(From left) Dolly de Leon, Clint Ramos, and Lea Salonga. Image: Instagram/@cpatofficial Both award-winning actresses in their own right, Lea Salonga and Dolly de Leon rose as leading figures in theater, film, and television — where they reached the point of having their talents speak for themselves. But while Salonga and de Leon are aware that “innate talent” is crucial for an actor to make an impression, they believe that going through building one’s technique through training is a factor in an actor’s longevity.
“If you don’t have the talent, why are you doing this? The innate talent and this raw thing where somebody can sing, act, and dance, but the technique and the training in combination with that — that’s the stuff that enables us to do eight times a week,” Salonga said in a “Conversations in Spotlight” talk in Makati, where she was joined by de Leon and Tony Award-winning costume and set designer Clint Ramos. “To be able to call upon your technique so you don’t lose your voice and you’re warmed up. Those warm-ups are so important.
Those two have to happen in synergy. Sometimes, talent is not going to take you to the next stage. But your training will,” she continued.
A post shared by Lea Salonga (@msleasalonga) Meanwhile, de Leon noted that some actors didn’t go through formal training but they managed to “do well” in their chosen field. This is due to their effort to go through workshops and equip themselves with the “right fou.