MANILA, Philippines—Last Oct. 29, the Spotlight Artists Center’s Integrated Acting, Writing and Directing Workshoppers held their “Works in Progress” showcase, most of the scenes in which they themselves scripted, acted in and directed.

The SRO crowd in attendance agreed that it was a hugely fun and entertaining evening, a good indication of how much the workshoppers had learned during the rigorous four-month course, as well as a fine indication of how well they would do as “triple-threat” theater-TV-film professionals.

Fact is, quite a number of the workshoppers—Robert Seña, Miriam Quiambao, Mike Sandejas and Lorenzo Mara are already established show biz names, but they say that the workshop has primed them for bigger and better projects in seasons to come.

Relative newcomers Shirley delas Alas, Fides Sevilla Lim, Zig Hagamann, Grace Sevilla and Andre Loleng agree, declaring that what they’ve learned has made them more confident about making their own mark in the biz.

Viewers second the motion. Judging from their voluble reactions to the show, they approved of the acting, singing, writing and directing efforts that the nine workshoppers made to entertain them. All of the workshoppers made their mark. But, after the show, viewers observed that the big surprise of the evening was pulled off by Miriam Quiambao.

For some years now, Miriam has been known by the general public as an international beauty queen, product endorser and adventure TV show host. Unknown to many, she has been preparing to make the big shift to dramatic and comedic performer, and took up Spotlight’s integrated workshop precisely to give her prospects a boost in this regard.

Well, the preparation appears to have worked, because Miriam’s solo act in the “Works in Progress” showcase was a hilarious hit. Very astutely, she decided to do her stand-up act on a topic she was very familiar with: Beauty contests. She asked fellow-workshopper Andre Loleng to write a really funny script based on her insider inputs, and Robert Seña directed her.

Miriam, Andre and Robert worked well together, having learned during the workshop how actors, scriptwriters and directors should pool their talents to come up with the best and most harmonious results.

Miriam took the key additional step of “forgetting” herself and her “image,” and focused only on doing full justice to her material, and giving her audience a really good time.

If this meant coming up with a raspy voice and spoofily kewpie-doll poses and gestures, fine. The beauty queen syndrome is eminently spoofable—so once she had decided to turn her “image” on its head and go for it, Miriam had a field day surprising her audience and making it laugh its collective head off.

What’s up next? Miriam says she’s successfully auditioned for a new comedy show, and dramatic projects are also up for grabs. Her rigorous preparation has paid off! (Inquirer News Service)