Vocal teacher hopes to instil love for musical theatre in Kuchingites
KUCHING: Carla Mongado is on a mission to demystify musical theatre for Kuching and also to prove what great joy it can bring for those who attend a live show – or to take it a step further, perform in one.
Hailing from the Philippines, Mondago found herself hired here as a senior vocal teacher, performing every now and then for events such as dinners.
“I was performing (in a) musical theatre at a dinner, and was both singing and acting. The audience reaction was ‘why is she singing and acting?’ — where I come from, this is really normal,” she told The Borneo Post in a recent interview. She is in the midst of rehearsal for an upcoming musical theatre called ‘ Short Stories’, in which she is performing together with fellow vocal teacher Jon Riam Quizo. The show is scheduled for June 29.
While musicals are no longer ‘an alien culture’ that they used to be – with screen features like ‘ High School Musical’ and ‘ The Greatest Showman’ introducing the genre to casual moviegoers of all ages – musical theatre remains a rare occurrence here.
“The genre is not hard to understand. I hope to get more people performing,” said Mondago, expressing her interest in making contacts with people who are interested and might want to start something together.
Broadway has always been her dream ever since she blindly auditioned for Stephen Schwartz’s ‘Godspell’ while in college, where she got yelled at by a panellist.
“I had no idea what a musical was. I went and sang, but I sang very softly – one of the judges yelled: ‘Are you a music student or what!’ at me.”
From there, opera-trained Mondago started listening to musicals – and she was hooked. Then in 2011, she had the opportunity to audition for the ever-enduring play ‘Miss Saigon’.
“It was the longest one minute of my life. I sang 16 bars and they said ‘ thank you’. I told myself I would work first, save up and try again.”
However, that audition was the confirmation of her love for musicals. In another recent audition for the same musical, she was one of the four shortlisted candidates for the character ‘Gigi Van Tranh’, out of thousands of hopefuls.
“I didn’t make it, but it was something that gave me hope.”
Being in Kuching allows Mondago to flex her musical creativity; still, she has her sights levelled at the big-time platform — the Broadway in Manhattan, New York City.
“It’s always been my dream to be a part of Broadway, but I didn’t have any means to go. Now is an opportunity, and I really want to chase my dreams – I’m not getting any younger.”
The plan is to go for auditions and get a feel of how Broadway operates so that she can bring that knowledge back and start something in Kuching.
“I hope to create a greater appreciation for it here,” she said.
The show ‘ Short Stories’ will ply the range of love, tragedy and comedy, with songs from Stephen Sondheim, Harlon Arlen, Stephen Flaherty, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Marc Shaiman.
It will feature Mongado and Quizo on vocals, accompanied by Eileen Chua on the piano, and narrated by Vivian Ng.
Tickets are available at RM100, RM80 and RM50. For more information, call 013- 8264546. Tickets can also be purchased at CMP on Level 6 of Chemsain Building at 172, Rock Road here.