Kate Valdez wants to give comedy a try

Actors and performers, who come from across generations and genres, can attest to how cutthroat and competitive the showbiz world is. Aside from having luck and possessing talent, they have to remain committed to their craft and play their roles with passion.

Kate Valdez knows the ABCs of all this and follows every detail of it. That’s why she remains a visible GMA Artist Center talent for the past six years, traversing from the old normal to the new normal. The Kapuso network always has something for her to sink her teeth into. Kate was recently seen in the Afternoon Prime series, Stories From the Heart: Love on Air, with Khalil Ramos and Gabbi Garcia in the lead roles.

“My character Joan is very jolly,” said the actress, who renewed her contract with GMA more than a week ago, in a recent virtual press conference. “She’s like a (ray of) sunshine to DJ Jojo (Khalil), I was happy (playing) the DJ character since it was new to me, and malapit din siya sa personality ko.” Her Joan is a departure from her kontrabida characters, whom she “played to the hilt.” She responded to every inquiry thrown at her with a smile, which defined more her chinita looks, and revealed her happiness gracing the event.

“To be honest, I’m very content with the opportunities that have been given to me,” Kate looked back on. “So far, sa lahat ng mga opportunities na binibigay nila sa akin ay talaga namang tumatatak sa tao, dun ako nakikilala sa mga binibigay nilang roles sa akin. I’m just so blessed and happy to be given such trust.”

The Kapuso talent considered acting in Destiny Rose the highlight of her then budding career. “It gave me the experience to (know) what it was like to be an actor,” said she, who, from her first drama show, jumped from one acting project to another.

“Hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala and I just feel so blessed that GMA has given me the chance to still work as a Kapuso,” Kate reflected on her successful showbiz career run. In fact, her journey did take off without any game plan of sort, but with a courage to try something new.

“I didn’t expect that I would be an artista, I just tried my luck to go to VTRs and screenings, in which I got to meet more talented and physically attractive aspirants,” recalled she.

After doing a series of auditions and reaching the final screening, GMA, to her surprise, offered Kate a contract. “Napa-question ako. Ano’ng nakita ninyo sa akin to give me the chance and opportunity to get myself trained as an actor,” said she, who, at first, thought of everything surreal. Well, Lady Luck was on her side and spared her from making more attempts to enter showbiz. It’s safe to say that Kate has valued that chance.

To bring her A-game to every assignment, she did immerse herself in workshops available to her. Kate’s first-ever workshop gave her the rudiments or foundations of the craft she would later on enjoy. She had to subject herself to different acting exercises to understand “a palette of emotions,” as she put it, that will prepare her for all possible roles. Kate was able to create an imaginary file of emotions and a means to access it.

“I learned that all emotions one feels are valid, it’s OK to be mad,” said she in the context of surfacing the emotion of a character and in telling the latter’s story. “It’s OK to be sad, (feeling) any positive and negative emotions is OK. This rainbow of emotions is (what) we need to experience for us (actors) to be open every time roles are given to us, it’s OK to be vulnerable (in this sense).”

Looking to the immediate future, Kate said that she’s open to doing other things like hosting, but wants to focus on acting.

“For me, I would like to give comedy a try kasi I find it (making people laugh with you and at you) challenging, although I’ve done guestings in shows like Dear Uge, which are light shows. Gusto ko ma-work yung genre na yun. Since I have sharp features, lagi akong napupunta sa maldita, kontrabida (roles). I want to try it,” added she.

As for possible team-ups in the future or the new normal, Kate would leave everything to her network in tapping the right Kapuso actors for her. She added that embracing the new-normal taping was her most memorable experience during the pandemic.

“It’s very challenging, there’s a lock-in, you’ll be quarantined in a hotel first before you head to the location, hindi siya madali at yun ang tumatak sa akin… lahat ay nag-adjust at nag-a-adjust pa rin hanggang ngayon,” she said.

Her greatest achievement for this year, however, was receiving blessings like work in spite of the pandemic. “I’m still blessed that there’s work that comes my way,” she concluded.