- Derrick Monasterion will be one of the newest cast members of the hit pinoy musical, Rak of Aegis which is currently on its 7th season
- Fresh from her Miss Saigon tour, Aicelle Santos is back in Rak of Aegis as Aileen
- Rak of Aegis’ season 7 officially opened last Friday, July 5, 2019 at the PETA Theater Center
Two Kapuso artists will be part of the 7th Season of Rak of Aegis. Derrick Monasterio will be joining the returning original cast member of the hit Pinoy musical, Aicelle Santos.
As a newbie, Derrick is putting in a lot of effort to prepare himself for the hit Pinoy musical.
He said, “Last week almost every day kami nagre-rehearse, 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Nakakapagod pero masaya.”
He also shared that he does cardio workouts to enhance his breathing and he is more focused on taking care of his voice.
“Maaga na ako natutulog ngayon. And paggising [ko] vocalize talaga. Hindi na rin ako masyadong nagso-soda at nagmamalamig na tubig,” Derrick said.
This is his first professional musical play and unlike from acting, musical is live acting. He happily shared one of his experiences where he happened to forget his lines. What he did instead was to ad lib through the scene.
“Live acting, walang take two. Kapag nakalimutan mo, patay.
“Nangyari sa ‘kin sa run through nakalimutan ko ‘yung lines eh. Wala talaga, kailangan mong gumawa ng paraan para makalusot. Ad lib na lang or sasaluhin ka ng mga kaeksena mo,” the Kapuso hunk explained.
Derrick’s first show for Rak of Aegis Season 7 is on July 12, at 8:00 pm, at the PETA Theater Center.
Derrick was present during the opening of Rak of Aegis Season 7 where some of the original cast members performed, including Aicelle.
The opening of Rak of Aegis’ Season 7 last Friday July 5, 2019 at the PETA Theater Center was a success as the theater was flooded with people who had been anticipating the musical’s return.
Original cast member Aicelle Santos admitted that her return to the show wasn’t a smooth one. She revealed that she found it hard to get back where she left off and she felt nervous thinking that she might not deliver her part very well.
“Tuwang-tuwa ako na nairaos ko. Hopefully nagawa ko naman nang maayos,” Aicelle said in an interview together with the other performers after their play.
“For the past weeks na nagti-TDR (technical dress rehearsal) kami, I’ve been talking to my director and my co-actors. Sabi ko, sa totoo lang medyo nahirapan akong hanapin ulit si Aileen, ‘yung youthful na Aileen, ‘yung dreaming, bago, at fresh.
“Siguro [dahil I’m] coming from [Miss] Saigon, ‘yung role ko noon [iba], coming from Himala.”
Aside from this, she also revealed that her disposition in life is somehow different from Aileen’s especially now that she is planning to get married. “Mag-aasawa na [ako]. Ang hirap ulit hatakin pabalik sa bata,” she answered.
“Sabi ko sa sarili ko, ah si Aileen madali, nagawa ko na. Hindi pala totoo ‘yon.
“Kailangan mong mag-relearn, ‘yon ang importante and start anew. Hindi ka puwedeng mag-rely sa muscle memory.
“Kaya constant searching itong bagong journey ni Aileen this 7th season. So hopefully, iba’t ibang Aileen ang mawi-witness n’yo kapag nakita n’yo ako sa stage,” Aicelle added.
Aicelle is one of the original members of Rak of Aegis alongside Kim Molina, Gab Pangilinan, Kakai Bautista, Lorenz Martinez, Pepe Herrera, Jerald Napoles, Isay Alvarez-Seña, Robert Seña, Sweet Plantado-Tiongson, Shiela Valderrama-Martinez, Abi Sulit, Teetin Villanueva, and Juliene Mendoza.
In 2018, she wasn’t able to perform with the musical group because she left for United Kingdom to star as Gigi Van Tranh in the hit musical Miss Saigon.
