What does it take to be an artist? What could an aspirant for him/her to be discovered? How will he/she know he/she has that inexplicable magic?
These are, perhaps, among the most frequently asked questions by those who aspire to become a part of Star Magic’s pool of promising and amazing talents. And we’re lucky enough to be given the opportunity to talk with Star Magic’s three bosses for second episode of The Journey to Star Circle dubbed “Finding X” and get insights on how they typically scout potential talents and tips on how one could possibly catch their extremely keen gazes.
With the continuous development on technology, Star Magic Artist Recruitment Head Monch Novales relayed that the method of acquiring star hopefuls has gradually changed through the years. With the advent of internet and social media, it has been easier for talent recruiters to reach out to the public locally and abroad with the help of social media and the agency’s online platforms. It has also been convenient for the aspirants as there’s no need for them to endure long queues in various auditions and at the ABS-CBN audience entrance or pass through referrals by co-managers, casters, and directors.
Moreover, she went on to compare the traditional and modern way of discovering talents, which is approaching them in public places versus catching them in reality programs. She related as well that she knows if someone has a lot of promise in him/her if he/she exudes a peculiar aura, has passion, and does well in initial interviews. In this industry populated with beautiful faces, it is still the talented that reigns.
Former Star Magic Talent Recruitment Specialist Abby Niesta, on the other hand, disclosed that because of her job, it had become innate for her to be always on the look for potential talents regardless of her whereabouts. She also prefers someone who looks plain for she imagines how that certain person would transform once he/she undergoes makeovers and trainings.
As Monch and Abby shared the story on how our beloved King of Hearts Daniel Padilla was hired into the Star Magic family, some of our seasoned Kapamilya stars who partook in this eight-part documentary reminisced as well how they were discovered and got into the premier talent center.
Of course, this would never be complete without hearing from the master star maker himself, Star Magic Head Mr. Johnny Manahan.
He started off by revealing that he looks for beauty first, believing that personality will become apparent later on. He went on to distinguish the two types of beauty and pointed out that he likes beauty ‘that has strangeness to it’.
Then he continued, “’Yong talent or skill, pwede ‘yang madevelop that's why we have workshops on acting, singing, dance, [and] voice. Only a few have the X-factor; galing ‘yan sa Diyos e, magic ‘yan. Ika nga, Star Magic ‘yan.”
When it comes to the qualities he’s looking for in an aspirant, here’s what Mr. M, as what his colleagues and artists fondly calls him, had to say:
“We're always looking for what we call, triple threats – a person who can sing, act, [and] dance. But he must also have the passion and the fire to be professional. He must also have patience [because] an actor has to wait for his break. ‘Yan ang trabaho ng actor e, usually [naghihintay] lang ‘yan e. Nakababad ‘yan kung saan-saan waiting for the moment and when the moment comes, kailangan sakyan niya agad. He must be too safe in his choices because, ika nga, ‘fortune favors the bold’. When you're one of these people waiting to be discovered, you need luck or magic. You study you learn, and hopefully the magic comes. That's why we call it Star Magic.”
Then he added, “Star magic, how do you define it? [I] don’t know. It wouldn't be magic if you could define it. But in order to get lucky, you have to do a lot of work first. So luck is just a culmination of a lot of work.”
So, what do you think? Are you in or out of the Star Circle?