Ricky Davao: The talented thespian

Ricky Davao is a director’s dream. He can portray a multitude of characters in any kind of medium, whether it be TV, film or theater. But when he’s asked which the toughest medium is, Ricky says, “‘Yung theater. It’s a combination of TV and film in so many ways." "In film, you have to act; in TV, you do one whole scene diretso," the thespian begins. Ricky says that TV also has smaller scenes but most of the story happens in one swooping motion—whereas in film, that builds up from smaller scenes. “Usually ‘yung sa TV, ‘yung isang buong sequence, dire-diretso. In a play, buong story," he says. “Once the curtain opens, it’s the point of no return—tatapusin mo talaga." In theater, there are no cameras, no close-ups, no full shots, no editing. “Wala lahat ‘yun," Ricky says. "It’s only you working." And after rehearsals and being given blocking directions, you're on your own. “So ikaw ang nagdadala ng flow ng play," he concludes. “For an actor, priceless ‘yun." To act is to move Ricky says he’s been doing theater for around twenty years now, so switching from TV to theater to film is no longer a problem for him: “It might sound mayabang, nasabi na kasi [na] ang importante naman sa mga mediums na ‘yan [ay] truth. Kung may truth ang ginagawa mo, kahit TV ‘yan, o film o theater, isa lang ‘yan—pareho lang. You’re always doing what is true." The one thing that gets him every time, though, is the movements. Acting for TV or film and acting for theater can be separated by how big the movements can get. “Kaya big movements, kasi wala kang close-ups. You have to think of the audience." Ricky says that it’s not like that every time, though. Small theaters are more intimate, hence there’s no need for sweeping motions. “Parang you’re acting for the camera." But when it comes to the larger venues, “you have to emphasize lang." But he adds that it still boils down to being true to the character. Still, there are times when he would forget what medium he’s acting in—“guilty rin ako, siyempre tao lang." He says that there are times when he would feel so in character, he would forget to check himself. “Adjustment lang: bawas energy," he adds. And he says that especially for TV, an actor’s movement doesn’t have to be exaggerated. “You have lighting, you have angling from the director, may close-up ka, may medium shots. ‘Yun na, tumatakbo [na] ang story. So ipu-push mo lang ‘yung takbo ng story. You don’t have to do anything talaga, unless required doon sa character." Know the vision For the past seven months, Ricky has been part of three theater productions—each one in a different venue, each one requiring something different from him. All three productions had him performing bigger and bigger movements—until he ended up in Mars Ravelo’s Dyesebel. “[Ang] character ko is very dignified," he says of Don Juan. “Parang si Von Trapp ng Sound of Music, medyo cold." It's a lot different from Master Moon Raven, the role he played in Lupin: “Ayun talaga, theatrical—that was licensed, and the show required something like that." He says that at first he felt some qualms about his character, but after a while, learned to thoroughly enjoy it. Ricky explains that an actor has to flow with the vision of the writers, and especially the directors. But most importantly, an actor has to learn how to switch off the character when he or she leaves work. “There’s a very thin line kasi sa actors, nai-imbibe mo ‘yung character. Pero dapat professional. Dapat natatangal ‘yun," he says.- iGMA.tv