CEBU, Philippines — Ria Atayde dreaded the thought of working with her mother, the respected veteran actress Sylvia Sanchez, and it didn’t help that the first scene they shot together in the iWantTFC series “Misis Piggy” was a sob fest.
“Oh my God magtatrabaho na kami together ng mom ko, [the] Holy Mother. Can I cry in front of my mom?” said Ria of what was initially written on her mental bubble.
“But when it happened, ito din kasi si Direk Carlo eh yung mga unang eksensa na binigay sa amin, yung iyakan. Yung towards the ending na. Episode 6. Joke ba ito?”
In hindsight, Ria felt doing away with the emotionally charged sequences first was better since these are often the hardest to execute. It also gave her a huge sigh of relief that what seemed a daunting task turned out to be a smooth, if not enjoyable ride.
“First take, okay naman, so it made it easier. Madali din na nanay ko siya, I didn’t have to think na ‘Ah dapat nanay ko siya.’ It was easier in that sense,” she added.
For “Misis Piggy” director and writer Carlo Catu, giving his actors the hard stuff on day one was a strategic move on his part. In a lock-in shoot where cast members aren’t allowed to go home, he anticipated them to be zapped out of energy after a week or two in a bubble. And so better squeeze their tear ducts dry now while they’re still on a first day high.
While that became the butt of mock complaints during the show’s virtual conference, Catu gushed about an uncomplaining set of actors who also did not need much hand-holding in terms of playing their characters.
“I was blessed to be given a cast na hindi mo kailangan…kasi may mga actors na mahirap i-direct. Here it was just a matter of making adjustments, fine-tuning lang ako. It was just me giving them the space to play around,” he said.
In “Misis Piggy,” Sylvia stars alongside her daughter Ria for the first time in a heartwarming series about a mother’s unconditional love. Produced by ABS-CBN Entertainment, iWantTFC, Dreamscape Entertainment, Nathan Studios, and Epic Media, it is available to stream for free on iWantTFC.
Sylvia is Marivic, a selfless and strong-willed single mom of three kids. Marivic wants nothing but the best for her children that is why she whole-heartedly dedicates her time in running a meat stall at the market (thus the Misis Piggy title).
As her children get older, Marivic struggles to grapple with the fact that they are mature enough to live their own lives as they carve their own career paths in different countries.
Her eldest daughter Lani (Ria) aims to boost her job as a nurse by going to Canada; Steffi (Iana Bernardez) is a teacher taking up a master’s degree and gets a scholarship offer in the United States; while Jeffrey (Elijah Canlas) is Marivic’s youngest son who intends to pursue an internship in Australia as he finishes his studies.
Marivic’s relationship with her kids further gets complicated when they suddenly make an effort to reconnect with their estranged father Rupert (Ricky Davao). This leaves Marivic in an emotionally difficult situation – should she allow her kids to rekindle their relationship with their father despite their failed marriage? Or should she shut Rupert out of their lives forever for abandoning their family?
Catu calls the series his poignant “love letter” to his mother, whom he lost to an illness in 2020. At the same time, “Misis Piggy” is also iWantTFC’s tribute to all mothers who strive to shower their kids with love and care despite enduring their own seemingly insurmountable struggles and pains.
An original story by Lilit Reyes for what was supposed to be a film pre-pandemic, the project evolved into a series where it fell on Catu’s lap to flesh out. The director, being very close to his family, said “Misis Pigggy” is loosely based on his own family dynamics, so much so that the dialogue and situations felt very realistic.
“It sometimes borders on being an indie film, in terms of feeling like I heard this conversation from our neighbors, or this is how we talk to each other in my family,” said Catu.
While struggling single moms have been tackled countless times on screen, Catu said Sylvia’s Marivic is not the usual whose kids are still young.
“Graduate na sila. Pero nakaka-graduate din ba yung nanay sa mga responsibilidad nila?.” He asked. “Feeling ko yun ang masasagot ng series. Kailan nila masasabing enough na? Ano ba yung Filipino family at paano tayo nagmamahal?”
Catu hopes the series will prompt audiences to value their parents while they’re still around. “We are growing up, they are growing old. Our time with them is limited. Yung mga normal na araw, doon natin iparamdam na mahal natin sila. It’s a privilege to have a chance to tell your mother that you love her kasi kaming mga nawalan na ng nanay, we will never have that moment again.”
Sylvia was coming from back-to-back-to-back television dramas, the most recent being “Huwag Kang Mangamba” where her mentally challenged role drained her to the point that she wrote off being in another soap for the rest of 2022. But that was before she already committed to “Misis Piggy.
She enjoined viewers to catch the series, not for her performance, but for those who play her kids. They blew her away, she said.
“Alam ko kaya ni Ria. Nakita ko naman yung kapasidad ng anak ko. Hindi ko naman sasabihin na magaling siya kung hindi talaga siya magaling dahil I’m her critic from day one,” said Sylvia.
“Kampante ako na kaya niya kahit first scene iyakan, mabigat. Noon pa hinangaan ko yung kapasidad niya bilang aktres pero mas hinangaan ko siya nung naka eksena ko siya talaga. And not only her – ang gagaling ni Iana and Elijah. They are today’s actors in the real sense of the word.”
For someone who prayed that her kids, including the award-winning actor Arjo Atayde, to be able to act enough not to be a source of embarrassment, Sylvia can only be thankful they’ve exceeded her tempered expectations.
“Akala kasi ng lahat kapag anak ka ng artista, easy lang pumasok sa showbiz, na ibibigay na sayo lahat. Hindi eh. Like ako nahirapan ako na dala-dala ko na anak ko yung dalawang yun,” she shared.
“I have friends in showbiz na kaya ko humingi ng favor para sa ibang tao na ‘Uy magaling si ganito, si ganun.’ But for Arjo and Ria, ayoko. Gusto ko kunin sila dahil nakitain ng galing, hindi dahil pinush ko. Mahirap din para sa mga bata kasi sinasabi, o nanay mo si Sylvia sana magaling din kayo. Mahirap dahil under sila sa shadow namin.”
Apart from grinding into their heads to work on their craft, respect their industry seniors, and be utmost professionals, Sylvia often reminds her kids to dig deep into their hearts when essaying their roles.
“Sa mga bago, o kahit na yung mga luma, an inuuna kapag drama yung luha. So sinasabi ko – dito talaga pumapasok yung pagiging pakialamera ko bilang nanay – unahin mo yung puso, kahit walang luha. Kapag naramdaman ka ng viewers, kapag tumagos yung puso mo, kahit hindi ka makitaan ng luha, okay lang. Don’t be bothered na wala kang luha. Puso ang targetin mo,” said Sylvia.
Ria, who turned emotional during the press conference at hearing her mom’s approval, said she appreciated how Sylvia treated her professionally on set.
“She really gave me my space and it helped with what we were doing. As much as she’s my mom, she treated me like an actress more than anything,” she pointed out.