“Andre Tiangco: Up Close and Personal with Father George”

            In real life, Andre Tiangco admitted that he is an OC (obsessive compulsive). That is exactly the character of Father George that he is portraying in “May Bukas Pa”! To project that character, Andre has a trademark: he is the priest who wears a small towel on his shoulder. Have you noticed it? 

            Andre had to check me on the spelling of his name when I first mentioned about him in an earlier article about the priests of “May Bukas Pa”. I followed the spelling of his name as I read it in the promotional materials from ABS-CBN on the show: it was spelled as Andrei! 

            Going back to his admission that he is an OC, when I asked him what are the manifestations of him being an OC, he said that when he was still staying in a boarding house in Katipunan, he worried a lot on so many things including the problems of his board mates and land lord!   I asked him if he is still an OC, he smiled and answered that he was able to outgrow it! 

            Andre is also a theatre person and a student of Director Tony Mabesa. Yes, Tony Mabesa my mentor is also Andre’s mentor! When I mentioned to him if he knows my co-actor in Kolorete – theatre actor and soprano Jean Judith Javier, Andre quickly answered, “of course”!  They had worked together in several theatre plays in the past. 

            Aside from acting on stage, Andre is also a theatre director. The latest play which he directed was “SANDOSENANG SAPATOS – THE MUSICAL”. It was based on the hit children’s book of Dr. Luis Gatmaitan. The music was by Jesse Lucas while the libretto was by Jeff Camanag. It featured Kuya Bodjie Pascua and the Valenzuela City Center for the Performing Arts (VCCPA). It was staged at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Valenzuela City Center for the Performing Arts. It was produced by Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwyn Gatchalian. The play was nominated for an Aliw Award for Best Play (Musical Category) for 2008. 

            Although “Sandosenang Sapatos” did not win the Aliw Award, for Andre, the fact that it was nominated was enough honor considering that it competed with entries from the big four: PETA, Dulaang  UP, Gantimpala and Tanghalang Pilipino. 

            In the long running afternoon teleserye “Recuerdo”, Andre was a regular cast who played the role of a friend of Diether Ocampo.  Funny, but Dindo Perez who is the scriptwriter of “Recuerdo” used his name (Dindo Perez) as the name of the character that Andre played in “Recuerdo”. And “May Bukas Pa” is also being written by Dindo Perez! Final trivia: Director Jerome Pobocan  directed “Recuerdo”   and is also currently directing “May Bukas Pa”. 

            Although I was also in Recuerdo as Diether Ocampo’s lawyer, Andre and I did not have the opportunity to work together. May Bukas Pa is our first project together and working with direk Andre is fun.