After Imortal, Thou Reyes used the downtime to visit his sister in Dubai for a two-and-a-half week visit. Little did he know that when he returned to the Philippines, he would get the biggest project in his career: to be cast as one of the cooks in the first ever Pan-Asian television musical drama series The Kitchen Musical, which will be shot in Singapore and will be broadcast in 19 countries across Asia this October.Thou, who had been personally asked to audition by the production group behind the series, had already been part of the original test pilot episode shot last year. When he found out that he made the final cut for the TV series, the 26-year-old actor couldn’t help but feel blessed. “It’s so exciting. When I was signing the contract na for this, sabi ko sa sarili ko, ‘Okay heto na yun talaga.’ It’s overwhelming and hindi pa siya nagsi-sink in up to now kasi aside from it being a good project, it’s a big opportunity rin kasi and I feel blessed kasi I’m the only one from Star Magic who got in and it’s not just a normal show, its an international show that will be shown in different countries pa. What I also really liked about this is that there’s also a lot of dancing rin, so dun nila ako fina-front ‘pag dance part,” he told Push.com.ph during the presscon for The Kitchen Musical held last May 30 at D’Ace Plaza in Pasig City.
The series, which also stars local talents Karylle and Christian Bautista, will be part of a cast comprised of talented artists from various countries. The Kitchen Musical will be a series shot in 13 one-hour episodes and will be a blend of drama, popular music, exciting dance sequences, and mouthwatering recipes. It is a story about a rich young girl fresh out of culinary school who starts working for her father’s restaurant and meets a lot of interesting and brilliant characters along the way.
Thou, who was originally cast as a dishwasher, was proud to admit that he had recently been informed that he has been given a bigger role as one of the cooks. “It’s good na na-upgrade ako, but the dishwasher role was also a good role kasi we were the cool guys talaga. And now that ill be one of the cooks, it’s more challenging kasi it’ll be in English. Of course it’s more comfortable to act in our language but since the setting is in a European restaurant, all the recipes will be foreign rin,” he said.
Thou, who is set to leave for Singapore on June 1 along with some of the cast members, will be staying there for four months to undergo a intensive boot camp with the rest of the cast in order to learn food preparation as well as other tools he will need to prepare for the show. “I’m looking forward to all the new challenges. I bet the training will be super hard pero sobrang open ako to learn something new,” he admitted.
The former Ang TV talent said the feeling was so different from when he first auditioned for the musical. “Actually, when I got the call a year ago, parang this production was asking for me daw to audition for this international show. But I had to ask if they were referring to the right Thou Reyes kasi this is singing and I’m more of a dancer. So when I went to the audition, all the best singers from theater companies were there. So I asked them again, ‘Excuse me, are you really sure that I’m supposed to audition for this project?’ Sabi nila, ‘Yes, actually ikaw yung pini-peg namin for this one character.’ So sabi ko, okay pikit-mata, let’s go, let’s do this. So I sang. So ganito yung nangyari, we had to act, then introduce ourselves, then sing. So sabi ko ibibigay ko na lahat sa acting at saka sa introduction, dun ko na lang itotodo. I sang pa rin, pero it was a simple song kasi hindi ko nga alam kung anong klaseng voice yung hinahanap nila, kung mataas ba or mababa, at kung anong type ng songs yung dapat kong kinakanta,” he recalled.
Thou, who made his mark in primetime television via series like I Love Betty La Fea and Imortal, said that even though he was not that confident about his singing, he was up to the challenge of being part of The Kitchen Musical. “Never akong nag-theater na big production kasi tuwing nagkakaroon ng audition, nagkakaroon naman ako ng show sa mainstream TV so hindi ako nagkakaroon ng chance para mag-teatro. I was supposed to do Hunchback pero hindi rin natuloy kasi nag-Imortal ako. So sinabi ko right then and there sa director na I really didn’t have nay formal training for voice, but I’m willing to learn and you can really expect something from me when it comes to choreography. Kasi I believe I should always be upfront din, and then sabihin mo kanila kung ano yung strong points mo. So yun yung ginawa ko and the director at that time, Mark Reyes told me not to be disheartened. I told him I wasn’t, I said I was confident kasi the production asked for me and I was just showing them what I could do. Then he continued to say don’t be disheartened kasi for sure you have a role. So from that day, paglabas ko dun sa audition area, kasi that was my first time to sing in a audition after a long time, para akong bumalik sa pagkabata. Para akong bumalik sa audition ng Ang TV na parang nakakahiya eh, kasi singing is not my strong point eh. Pero eventually ito na nga yung nanagyari so it worked out naman,” he admitted to Push.com.ph.
Even though he has yet to prepare his luggage for the four month-long trip, Thou said he is excited to start working on his newest project. “Kung hindi pa nagsi-sink in sa akin, mas hindi pa nagsi-sink in sa mom ko. Kasi kakarating ko lang last week tapos I’m leaving again kagad pero happy silang lahat for me. All the support nakukuha ko kasi sabi nila, ‘Hindi lahat nagkakaroon ng chance and I think you’re really for that,’” he said.
Thou admitted that even though his distinct looks helped him stand out in the casting process, it was not the defining point that helped him get the role. “Being different is always an advantage. But it’s really how you carry yourself no matter how you look. And I don’t think I got this role just because I’m black. It’s more of how I generally carry myself. It’s really about how you package yourself. Ganun rin naman dapat eh bilang artist, bilang actor, hindi ka dapat nagpapabaya. Though mahirap yun, it’s part of our job,” he said.
Source: www.push.com.ph
