Up close and personal, without their makeup, and in casual and honest conversation—almost feeling like an invasion of their privacy or peace—this is how we meet Dolly De Leon and Lea Salonga. This is also how their audiences for Request sa Radyo will meet them as Ms. Reyes, the role that the two actors will take turns in portraying. In this life imitates art (or is it art imitates life?) setting one afternoon, the artists engaged us in a conversation on their voiceless role, evolving artistry, setting boundaries, and settling Gen Z entitlement.
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Their First Time
Even with their career spanning decades, transitioning from theater to television and back, this was the first time that both De Leon and Salonga portrayed a role that needed no dialogue.
For the Tony Award winner, this was an uncharted territory that both she and the audience were exploring together. Think of Ms. Reyes not as the Disney Princess we lovingly attached to Mulan or Jasmine, but as a hustling middle-aged employee who survives through force of habit.
“My first reaction was, ‘I don’t have to wear a microphone, I don’t have to memorize dialogue so what a nice change wherein I don’t have to use my voice!,” Lea says. “But then it moved to another level—I had become so dependent on my voice and people are so used to associating my name with a voice. So I was like, Paano ‘to?”
“Sometimes words don’t have to be spoken. You can read subtitles on my face anyway,” Lea further joked, then expounded her take. ”I’ve realized that this is challenging and terrifying, but at the same time it is good to be pushed and challenged and to do something different.”
Dolly also shared this unfamiliarity with Lea, although the lack of words—and the subject of mental health—were the reasons why she decided to do it. “Very challenging. Sobrang hirap in terms of remembering; I have nothing to remind me of something, just a structure that Clint prepared,” De Leon noted. “It’s also a very technical play. I’m working with cues and props that shape the play. It’s really hard, especially that I’ve never done anything like this before. Nahirapan ako.”
As a thoughtful artist herself who knew that the craft was more than just a self-serving act, the Golden Globe nominee thought of Request sa Radyo as a conversation starter of many things: unspoken realities being one of them. She commented, “I hope that they are able to appreciate the value of a wordless play. Of how not doing anything, not saying anything, can put weight into a message. That we don’t always need words to be able to communicate a sentiment through our actions. Right now in this world of noise, sometimes maybe we just need silence to open our eyes and to observe.“
Their OFW Stories
In the truest essence of their professions, both Lea and Dolly work overseas, too. Some of their projects call for foreign productions, and that means uprooting themselves from the motherland when the opportunity calls for it. Respectively, the two admitted they had grown familiar with the loneliness that came with the nature of their job.
Leah said, “A lot of OFWs are heralded as heroes of the country. Many Filipinos are heralded for living the saddest, most solitary and disconnected lives. It’s sad. How do they do it? It’s figuring ‘the how’ that’s a challenge.
It’s a hard life. To a certain extent, we also do it. We travel, we perform and there are bouts of loneliness, solitude, and disconnection just because we are constantly on the move and being exported,” she added.
For Salonga, her job gave her the gift of friendships across the globe. She has a number of one-call-away friends despite their different time zones—whether in the Philippines or in New York.
What anchored Lea during the more isolating years of our known as the pandemic? BTS, her bias being V. ”You find instant connection with so many people because you all love these men. The fan made art is ridiculously amazing!” she commented with glimmer in her eyes, taking a respite from the heavy topics.
For Dolly, the connection was personal—being a child of an OFW, and as one to her children, too. “I have a very strong connection to Ms. Reyes in many, many ways. I’ve felt loneliness, isolation, being an outsider, being a minority. I’ve felt struggling financially in this very capitalistic, consumer-centric world. In many, many ways, I can relate to her except the difference between us is I have my immediate family,” she opened up.
The production, adapted for and about the Filipino audience by Clint Ramos and Bobby Garcia, captured the unseen dispositions of the OFWs—a part of their being breadwinners, moneymakers, and hard earners. On the surface, seeking the greener pastures looked promising, hopeful even. But that didn’t mean it didn’t come with the other side of things.
The Triangle of Sadness actress mentioned, “The front that they put up in the beginning is very cheerful and pleasant and happy because that’s how we were raised as Filipinos. O, kailangan matatag ka. Kailangan masaya ka. Kailangan pinagtatawanan mo lang problema mo. Deep inside, they’re going through a lot of pain and suffering and figuring out how to earn more money, how to put money on the table—to the point na kinakalimutan na nila ‘yung loneliness kasi it seems to get in the way of their lives.“
Their Take on Entitlement and Gen Zs
In their tenure in the industry, Lea and Dolly had surely seen and experienced firsthand the changes in their chosen field—from the adjustments to the process of shootings, tapings, and performances, as well as working with the younger generations whether as co-creatives or as their fans.
For the supporters and the audience, the Tony Award winner offered a reminder that we all needed to hear once in a while: “There are a lot of misconceptions about performing artists which can feed into the entitlement of fans sometimes,” Lea commented. “Your ticket bought you the show. It did not buy you the person. But after the show, you still respect them because that’s human decency.”
Bringing up BINI Gwen’s statement of respecting the privacy of artists, the actress followed up, “Boundaries are there for a reason. They keep us safe. We are human beings that need a minute. We also need to live our lives. When I heard about that, I could feel that push and pull of not alienating people but also setting boundaries. When you’re a young person, you try to please everybody. But you have to also take care of yourself in order to give something the next day.”
Dolly, on the other hand, expressed the boon and bane of her fellow actors from the younger generation. “They’re very upfront about what they will or will not take. They don’t sacrifice their wellbeing for the sake of the job. For them, priority nila ang mga sarili nila—which I love and respect about them, and I wish I were more like that,” she wished. As for what Gen Zs can learn in terms of work ethics? “They need to improve on not being so entitled all the time. Sometimes we have to bend, we have to adjust because you’re working with a team.”
Request sa Radyo has wrapped up its stage yesterday, October 20, but its commentary on mental health and working conditions leaves a lingering effect to its audience that hopefully transcends the four walls of the theater and reaches conversations in homes, schools, and workplaces.
Photos: REQUEST SA RADYO TEAM
