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TAKE FIVE
Bituin Escalante on success and surviving hard times

First posted 11:41pm (Mla time) Feb 11, 2006
By Pocholo Concepcion
Inquirer


Editor's Note: Published on page A4-5 of the February 12, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer


AS A SINGER, BITUIN Escalante has proven capable of straddling pop music and theater. As a person she's very opinionated and, though not exactly jobless these days, recommends to struggling colleagues a field that offers a way through hard times-call centers.

You were gone for a while.

I was in the US for three months performing with the Apo [Hiking Society].

Have you recorded an album?

I've done two with Viva. The first was a producer's album, meaning it was all laid out for me. For the second one, I was allowed to pick my collaborators and I chose Moy Ortiz (of The Company) and Margot and Edith Gallardo. My friends said it didn't sound like me at all. I was happy with it, though. I was sort of playing different characters in that album.

Is that why you're doing theater, because you like playing characters?

I was already acting in the drama guild back in college at UP Los Baños. But
professionally I auditioned only on a dare, you know, for kicks. That was in 1996 for Celeste Legaspi and Nestor Torre in "Sino Ka Ba, Jose Rizal?" I've since done musical theater, which isn't so far off the mark.

You have this earthy appeal that you put to good use in theater.

I've never thought about that. But right now I'm doing a character named Asaka, Mother of the Earth, in a musical called "Once On This Island." Director Bart Guingona explained to the cast that it's about propagating legends, how culture shapes people, although most of us would rather hear that it's also a love story.

What kind of music do you sing in the play?

Happy music, which I thought I didn't like at first. I remember the time I did "Rent" because I also didn't like its music, although I eventually did.

Who are your idols?

I'm a big fan of [the late] Freddie Mercury and Madonna-provocateurs, not afraid to explore. When news broke that Freddie had died, iyakan kaming magkakapatid. Freddie can sing something as ###### as "Fat Bottomed Girls" and make it sound cool.

Who named you Bituin?

When I was being baptized, the priest asked, "Ano'ng pangalan ng bata?" (What’s the name of this baby?) My lola answered, "Bituin, galing sa langit." (Star, fallen from heaven.) Once on TV the emcee asked why I was named Bituin, and I said, "I wanted to be a star as soon as I was born." I was only joking, but the emcee thought I was serious.

Do you always do that?

No, but I have a way of imagining situations when I'm alone. Like, I can talk to myself and assume different characters... Incidentally, there's a new kind of job that's perfect for actors who want to augment their income.

What job?

Call centers! Imagine you can act out all your fantasies and assume different characters with nobody seeing you. I mean, when you do telemarketing and try to sell something you don't really care or know about, isn't it a form of play-acting? It's a dream job. If Jamie Wilson and Miguel Faustmann could do it on the side, I'd like to try, too!

http://news.inq7.net/entertainment/index.p...&story_id=65838

"In Bituin" For The First Time
By The Thirdline Inc
April 12, 2006

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During the Metropop 2000 song festival, the little known Bituin Escalante wowed everyone with her winning interpretation and thus made the giant leap into the circle of first-rate artists in the mainstream musical performing arts. Her winning streak continued as she was adjudged Best Interpreter in ABS-CBN's 2002 Himig Handog Love Songs Competition where her song "Kung Ako na Lang Sana" was proclaimed the grand prize winner. The song was considered the biggest OPM hit of 2003.

She also took musical theatre by storm with outstanding performances in the Manila productions of "Rent", "Jesus Christ Superstar", "TickTick Boom" and her much raved about performance as Effie White in "Dreamgirls" and "Once on this Island" as Asaka.

To showcase her unique talent, The Thirdline, Inc. is producing a special 2-night concert entitled "IN BITUIN" for the first time at OnStage, Greenbelt 1, Makati on May 12 & 13, 2006. This will be Bituin's first major solo concert and it is expected to be a musical event as she collaborates with the country's equally talented session musicians & arrangers. Her special guest is no other than the grand prize winner of the recently concluded London International Jazz Competition for Vocalist, Mon David.

