In the service of Filipino audience

The ABS-CBN Talent and Development and Management Center (TDMC) has been responsible for proving that stars are not just products of nature, but are made and nurtured as well. TDMC has produced many colorful actors who have given life both to the screen and the audience that have watched them in awe for decades.

This division of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. is not only known for developing actors but is also accountable for the magic of production seen only off-cam. TDMC also aims to train and create editors, producers, and directors as much as it fosters on-cam endowments.

Talent Center, as it is simply known, takes care of its talents both professionally and personally. The former means the proficient development of its students’ skills while the latter means the maintenance of the person’s social life, ethical and moral values, and of course, education.

Part of managing artists is keeping them in school. That’s why through ABS-CBN Talent Center’s Distance Learning Center High School (DLC) artists who have difficulty juggling school and showbiz career are given an opportunity to continue their schooling. DLC uses the curriculum endorsed by the Department of Education so artists are assured of receiving proper education. They are enrolled in the semi-regular program in which they attend classes thrice a week. This way, they are able to fulfill their showbiz commitments without sacrificing their lesson.

Another program, the Home Study, is also available for those cannot attend school. They just need to report to the teachers for consultations and examinations. This modular approach trains the students to become resourceful, responsible and self-reliant.

To make sure its students are well-rounded, DLC engages in cultural visits, theater plays, art exhibits and other interschool competitions like quiz bees, street and cheer dances. It is also affiliated with the Athletic Association of Private Schools where its varsity team competes in various sports like basketball and volleyball. DLC alumni include Paolo Contis, Carlo Aquino, Kathleen Hermosa, Baron Geisler, Francis Ricafort and John Prats.

While the primary clients of this school are artists under the TDMC, it is also open to non-TDMC artists who require specialized education.

It was 1995 when the Talent Center addressed its second mission of developing its own creative production personnel by forming the Training Center. Under this project, ABS-CBN would be able to recruit, develop and train its own production personnel.

It continues to service both the ABS-CBN Production and Engineering divisions by providing entry point and advanced training in various fields of creative and technical work. The Training Center presently serves its primary customer – the TV production department by providing them backroom support.

Meanwhile, the ABS-CBN Center for Communication Arts, Inc. (CCAI) was established to provide continuing training and formal education in the field of broadcast communications and performing arts. This was the answer of the Talent Center, as conceptualized by Mr. Johnny Manahan, to address the need to professionalize the industry and its artists.

In 1997 the TDMC opened the doors of ABS-CBN to the public by offering workshops, like Discovering TV Production Workshop, Basic Acting for Children and the Learn to Sing Workshop for nominal fees.

Two years later, the Institute of Performing Arts (IPA) was established and different workshops in acting, dancing, singing, production and scriptwriting were offered. Consequently, in that summer, IPA was formally launched as the ABS-CBN Center for Communication Arts Inc. with former actress Beverly Vergel at the helm. In 2001, Musical Theater and Stage Management, was successfully launched. This paved the way for workshops@abs-cbn, the networks’ serious entry into the theater business as well.

The CCAI training is marked by its passion for bridging the gap between theory and practice. At the end of the workshops, each student will have the chance to produce, direct, deliver the news or perform as measured by the industry’s standards.

In its four years of operation, the CCAI, otherwise known as workshops@abs-cbn, has captured every spectrum of the market. It has kids as young as four and adults over 60 years old. Slowly, workshops@abs-cbn is shaping its reputation as a very good venue to develop techniques in performing or broadcasting.

Some of the major accomplishments of CCAI include training the Star in a Million contestants and the cast of ABS-CBN’s top rating soap dramas; UAAP and NCAA sportscasting; workshops at Robinsons malls and production/creativity development training for ABS-CBN regional stations nationwide.

A former actress herself, Vergel said even established artists experience a lull in their careers. "That is why it is during these times that they need continuous training for improvement," Vergel added.

Vergel says it is important for actors and actresses to be versatile enough to project varying roles because these days audience loyalty to an actor has shortened.

By supplying the industry with intensively trained and highly skilled talents, workshops@abs-cbn contributes to the goal of the Talent Center to professionalize the industry and its artists, thus improving the quality of their performance and raising the bar of excellence."

CCAI also offers free workshops for the underprivileged sector of our society. These workshops focus on the IQ-EQ balance of the participants by giving them a chance to interact socially, gain confidence by learning a technique in acting, drawing, speech and arts appreciation.