BARBIE FORTEZA has won film acting awards here ("Puntod", "Marquina") and abroad (best actress for her portrayal of a Badjao maiden in “Laut” in Fantasporto International Filmfest in Portugal.)
But she knows that as an actress, one should never stop learning, so she enrolled in the Acting Master Class conducted by another award-winning actress, Cherie Gil.
“As an actor, we should not be standing still,” she says. “We should all be always on the lookout to learn new styles, new techniques to improve on our craft, para hindi tayo basta kalawangin.
"Online ang acting class ni Ms. Cherie and it was given while we’re on lockdown kaya nakapag-enroll ako. And I’m glad I did as I really learned a lot from her.”
She says she will recommend Cherie’s acting class to all actors who want to improve on their performance before the camera.
“Taking up online classes is a truly productive way to spend your day at home. It’s another way of trying to find for yourself kung ano talaga ‘yung magwo-work for you. Kahit acting man or kung anong klaseng business ‘yan, siyempre, kailangang pag-aralan mo nang mabuti for your own good.
"And it’s nice kasi ang dami ng available na online classes ngayon na makakapag-provide ng karagdagang knowledge for you,” she adds.
In the online show “Survival Guide in the New Normal”, the host, Rovilson Fernandez, asked her to cry on cue and she did so, only after a few seconds. Rovilson was so amazed at her sensitivity as an actress.
As an acting challenge, she was then asked to enact other scenes from other shows, including a scene where she played the role of a man and she did it all convincingly, demonstrating how versatile she can be in front of the camera.
“When your heart is in what you’re doing, any challenge can be quite easy to tackle for you,” adds Barbie. “E, ako, I started as a child actress. At tuloy-tuloy ang pagiging artista ko hanggang sa naging tween star ako, teen star and now that I’m in my 20s, I’m able to tackle more mature roles.
"Through it all, I’m just thankful to GMA-7 for supporting me all the way and giving me good roles that really helped in honing my acting talent through the years.”
Barbie is glad that they have now resumed taping of their primetime teleserye, “Anak ni Waray vs. Anak ni Biday”, along with Kate Valdez, Snooky Serna, Dina Bonnevie, Jay Manalo and Migo Adecer. They all made sure they practice the proper safety measures on the set to help fight off the dreaded corona virus.
“Scary but, lahat kami, naging masaya nang magkita-kita kami uli sa taping. Six months ding natigil ang trabaho namin, kaya naman it’s like a reunion for us.
"So yung viewers na laging nagme-message sa akin asking kung kailan nila kami ulit mapapanood sa ere, wait lang kayo dahil malapit na kaming bumalik with fresh new episodes of ‘Anak ni Waray vs. Anak ni Biday’.”