The beneficiary for this concert is Sagip Buhay Medical Foundation, Inc.

Tickets priced at Php 1200 (orchestra) / 1000 (upper orchestra center) / 800 (upper orchestra side) / 500 (balcony). Tickets are available at selected National Bookstore branches, Robinson's Department Store (Malate, Galleria, Cavite & Pampanga), Tower Records (Makati and Alabang), Music Museum (Virra Mall, Greenhills), Ayala Center Inc. Greenbelt 1 Ticket Booth Cinema Lobby, Glorietta 1 Ticket Booth Cinema Lobby and on the TicketWorld website found at www.ticketworld.com.ph. Call 891.9999 for inquiries and reservations. You may also call 426-0103, 426-5301 and 0918-9379209 or e-mail us at thirdline_2005@yahoo.com.

http://www.titikpilipino.com/news/?aid=698

nasan na sya ngayon?

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YENG ROCKS!!!

^ Slim looking na si Ms Bituin. Halos hindi ko nga siya makilala sa MUB kanina.

Stars grace ‘Aliwan Fiesta ‘06’


THE Philippines’ loudest, most colorful festivals come together this year to compete in the grandest national championship of festivals in "Aliwan Fiesta ‘06" on April 27-29, at the Aliwan Theater, Star City, CCP Complex, Pasay City.

Organized by the Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC), in partnership with the cities of Manila and Pasay and the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Aliwan Fiesta gathers not only the most colorful fiestas but the hottest showbiz personalities as well. Aliwan Fiesta is mounted in cooperation with San Miguel Pale Pilsen, Zesto, One Tea, PLDT Budget Card, PLDT Super Bilis Kabit, Alaxan, Kremil-S and Rejoice Suncare shampoo. Sponsors include Negros Navigation, Sulpicio Lines, Nokia and Western Union.

On April 27, Iya Villania and Toni Gonzaga slug it on onstage with Jeepney Joyride and Freo in the Pasakalye Concert, which starts at 5:30 p.m.

On April 28, Mark Bautista, Akafellas, and Bituin Escalante will grace the Reyna ng Aliwan Pageant slated at 6:30 p.m., hosted by Val Victa and Jenny Hernandez.

Bayani Agbayani and Ethel ######a will host the awards night on April 29 at 9 p.m., together with Smokey Manaloto and special guest performers Janno Gibbs, Jay-R, Christian Bautista, Sexbomb, Gloc 9, Salbakuta, and the Pinoy Big Brother 1 housemates Say, Rico, JB and Jenny.

"Aliwan Fiesta ‘06" is shaping up to bring excitement to a whole new level this year as it brings together a record number of 28 contingents from all over the country, the biggest number of participants in its fourth year run.

Thousands of the country’s street performers, finest craftsmen, and amateur models will gather to compete in the Dance Parade competition, Float competition, and Reyna ng Aliwan beauty pageant.

Holding the re######tion for giving the biggest cash prizes ever, "Aliwan Fiesta" pushes the limits by giving nearly R3 million this year.

http://www.tempo.com.ph/news.php?aid=23367

Gaganapin ang unang major solo concert ni Bituin Escalante sa Mayo12 at 13 sa Onstage Greenbelt 1, Makati.

Pinamagatang In Bituin… for the first time, panauhin dito si Mon David (grand prize winner sa katatapos na London International Jazz Competition for Vocalist).

Ang tiket ay nagkakahalaga ng P1,000 (orchestra), P1,000 (upper orchestra center), P800 (upper orchestra side) at P500 (balcony).

’IN BITUIN’

By Dennis Adobas

DID you know that Bituin Escalante has never had a major solo concert despite the excellent reviews she has earned in music circles?

