On February 21, actor Jake Cuenca declared he had the creative freedom to go the full-monty with his role in the theater production, ‘DickTalk’.
At the media event for the theater production ‘DickTalk’, Cuenca clarified that although he has the freedom to expose himself, his goal is to showcase his ability as an actor.
The actor revealed, “I have the freedom– I do have the freedom to do it if I want to, so tignan natin. Let’s see what we’ll feel. Tignan natin kung maramdaman natin on the day. Pero siyempre, for me lang, the main reason I [do] go back to the theater is for the acting, di ba? It’s not because I wanted to do a skin show, do a bench show, or show up. Like what I wanted is to showcase how we do theater. Iba ako sa teatro, iba ako sa pelikula, at iba ako sa TV. That’s my [main] purpose for being here. Talaga.”
He hinted that the direction of his performance would depend on the audience.
Director Phil Noble added that the play has no restrictions on full nudity, citing that it is part of their script.
Noble explained, “Wala namang restrictions, ‘yun naman lagi ‘yung napag-uusapan namin ni Jake, like if you feel it then– the objective of the ending is like this, and it’s up to him as an actor. Pero, sa script namin, nakalagay ganon, full nudity. Abangan na lang sabi naman niya it depends. Depende rin kasi sa hagod eh, kasi if the scene is getting there, he’ll do it.”
Cuenca then explained that his commitment to his theater performance would depend on the response of their audience.
He noted that he would need to first feel his connection to the live audience before taking it the full-monty.
Cuenca said,“Doon din ako nagpapasalamat kay Direk Phil, kasi certainly, alam niya ‘yung mga ganon eh, ‘yung mga posilidad na ganon mangyari, and it’s not a very satisfying experience, to go full monty, in a theater na walang tao. So you have to feel it out. It’s still a performance. Dadamahin ko na rin siya with the connection that I build with the audience.”
Inspired by the 1996 production ‘The Vagina Monologues,’ the creation of Edwin Vinarao, along with writers Ara Vicencio and Benj Cruz Garcia, presents five characters embodying unique yet highly relatable stories of men – a teenager (Gold Aceron), a trans man (Nil Nodalo), a sex worker (Jake Cuenca), a metrosexual (Mikoy Morales), and an old man (Archi Adamos).
Under the direction of Phil Noble, with producers V-Roll Media Ventures and Trifecta Brand Lab, DickTalk stages ten shows during its limited run at the RCBC Theater from April 15-23, 2023.