Philippine Theater is in the midst of a crisis. So many years since Repertory Philippines and PETA pioneered the art form in Manila, it is now experiencing a lack of “triple threats” among its practitioners; so much so that it’s become seemingly impossible to mount shows in Manila that demand seamlessness in all three skill sets. (It’s been done but to slipshod standards).

Triple threats are a dying breed, and it’s probably due to the fact that it’s virtually impossible nowadays to make a lucrative career out of being a theater performer when your pay is dangerously close to nil - constantly and consistently.

In a sense, training for the craft has become a luxury instead of necessity, reducing a stage performer’s growth to the short 1-month or 2-month rehearsal process vis-a-vis a Broadway performer’s 24/7 grind and hustle, even outside of a production. There are some actors though who are able to swim against today’s mediocre current, bringing to fore the necessary training and skill set that the craft instinctively deserves.

For this THEATERATI exclusive, get to know Chinie Nepomuceno - one of Philippine theater’s last remaining “triple threats” as she talks about her life as a dancer and a performer, celebrities in theater, and what it’s like working (and dancing) with the stars.

THEATERATI: Tell me a little something about yourself.
I’m Chinie Nepomuceno and I am a professional theater actress. I am a “triple threat” as it is called in theater, as I am trained and perform as an actress, singer and dancer. I graduated from the Ateneo de Manila, with a degree in Psychology, which I never pursued professionally, only used in my theater career when I “psychologize” people to better understand them. I am the only artist in my family, as they are all normal, corporate people. 

How long have you been in theater? How long do you see yourself doing theater?
I’ve been in professional theater since 1997, when I was still a student, but I’ve been taking acting, voice and dance workshops since 1987. I’ve trained with Monique Wilson, Bart Guingona, Jaime Del Mundo, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Audie Gemora, Pinky Amador and Bill Atwood, to name a few. In dance, I’ve trained with Power Dance, Steps Dance Studio, the Maneouvers, and at Millenium Dance Studios and EDGE Dance Studios in LA. In singing, I’ve trained with Tricia Amper-Gimenez, Jai Sabas-Aracama, and now with Kichie Molina. Prior to becoming a professional actress, I was a professional dancer since 1995, and I had to balance a job and my studies. I will be a theater actress for as long as I live, or at least until God says otherwise.

What is it about theater that you love the most?
What do I NOT love about theater? Hahaha! Well, I’ll answer my own question first: I don’t like the politics, the “showbiz-“ness/plastic-ness that the culture promotes, and the PAY!!! What do I love? I love creating characters, telling stories, working on both my innate talent and my studied skills. I love being creative, working with a team, having something different to do everyday. I love being good at what I do, and knowing that I am where I am supposed to be. I love that theater is an actor’s medium, and you need to bring so much of yourself into it. I love that my work, changes me; I’m not just a drone mechanically fulfilling the tasks of the day. I love that who I am has a direct effect on how well I do. I could go on and on. Hahaha.

If you were to choose one, theater or dancing?
I think this is a misconception about me. Between acting, singing and dancing, it was singing that I loved first. I used to sing and sing when I was a kid. Then when I was 9, the kids on my street joined a workshop in Repertory, and I wanted to be included so I went with them. Then I fell in love with acting. Then when I was in first year college, I auditioned for Blue Rep’s Pippin, and I passed the singing audition, but not the dance, so I was only in the chorus. During that time, I thought to myself, “Parang kaya ko naman sumayaw.” So the summer after that, i enrolled in Powerdance and almost immediately became a professional dancer. But since I started dancing so late, it was not in my identity at that time that I was a dancer. Eventually, yes, I fell in love with dancing, but it was with hip hop not jazz. I did my first hip hop class 3 years after starting jazz, and it was love at first step!

Shortly after, I went to LA to study hiphop for 6 months, with the best choreographers in the world: Marty Kudelka (Justin Timberlake’s choreographer), Shane Sparks (who made a pass at me, by the way), and Wade Robson (Britney’s choreographer), among others. When I got back to Manila in 2004, I set up classes to teach what I learned and I coined the term “LA style” hiphop, because it was almost totally a different style then what we had then, and I didn’t want anyone to be misled. I have since left the dance circles, but a few of the people who witnessed that still credit me as the “pioneer” of LA Hiphop here in the Philippines. 

You’re the blocking director for Party Pilipinas. What’s it like working with the stars?
I think the best way to describe it would be to say it is a learning experience and that it is character building. Haha. The show hired me because they wanted to bring more of the discipline of theater into the show. So I get to do that to a certain extent, but also with some allowance that it is not theater, that it is a live show and that I’m dealing with artistas, or else my head will explode. Not that they are not nice or hardworking people. I actually haven’t encountered any diva-attitude. I understand them kasi, and when they come in with a bad mood, like they’ve been taping 3 days straight and would rather sleep than be there, I just keep things light and professional.

You’d be surprised with the things I’ve had to do for the show and for the people I’ve worked with. I’ve lent my flats to an artist whose people did not bring shoes that she could dance in (I had to wear her heels during that segment, while running around backstage). Ive used my scarf to cover an artists privates while she was lying on stage in very short shorts. I’ve stuck my hand in an artist’s top to re-pin her strap ON STAGE as we were about to go on. The demands of the job extend itself in ways I can never predict. 

Who’s the one celebrity you’d like to see do theater and why?
Oh, there are so many! When I first met Kris Lawrence, I told him straight off, “You should do theater.” And his reply was that there was no money there. But, he later ate his words, because, only months later, we did a run of Sweet Charity together for 9 Works Theatrical. 

To answer the question: Jericho Rosales (I performed in his Valentines concert, and he can sing pala!), Frenchesca Farr (she was amazing in Emir, what more theater), Aljur Abrenica (a true triple threat! though dapat tagalog theater), and Lexi Fernandez (another triple threat). 

What’s the best piece advice you’ve gotten about theater and from whom?
This is a tough one, since I have so many mentors and I’ve been through so much. But I think I have to say that its what I learned from a pastor from LA. He said that God does not give us our dreams to frustrate us. Our dreams are His whispers of what He has in store for us. If we think about what makes us deeply happy and fulfilled, we can find the direction we are looking for. It is not far from us, but it is deep within us. God had already planted it in our DNA. And it takes courage to unravel yourself and find it. And it takes even more courage to pursue it. DREAM and SEEK GOD.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a dancer or a theater actor?
I’d be RICH PERSON! hahaha! I’ve always had so many options. I could have pursued a corporate career or had my own business, or even joined my family’s businesses. I have this vision of an alternate life where I am a highly-paid top exec who jet-sets around the world and stays in glamorous hotels. Haha.

Finally, what’s next for you?
I am currently working on an original Filipino musical called Rivalry, which will open in January in Meralco theater. This is a musical about the rivalry of Ateneo and La Salle. I play a Maryknoller, because apparently, I am too short to play an adult. Haha! I am also pursuing something very exciting, but I can’t reveal what yet. Just please say a prayer for me! God’s will be done