To showcase Bituin’s enormous talent, Thirdline is producing her first major solo concert • billed ’In Bituin’ ... For The First Time • at

OnStage Greenbelt 1, Makati City, on May 12-13. Her special guest is Mon David, grand prizewinner in the recently concluded London International Jazz Competition for Vocalist.

Bituin is a name to reckon with in the local music scene. She made an auspicious entrance in the world of music through the 2000 Metropop when she interpreted (and won 2nd prize) Paano Na, penned by Arnold

Reyes. In 2002, in ABS-CBN’s Himig Handog Love Song Competition, she copped the grand prize • and her song became the biggest OPM hit of the year. With a voice that’s deep, raw and full, Bituin was cast in musical theater productions where she delivered outstanding performances: Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar, TickTick Boom, Dreamgirls and Once On This Island.

Bituin is one of the most sought-after performers on the concert scene. She has shared center stage with many singers and musicians here and abroad. Among them: the APO, Aiza Seguerra, Nina, Mulatto, Anna Fegi, Vernie Varga, Ai Ai delas Alas, Freestyle, Ariel Rivera, Carol Banawa, Richard Merk, Piolo Pascual, Acoustic Jive and Ogie Alcasid.

Tickets • priced P1,200 (orchestra), P1,000 (upper orchestra center), P800 (upper orchestra side) and P500 (balcony) • are available at selected National Book Store branches, Robinson’s Department Store (Malate, Galleria, Cavite and Pampanga), Tower Records (Makati and Alabang), Music Museum (Virra Mall, Greenhills), Ayala Center Inc. Greenbelt 1 Ticket Booth Cinema Lobby, Glorietta 1 Ticket Booth Cinema Lobby, and on the TicketWorld website found at www.ticketworld.com.ph. Call 891-9999 for inquiries and reservations. You may also call 426-5301 and 0918-9379209 or e-mail thirdline-2005@yahoo.com


The beneficiary of the concert is the Sagip Buhay Medical Foundation, Inc.

Peoples Journal
4/30/2006 17:30 PM

http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?page=n...&sid=6&urldate=

btwun esxalante is a gud singer.

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S u p e r I n g g o

blentungan Na!

BITUIN GETS SOLO CONCERT

FREEHAND
by : Mario E. Bautista

WE became a fan of Bituin Escalante when we saw her playing Mimi in Rent. This was reinforced by her bravura interpretation of Effie White in Dreamgirls.

Gifted with a versatile voice that enables her to sing all kinds of songs, Bituin first made waves when she joined the Metropop 2000 and won second prize for singing Arnold Reyes’ Paano Na. At the Himig Handog Love Songs Contest of 2002, she won as best interpreter for Kung Ako Na Lang Sana, which also became the best song and won for her the best performance by a female artist trophy at the Awit Awards. It was such a big hit that it became the theme of a film starring Sharon Cuneta and Aga Muhlach.

Last year, Bituin interpreted the theme of Nora Aunor’s Naglalayag and it won as best song in the FAMAS. She became a regular in ASAP and Wowowee, but we feel she still has not achieved the kind of success someone with a voice like her truly deserves.

How come?

“It’s okey,” she says. “With the coming of the young singing champions, I thought wala na ako, but I’m still here. For me, the measure of success is not just winning in a singing contest but longevity and how long you can hold on to your integrity as a singer. When I was first introduced, someone tagged me the ‘Millennium Diva’ as it was the turn of the century then. I honestly felt it was presumptuous and I’m not really one for such titles, so it didn’t stick. But I’m glad I’m still around doing theater.

“I’m recording a new album, and I’m holding my first big solo concert, In Bituin, For the First Time, at On Stage Greenbelt on May 12-13. I’m excited as I’d be performing with my lone guest, Mon David, who just won the grand prize in the London International Jazz Competition. I’ve arranged for him to guest in my show even before he won and it’s really inspiring to work with someone like him.”

Bituin will have a varied repertoire that ranges from pop to jazz to novelty songs.

