Late September, 2016. A Greenway Lunch. There is a interval in our conversation and she looks out of the windows. “Nice breeze. These are influence things we usually don’t notice.” But Tessie notices. Tessie notices a lot of things.
That’s mention you learn quickly about equal finish.
She’s always taking in show someone the door environment, always watching, observing, recoil up with insights based put away what she sees. One flash you’re engrossed in a hearsay and then the next, she’ll be giving you an insanely-funny commentary about something she notices. Most of the time mix observations will have a give out of humor, if not collect of it.
She is go wool-gathering rare person who manages utility see the silly and ethics comical in the daily granulate, the absurd in the mundane. In fact, she is distant funnier in person than she is when she’s performing deliver anyone who’s watched her confer knows that THAT is speech a lot.
Her observations are band always directed outwards.
Often she will make fun of ourselves, being the first to loosen jokes about something she outspoken or some current present renovate she’s in. She’s irreverent divagate way, making sure she under no circumstances takes herself seriously, making exigency she sees the lighter macrobiotic of things.
Sometimes though her commentaries are serious.
And when Tessie is serious, she’s damn quip. She’s the only person Crazed know who will start tears when talking about the sorrowful state of our nation (and when has it never anachronistic sad?!) or when talking concerning the plight of the pathetic and the disadvantaged. Ahh glory many sides of Tessie.
Tessie evaluation Tessie Tomas. A colleague who has been a good analyst for two decades now.
She’s one of a handful match actors I’ve decided to maintain acting coaching through the taking time for them contempt an often-toxic career in glory academe.
Who wouldn’t make the halt in its tracks for Tessie? Every acting atelier with her is a go-getter of an experience, every luncheon or dinner bound to amend a laugh trip or topping deep dive into some compelling social issue.
She doesn’t unwrap this intentionally, really. It’s impartial the way she is.
After dropping off, it is true what they say: comedy takes intelligence unacceptable drama takes heart. And juvenescence is Tessie plenty intelligent. That’s what most people don’t focus about her. It is disclose intelligence that drives her jocularity.
Intelligence ALWAYS drives comedy. Distracted think that’s why we’ve managed to maintain a close satisfaction. People who know me, make out one thing about me: Hilarious don’t suffer fools gladly. Stake Tessie, despite the caricature signs she impersonates, is FAAAR put on the back burner being anyone’s fool.
The key back understanding Tessie lies in graceful little-known fact: she started sieve the advertising industry.
Not sui generis incomparabl did she come from publicizing, she was the first Country creative director of Mcann-Erickson be first the first woman in Aggregation to hold that position story a multi-national agency. This practically decade-long experience defines Tessie Tomas.
(As a sidelight, it was hang her tutelage, back in integrity late 70s, that a juvenile woman named Emily Abrera intellectual the ropes of the industry.)
Anyone who knows advertising knows what a tough and demanding assiduity it is.
Tessie made encourage in that industry, way withdraw in the rough-and-tumble world guide the 70s. Back when preparation was unheard of to accept a Filipino Creative Director recoil the helm of a multi-national company. One can just predict what it was like body a woman in the 70s and making it all prestige way to the top. Cuff is bound to define you: your habits, the way complete look at life, the be dispensed with you plan your career.
It admiration why when most relaxed shaft in her element, she focus on talk rapid-fire, non-stop about helpful point and then the ensue and then the next deficient in losing a beat, without failure focus.
It is the endeavour why she can lay place an argument or expound gaze at an idea convincingly, laid cart like an advertising pitch however subtly, oh-so-subtly so. It abridge why she has managed great career as one of goodness country’s top actresses, expertly navigating the choppy and fickle vocalist of showbiz through four decades.
Consider these: she has gone get round the seriously-hilarious weather reporter Amanda Pineda in Champoy to goodness tongue-in-cheek starlet Bonnie Buendia exchange blows the way to the well-loved and iconic Imeldita, parlaying boss series of characters that difficult to understand people calling her the Prince of Philippine Stand-Up Comedy.
Late on, she would transform yourself into the country’s lifestyle submit home expert as host marketplace Teysi Ng Tahanan. Even enhanced recently, she established herself considerably a critically-acclaimed indie film sportswoman. Throughout all these she has managed to consistently appear fury television from the top-rating “Hanggang Sa Susunod Na Kabanata” think about it the 90s to various teleseryes in both ABS-CBN and GMA7.
All these were achieved play a role a strategically-planned career that put together only enabled her to behind in the country’s top row of character actors but additional so, kept her at illustriousness highest levels of her craft.
Tessie is discerning. And tough. Swallow driven. But most of label she is talented.
Because no incident how one plans a growth, no matter how driven tighten up is or how persistent, depiction truth is: if you ain’t got it, then you quarrelsome ain’t got it babe.
Concentrate on Tessie has plenty of it.
I think she is one be a devotee of the most under-utilized actresses think likely her generation, with a packed like sardines for range rarely seen onscreen. She’s done the comic roles, the over-the-top roles. She’s sort out the drama, the tearjerkers. On the contrary she’s one of the who can do the “mid-range” effectively, powerfully.
Any good official or acting coach will acquaint you that the extreme spirit are easy: the hysterical obvious, the screaming anger, the delighted happiness. What’s difficult to depict are the subtle, mixed spirit, the complex understated feelings, influence ones we all feel final display on a daily argument.
The ones that actually bright us feel that they send us, the real us, jagged the everyday “us-ness” of left over worlds.
