skills since it's a bit off on what he's usually doing in primetime dramas. It's a bigger challenge but since he's a naturally charming and funny guy I think he's not going to have any issues with that.
In a relaxed environment like this afternoon, it was nice to see them in a good mood. They never hesitated to share what they've experienced making this series, and also Nar's participation in Encantadia. Mark also mentioned how much he's excited for people to get to know each of the characters in the Salon, also his Dad (Jay Manalo) and little brother (Balang). It's funny but it's a story of a family, his community and relationships, he wants you to watch the show every Sunday at 5PM.
For more information about their artists:
Official GMA Artist Center
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