“All in all, I’d be singing about 25 songs, including a Dreamgirls medley and a medley of the songs of Michel Legrand, with whom I got to work. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Bituin’s colleague Anna Fegi is performing in Hong Kong Disneyland. Was she ever tempted to join Anna there?

“I’m happy for all our talents who’re working there, as they’re paid very high. Anna and I do get in touch. Magkasunod ang birthdays namin; April 15 siya and April 23 ako. But I don’t think I’d be happy doing the same thing every day for six months, which is their contract. I have a regular TV show naman here, do a lot of corporate shows, I’m also into plays like Once On This Island, and now I have my concert pa.”

Tickets to In Bituin, reasonably priced from P500 to P1,200, are available at National Book Store, Tower Records, and Ticketworld (891-9999). You may also call 426-0103 or 0918-9379-209.

http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?page=news&sid=6&urldate=

Shine on, Bituin!
DIRECTLINE By Boy Abunda
The Philippine Star 05/05/2006

Bituin Escalante shares this story of how she got her name. When she was being baptized, the priest asked her parents, "What name are they giving the baby?" Bituin’s grandmother answered, Bituin. It was an inspired moment for Bituin’s grandmother because 28 years later, Bituin’s star is shining.

Bituin is a star. Some say she is an exceptional diva. But she is not only a star and a diva but a world-class theater actress, too.

Audiences both local and foreign are always in awe whenever she performs. A deafening silence precedes each performance which then crescendos to a roaring applause the moment she sings the first line of a song.

For Bituin, singing is a passion. Everyone in her family is musically inclined. Music was played in their house almost 24 hours a day. Though there was no formal musical training, she listened to the music of her parents. Her mother, Gigi Escalante, was a former soloist of the defunct Ambivalent Crowd. And her father loved the music of Ella Fitzgerald and other black singers.

Her mother, according to Bituin, calls herself a "straight singer," while she is more into pop. But according to Bituin, the best jazz singers are the straight singers. And as for herself, she claims to be a devotee of Ella Fitzgerald because her father played her songs. She is also a fan of the music of Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Bessie Smith, among others.

Bituin made a giant leap into the elite circle of mainstream pop music when she was adjudged Best Interpreter in the 2002 Himig Handog Love Songs Competition where her song also won the grand prize. She also turned heads when she appeared in musical theater productions like Once On This Island, Dream Girls, Walang Sugat, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar, Tick Tick Boom, Rocky Horror Picture Show. Bituin admits she gets a different high doing theater. "You can play different characters when you are in theater. And if there is anything in singing that I like it is telling a story. I don’t just sing, I tell stories."

Bituin was discovered by Celeste Legaspi and Nestor Torre, when she auditioned for Sino Ka Ba José Rizal. But long before her "discovery," she was already involved in school productions. "I started theater when I was studying in UP Los Baños," she says.

Bituin is one performer who cannot be labeled just as a theater actress or a singer because she can be both. She has done collaborative performances with some artists, among them, the APO, Aiza Seguerra, Nina, Mulatto, Anna Fegi, Vernie Varga, Ai-Ai de las Alas, Freestyle, Ariel Rivera, Carol Banawa, Richard Merk, Piolo Pascual, Acoustic Jive and Ogie Alcasid.

But in spite of the very good reviews of her concerts, Bituin has never had her own major concert. That’s why Thirdline Inc. is producing her first major concert with the show entitled In Bituin... for the First Time at OnStage Greenbelt 1, Makati on May 12 and 13. Her special guest is Mon David, grand prize winner in the recently-concluded London International Jazz Competition. Concert beneficiary is Sagip Buhay Medical Foundation, Inc.

