Gabby Padilla has become a household name in the film industry, especially in award-winning Filipino indie films, establishing herself as one of the most promising actresses of her generation.
The multifaceted actress recently won Best Actress for her role in Jopy Arnaldo’s Gitling at the Paragon Film Lokal Choice Awards. She has starred in films like Billie & Emma, Dead Kids, Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral, and Kalel, 15, and appeared in series such as K-Love and Secret Ingredient.
Beyond the screen, she also loves storytelling and showcasing her acting skills in theater.
Gabby had her feet on the theater stage multiple times when she was part of local musicals such as A Little Princess, Matilda, and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Now, she is back on the theater stage as one of the cast members of Repertory Philippines’ (REP) newest production, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change!, which will be directed by Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo.
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change! is the longest-running off-Broadway musical, which will be based on the 2018 version, a modernized version of the musical comedy that was first staged in 1996.
The film and theater actress sat down with Manila Standard Entertainment to discuss her time on stage and how she prepares herself to play almost 10 characters in the upcoming comedy musical.
When asked about the difference between performing live on stage and shooting a film, Gabby delved into the rehearsal process of how they could tell each character’s story.
“I think theater is very different from film in that we take our time with the rehearsal process. I think that’s one of my favorite things about it. It’s just trusting the process basically and working as an ensemble to tell the story,” said Gabby.
“Not that that’s not the dynamic in film, but I feel like with the theater, you lean into taking it page by page, studying every bit of it, and finding a way to tell the story, especially for material like this that are adaptations and restagings,” she added.
In terms of her performance on stage, Gabby emphasized how her acting changes when she’s in front of a live audience.
“It’s so different in the sense that it changes when there’s a live performance. It changes your performance. Every night it’s different because every night it’s a different set of people who come to watch you. And that’s the fun and kind of scary but exciting part about live theater,” Gabby explained.
“And also just the physicality and the physical stamina that it takes to make this, we’re doing set changes, we’re running for quick costume changes, we’re doing all the tests. So, more than all the other stuff that I’ve done in films so far, this is way more physically tiring and challenging,” she continued.
The 31-year-old actress also shared how she put a lot of effort into preparing herself for I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change!
“So for this role, it was getting my voice ready, so voice lessons, and then just really studying the script. Because it seems so simple as a concept, but when you get into it, there are so many layers. And we don’t want to just play the comedy of it, we also wanted to bring out the heart of each character,” Gabby stated.
Gabby will be playing almost 10 characters in the musical which she admitted was a challenge for her. Dwelling into these characters, she also shared how she could relate to some of them.
“There are younger characters who are in the dating scene and they’re just so frustrated because—men. We’ve been there, right? Before we find our partners and our boyfriends. It really is like a trial and error dynamic,” she elaborated.
“There are some characters that I’ve yet to experience what they’ve experienced, but I feel so much for them because they’ve been through so much in terms of love, but they’ve remained so optimistic. And I hope that in life in general, whatever happens, I still retain that sense of optimism,” she continued.
If there’s one thing she learned about love as she played these characters, it’s the importance of finding someone who accepts you completely.
“I think it just confirmed what I felt about it. No matter how different you feel you are, no matter how, you know, each person, comes with a set of baggage and necessities, and you’re always making an account of why someone shouldn’t be with you, but when you do find that person, and I believe that you will, that’s where the magic is. Finding that person, who will accept you for who you are, baggage and all, will help you unpack that baggage,” she shared.
Gabby will be joined by Gian Magdangal, Krystal Kane, and Marvin Ong in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change!, which will run from June 14 until July 6, at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium.