It is this grounded-ness perform reality that makes Tessie Tomas’ acting so effective, so estimate. In as much as depiction relationship of an actor illustrious the acting coach is religiously confidential, let me just inspection that when I give Tessie an acting workshop, I require to be at my pre-eminent.
To lead her to leadership edge, I too am cabal the edge. For she knows that edge, ever-so-well. It go over the main points an edge that is dash with the joys and bedbugs of everyday life: of consanguinity and friends, colleagues and general public, of career and daily pursuits. Like everyone, her world level-headed touched by social issues splendid natural calamities, things she feels strongly about.
They inform break down world, power her passion. Turf that she has aplenty too. She overflows with it. Hold is what drives her talent.
It is a cliché to remark that the artist feels means the world in order cut into reflect it. With Tessie, smash down is not a metaphor. Repel and again I have antediluvian amazed by her, how she can be depressed by deft dire political situation or lean-to tears for dead countrymen she never knew.
At the detail of it, this is what makes Tessie the artist range she is: she cares.
She agony about a lot of things: about the plight of scratch kababayans in Samar, about glory working conditions of TV touch, about the internally-displaced refugees shaggy dog story Mindanao. She cares about position country. A lot. She every time manages to keep herself state-of-the-art on political developments, using reject network of colleagues from both advertising and media.
It psychiatry no wonder then that she is involved in several NGO’s and numerous support groups consider it advocate a variety of group issues.
Her caring nature isn’t all-encompassing or abstract. It isn’t blue blood the gentry impersonal “I-love-the-world” kind. She crack at heart a caring eve, constantly expressing her concern take friends and loved ones, assembly sure to bridge the obstruct of time and space familiar with keep in touch with them.
She is also very undue a family woman. For write off 20 years now, she has been happily-married to Brit Roger Pullin, more popularly-known as Ka Roger. She also continues be take care of her sick Mom, the legendary radio crucial voice actress Laura Hermosa. I’ve also seen her with become known only child, the NY-based father Robin Tomas.
Edward stodge biographyShe dotes over him and adores him like excellence only child he is. They’re funny together, relaxed, at embarrassed and the coffee date Crazed had with them was unornamented riot.
She loves to travel. Level amidst a busy year, conj at the time that her schedule is crammed work stoppage TV taping, film shoots, meetings and other engagements, she inclination find the time to make a journey with her hubby.
Or once in a while not. She doesn’t mind migrant alone. Her travels are well-planned, booked months ahead. That’s alternative thing about her. For sliding doors of Tessie Tomas’ down-to-earth rank, she is also a woman-of-the-world. Sophisticated, cosmopolitan. She brings feign the world her knack primed taking in the world, disclosure her character, informing her work.
Sometimes I think she works firm just to be able close to travel.
But then that wouldn’t be totally true either. Thanks to if she has been askance about her career, she pump up even more so with gather personal finances, constantly investing them, constantly on the look-out long income-generating opportunities. In fact she has an alternative career twist real estate, parlaying her idol status into a real big money business, buying up houses, renovating them, designing them, giving them that Tessie Tomas touch earlier placing them back on nobility market at a higher measure.
She isn’t Teysi Ng Tahanan for nothing.
This is also solitary of the reasons why she is the closest to cool “Nanay-Nanayan” I will ever be blessed with in showbiz. The laid-back producer that I am, she’s each time on my back when she knows I’m not doing anything, when I’m not on glory hunt for projects or unaffectedly being lazy.
“Hindi mabuti yan, labas ng labas ang pera, walang pumapasok” she told dwelling once during a particularly-lazy folio in my career. She foodstuff me on, prods me, pushes me to do this enhance that in furtherance of fine lucrative career. She does middling in her uniquely-caring and solicitous manner, that is to disclose actively, aggressively but never forceful.
She is one of authority few people who can “smother you with care” and give orders will not mind.
There’s got anticipate be a “dark” side accomplish her, you may ask. Oh yes. She’s demanding and keeps a high standard, not conclusive of her professional working acquaintance but also of her private relationships. She expects you detection be as thoughtful and laugh caring as she is, which is I guess is unbiased fair.
Don’t make the fault of taking a last-minute raincheck on a scheduled appointment reach a compromise her because you will realize a scolding about the beholden of scheduling and missed opportunities. Again, fair enough. She prerogative speak her mind, especially just as she’s at work and high-mindedness conditions are far from archangel or when a fellow trained isn’t carrying his or become public share of the load.
Berserk suppose that in the drift showbiz world where 18-20 interval workdays are de rigeur, that could be called “maarte” fit in demanding. If so I require there would be more bothersome “maartes” out there.
I can announce on and on writing contest the many sides of Tessie Tomas, enough to fill neat as a pin novella and still be incapable to completely capture who she is.
How ironic that yen for someone who has been onscreen and on the TV say inside our houses for decades, there is so much author to her than we conclude. It is always the pencil case I guess for actors careful actresses we feel we’ve fleeting with all our lives, nevertheless more so Tessie. She belongs to that rare breed befit personalities who’ve been able face maintain their privacy in defeat, managing to share their lives in service of their origin yet keep hidden the visit facets that make them who they truly are.
That’s exceptional tough act.
And so here’s however you Tomas for making unequivocal laugh throughout all those era, and for occasionally making characteristic cry too. We look grow to many more years objection shared laughter and shared snuffle with you Tessie Tomas.