Tickets, priced at P200 (orchestra), P1,000 (upper orchestra center), P800 (upper orchestra side) and P500 (balcony), are available at selected National Bookstore branches, Robinsons Department Store (Malate, Galleria, Cavite and Pampanga), Tower Records (Makati and Alabang), Music Museum (Virra Mall, Greenhills), Ayala Center Inc. Greenbelt 1 Ticket Booth Cinema Lobby, Glorietta 1 Ticket Booth Cinema Lobby and on the TicketWorld website found at www.ticketworld.com.ph. For inquiries and reservations, call 891-9999. You may also call 426-0103, 426-5301 and 0918-9379209 or e-mail thirdline_2005@yahoo.com.

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200605051702.htm

by : Nitz Mirallez

* * *

Natutuwa kami’t may solo concert na si Bituin Escalante. Magaling itong singer at parang unfair kung hanggang guest na lang siya forever. Sa May 12 & 13, siya ang nasa center stage sa concert niyang In Bituin…For the First Time na gagawin sa Onstage Greenbelt and produced by Thirdline.

Special guest ni Bituin si Mon David na isa rin sa pinakamagaling nating singer. Hindi nga ba’t, grand prize siya sa London International Jazz Competition for Vocalist.

Ipapakita ni Bituin ang husay na unang nadiskubre sa 2000 Metropop, at sa 2002 Himig Handog Love Song Competion. Lumabas na rin siya sa musicals gaya ng Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar, Once on this Island, Tick Tick Boom at Dreamgirls.

Tickets are priced at P1200, P1000, P800 and P500 and available at National Bookstore, Robinson’s (Malate, Galleria, Cavite, Pampanga), Music Museum, Tower Records, Greenbelt 1 Ticket Booth, Glorietta 1 Ticket Booth.


People's Tonight
5/7/2006 18:06 PM

http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?page=n...date=2006-05-07

Wednesday, May 10, 2006


Bituin Escalante
She’s finally the star of her own show


DID you know that Bituin Escalante never had a major solo concert despite the many rave reviews she has earned in the music circles through the years? But finally, she will be the star of her own show in her first major solo concert billed “In Bituin . . . For the First Time.” Produced by the company Thirdline, the two-night musical revue takes place on May 12 and 13 at OnStage in Greenbelt 1, Makati City.

Escalante is a name to reckon with on the local music scene. She made a thunderous entrance in the world of music through the 2000 Metropop when she interpreted “Paano Na,” written by Arnold Reyes. She placed second overall in the well-regarded competition. It was her giant leap in becoming a legitimate artist.

In 2002 she made another big win when she won the grand prize on ABS-CBN’s Himig Handog Love Song Competition. The song she interpreted became the biggest OPM hit of the year.

Her voice, deep, raw and full, Escalante was soon cast on musical theater productions where she delivered outstanding performance—Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar, Tick Tick Boom, Dreamgirls and Once on this Island.

Escalante also enjoyed a string of performances in the concert scene. She has shared center stage with many singers and musicians here and abroad. Among them the APO, Aiza Seguerra, Nina, Mulatto, Anna Fegi, Vernie Varga, Ai Ai de las Alas, Freestyle, Ariel Rivera, Carol Banawa, Richard Merk, Piolo Pascual, Acoustic Jive and Ogie Alcasid.

For her concert, Mon David, the grand-prize winner in the recently concluded London International Jazz Competition, will be her special guest.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tickets are available in selected National Bookstore branches, Robinsons Department Stores, Tower Records, Music Museum, Ayala Center Inc., Greenbelt I, Glorietta I and TicketWorld. The beneficiary of the concert is the Sagip Buhay Medical Foundation Inc.

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/m...060510lif6.html

SANGA-SANGANDILA Ni Veronica R. Samio
Ang Pilipino STAR Ngayon 05/10/2006

* * *
Hindi pa nagkakaro’n ng solo concert si Bituin Escalante kung kaya masyado siyang excited sa kanyang In Bituin...For The First Time concert na magaganap sa OnStage, Greenbelt 1, Makati, sa Mayo 12 at 13, kasama si Mon David, grand prize winner sa katatapos na London International Jazz Competition for Vocalist.

Makakabili ng tiket sa halagang P1200 (orchestra), P1,000 (upper orchestra center), P800 (upper orchestra side), P500 (balcony) sa National Bookstores, Robinson’s, Tower Records, Music Museum at Ayala Center.

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/pinoy200605107301.htm

Ganda Mo
by : Dinno Erece

* * *

AFTER so many years in the business, ngayon pa lang pala magkakaroon ng first major solo concert si Bituin Escalante.

Bilib kami sa boses ni Bitu-in noon pa lang since her first entry sa music industry sa 2000 Metro Pop. Mas pa-milyar kami sa kanyang thea-ter participations like Jesus Christ Superstar (playing Magdalena), Dream Girls, Once on this Island and lately sa Rent.

Napapanood na rin namin siya sa ilang concerts as guest. This time, it’s hers na. Titled Bituin… For The First Time, gaganapin ito tomorrow and Saturday night sa On Stage Greenbelt, Makati.

Special guest ni Bituin sina Mon David, recent winner ng grand prize sa London International Jazz Competition for Vocalists.

Kakantahin tiyak ni Bituin ang signature songs niya like Paano Na (the 2000 Metro Pop winning song), the one that won her the grand prize sa Himig Handog Love Song Competition ng ABS CBN noong 2002 and some familiar tunes sa mga ginampan ni-yang Broadway musicals.

http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?page=n...date=2006-05-11

Bituin bypasses norms in first major concert



By JOJO P. PANALIGAN

After holding her first major concert "In Bituin" over the weekend at Onstage, it’s no longer accurate to call Bituin Escalante mere pop artist. Though known to mainstream by her radio hit songs "Kung Ako Na Lang Sana," "I’m Sorry" and "Paano Na" (all winning songs from songwriting tilts she interpreted these in) and her occasional appearances on television ("A.S.A.P.," "Wowowee"), the singer with big earthy voice has made clear that she is not bound by rules.


Meaning she will not sing Top 40 but those that she feels people ought to hear from her because these are what she does best in the first place being sourced from the heart (Broadway songs, Aretha Franklin medley, vaudeville).

She, whom world-renowned composer Michel Legrand calls his "mint tea," and world-class composer Mon David calls his "personal star," will also not always sing covers predisposed to her voice’s timbre. Rather, she would take on songs originally done in breathy and speak-easy rendition (Sharon Cuneta medley, "Sing") and cast these from unfamiliar but just as astonishing vocal perspective.

Bituin will project her voice and strut onstage as if it were a full house. She will not let on that she’s affected with empty seats – not that she was given her theatre background. How many times had she auditioned in performance level before just two, three people? What’s, say, 350 people in a 700 capacity venue? It’s a boon – and she’s a professional.

Did she at least sing her hit songs to humor her audience? Dream on. She’d rather sing an unreleased song from her upcoming independent album. And even for encore, Bituin chose "Heart Song, Love Dance;" an unreleased lilting ballad from her last album that will never coax people to their feet to punctuate impression that it was a "fun" night. People did not get fun that night but joy in and of music uncalculated to please.

When Bituin came back onstage right after Mon David, she did not attempt to overshadow her precedent’s performance with a screaming number that showed off her range nor with an upbeat number to distinguish her reappearance. What we got was an acoustic version of "Time After Time" with her sitting contentedly on a chair with lone spotlight on her.

Upbeat numbers were not disco. They were rock ("Proud Mary"), swing ("That’s All) and bossa nova ("The Shaker Song"). And collaboration really meant sharing equally with co-singers onstage never mind if they were there to do back-up in the first place.

So what if Bituin has no hit song on radio today? So what if she is not signed up with a major label? So what if her shows are not piled up to Kingdom Come and that her television appearances are far and between? So what if her first major concert turns out to be her last (though we hope not) no thanks to so-so attendance?

Bituin is a star because she is true artist.

And 350 people on their feet, cheering star on and crying for more as curtains fall in a 700 capacity-venue, is still standing ovation.

BITUIN ON STAGE
FREEHAND
by : Mario E. Bautista

BITUIN Escalante got raves for her performance in musicals like “Dreamgirls” and “Rent.” Now, she does a straight play, “Death and the Maiden,” directed by Bart Guingona.

In the play, she plays Paulina (played by Glenn Close in Broadway for which she won the Tony best actress award), a rape victim who thinks the stranger who comes to her home is the same doctor who, under military rule, tortured and raped her many years ago.

Paulina loves the musical piece “Death and the Maiden” by Franz Schubert but she learned to hate it as it was played repeatedly by the doctor while torturing her.

The play was written by Ariel Dorfman in the ’80s while exiled from Chile, then ruled by dictator Augusto Pinochet. The play is relevant to our country that also experienced martial law. Originally in Spanish, it’s been translated into various languages and performed all over the world. Bituin herself brought up the idea of doing the play.

“It’s a demanding one and I want to stretch myself into uncharted directions as the character of Paulina is so intense and driven,” she says.

Find out if she’s able to get into the character convincingly when the play is staged on August 4 to 6 at the CP Romulo Theatre, RCBC Plaza.

Bart plays Paulina’s husband, Gerardo, played by Richard Dreyfus in Broadway. Michael Williams plays the doctor, Roberto, played by Gene Hackman in Broadway.

Get your tickets at Ticketworld 891-9999.

http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?page=n...date=2006-07-13

A nonsinging role for Bituin Escalante

Refusing to rest on her laurels after the success of her first major solo concert, Bituin Escalante is making her nonmusical theatrical debut in Actor’s Actors Inc.’s production of the gripping thriller, Death and the Maiden, on Aug. 5, 19, and 20 at Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza.

Bituin has spent many years in the theater before moving over to television where she has shown her many talents, especially in singing. She has subsequently been busy with concert tours around the world, but throughout her skyrocketing white hot career, she has made it a point to keep coming back to the theater to hone her craft, recognizing it as the true actor’s medium.

In Death and the Maiden, she takes on the role that won Glenn Close the Tony Award for Best Actress, and was essayed by Sigourney Weaver in the Roman Polanski-directed film version. The character of Paulina Escobar, a torture victim of an abusive martial law regime, is intense, driven and intelligent. The play revolves around Paulina’s revenge upon those who had abused her. It is the kind of “dream role” that actresses would love to sink their chops into, and Bituin is no exception.

The illustrious history of the role would daunt any other actress but although there is an air of nervous anticipation about her nonmusical debut, Bituin has plunged into rehearsals like fish to water, fully lending her native intelligence, and innate confidence to the role.

Feeling the need to stretch herself in uncharted directions, Bituin first approached director Bart Guingona asking him to recommend a challenging role that she might study. Guingona, who is known for his intense and intelligent productions pointed out that studying a role is incomplete without it’s being performed before an audience. He then slyly tossed her the Ariel Dorfman script, recruited Michael Williams into the project and squeezed two-weekend performances into their collective schedules.

Guingona, apart from directing the play, also plays Paulina’s husband Gerardo (originally played by Richard Dreyfuss on Broadway) while Michael Williams, also taking a hiatus from the musical stage, takes on the pivotal role of Roberto (Gene Hackman on Broadway, Ben Kingsley in the movie).

Death and the Maiden will be staged for only two weekends. Performances are on Aug. 5 and 19 at 8 p.m. and Aug. 5 and 20 at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at Ticketworld, 891-9999 or at AAI, 536-5844 or (0917) 528-9746.

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=g...e06_july29_2006

The Chameleon Maiden Sings The Blues
By Juaniyo Y. Arcellana
The Philippine Star 07/23/2006

It is raining and half of the noble and ever loyal city is again under water when we get to talk to singer and actress Bituin Escalante about her upcoming play, Ariel Dorfman’s "Death and the Maiden," and she is feeling a bit under the weather, her neck wrapped in a scarf while waiting for the interview to begin at the Red restaurant in Makati Shangri-La.

The play, about a woman whose memories of rape and repression during Pinochet-era Chile are triggered by the melody of a Schubert piece of the same title–"Death and the "Maiden"–is Bituin’s first straight, non-singing role onstage. This is after the unqualified success of "Once on this Island" which she also did with Bart Guingona of Actors Actors Inc., and a string of strong supporting roles in independent cinema.

"I have a cold," she says, as she sips some tea. She’s been up since four in the morning doing the rounds promoting the upcoming play with her co-stars including Guingona, who directs as well. And just recently, she was in concert with jazz singer Mon David in a very successful gig; why, the lady knows how to sing the blues when she needs to.

Lately things have been a far cry from when Bituin–who grew up in Project 4, a product of an Ivatan mother and a Waray father ("they had long radars," she says, when asked how her parents hooked up)–was relatively starting out in the business playing the role of Mary Magdalene in the local production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" at the GSIS Theater six years ago, opposite heavy metal vocalist Basti Artadi as JC and Robert Seña as Judas.

We remember one particular scene from the musical, when at the end of a number JC Basti literally picks up Bituin Magdalene and carries her off stage, into the fading spotlight.

Now Basti and the rest of the band Wolf-gang have migrated to proverbial greener pastures abroad, but Bituin, who must be pushing 30 based on our humble estimates ("Bata pa ako"), is entertaining no such thoughts as she is enjoying life in these islands. "Ang sarap dito, e."

How did she get into the music business in the first place? "Everyone in our family sings, and not just in the bathroom," says Bituin, who if we heard right is actually a second generation singer, her mom being a member of, what was it, the New Minstrels or the Ambivalent Crowd, among those patented vocal groups that captured the spirit of the late 60s and early 70s.

In QC among her haunts was the nearby Cubao Farmers Market and Farmers Plaza, where up to this day she still does most of her marketing even if she has moved to faraway Parañaque. "It’s the best market in the world," she says of the cheap and fresh produce newly unloaded from the provincial buses at nearby terminals.

She went to school at JASMS along Edsa, where most of her classmates were kindred spirits, "children of rebels and activists."

From the groovy groves of JASMS –which she heard is about to close, a bit of sad news there–it was on to UP Los Baños at the foot of Mt. Makiling in Laguna in the early to mid 90s, where she spent three years, living in an apartment in Umali Subdivision listening to Prince on a cassette recorder when he was already the Artist Formerly Known as Prince, writing for the college paper UPLB Perspective, breaking into creaky Baker Hall with friends in the dead of night for a swim.

And the jeepney ride through College and up forestry way was fairly inspiring because of the constant greenery, so unlike the jeep ride from Project 4 to UP Diliman where she would transfer for her later college years, full of smoke and concrete.

Strangely enough, she says she was never involved in any theater or singing group while at UPLB, where she was however encouraged to contribute to Perspective by her teacher but which she later on tapered off in doing, because she felt writing revealed far too much about herself and those around her. Neither in Diliman, where her fave hangout was the College of Architecture on the topmost floor of the College of Engineering, jamming with friends and drinking some stuff to warm the gut.

But she kept singing, and not necessarily in the bathroom, because little wonder that on this rain dreary day we find out that Bituin has already released two CDs, with a third one in the works. The two previous ones were under major labels, and she is seriously considering going independent for the third CD–the third’s the charm –for greater artistic control.

The memory still rankles how record executives of her last album had asked her to replace four songs with their chosen four. When asked if she’ll finally get to include the bumped off four in the upcoming one, she says no, the theme is now totally different, more on acid jazz and is it swing, so that’s all lost to the wind now, stale as yesterday’s papers.

Did she have to do a bit of research for the Dorfman play? "I lost an uncle. My dad’s brother, who was a priest. He was blamed for helping communists, but they were farmers. He was diabetic and he wasn’t brought to the city hospital in time for treatme