She is a regular fixture at the said venue.
In Trendrod’s exclusive conversation with theater actress Carla Guevara-Laforteza, she shared with us more about her work at the Quezon Club at Solaire Resort Quezon City.
There, she is part of the strong lineup of local talents that also includes her show partner David Ezra, Radha, The Sirens, Aliya Parcs, and JMRTN.
But first, we asked her about the difference of performing on an intimate stage, such as at the Quezon Club, and theatrical shows that are held in bigger venues.
“When you are on the big stage, you don’t really see the audience until it’s curtain call. It’s more like memorized na memorized na namin ‘yung gagawin namin, we’ve rehearsed it,” she told us.
In contrast, “…on an intimate stage like this, also, we know our songs, a lot of stuff we do are improvized… especially depending on the crowd,” she said.
“It’s a different kind of experience since I get to have a personal relationship with the audience, especially kapag maliit na venue like the Quezon Club,” Carla shared. “I get to go down the stage and sing to somebody or make them sing if they know the song, dance if they feel like dancing—we can’t do that on the big stage.”
Trendrod also asked her about whether she finds it easier to pull off performances on either of these types of venues.
“[It] doesn’t matter what platform I’m on, whether I’m doing a musical theater show or I’m singing here at the Quezon Club,” she replied. “It’s the same kind of energy and excitement that I feel with that aspect.”
“‘Yun nga lang, nakakababa ako, iba ‘yung dynamics ko with the audience. But my feeling, as a performer, is the same. Because everytime I’m on the stage, I just give my one hundred percent!” added Guevara-Laforteza.
She also walked us through how she became part of the roster of talents at the Quezon Club.
Carla noted, that it started when she was invited to performed circa 2015 at the Solaire Resort Entertainment City.
“When they opened Solaire in Quezon City, I started performing in Fiestra, that’s where I started,” she recalled.
However, in the last New Year’s Eve, the seasoned theater actress was invited to be the main performer.
“I guess they liked it, since they invited me for Valentine’s to be their main performer, and then again, on Mother’s Day. So sabi ko, I love performing here,” she continued.
Carla also quipped at the time: “Why don’t they get me as a regular here. Every week, pwede ako kumanta dito.”
Lo and behold, she did become a regular fixture and is now part of the lineup of stars gracing the said venue.
“In the beginning, they only had dancers and musicians here. They never really had a regular vocalist… I think, what we wanted with Quezon Club is that we wanted this to become the destination place in Quezon City where they can enjoy world-class entertainment and what I bring to the table is more on the musical theater and jazz standards kind of vibe and we have a market for that since a lot of those who come are from the casinos.”
But she also noted a key observation that she had when she started performing.
“When I started doing it first as a soloist, napansin ko na mas maraming crowd kapag Wednesday na babae. Sabi ko, magpasok nga ako ng guy,” she remembered cooking the idea of having a male partner to serenade the audience.
And it was a brilliant idea, as she shared that they now have repeat customers. “Lalo na my mom and her friends, they come here not to watch me, but to watch David and they enjoy it so much.”
“Ang gandang nung gano’ng klaseng balance for the show.”
She also noted that her working relationship with David transcends the stage, as she also serves as his manager.
“I actually met him in 1994 and his mom is Dulce and his dad is Danny Cruz and they are both good friends of mine.”
“I was about to leave for Miss Saigon in 1994 and I did a concert with Mama Dulce and she brought little David with her. He was seven years old.
“Tapos, no’ng lumaki na siya, hindi ko alam na nagmu-musical theater na siya at I didn’t know that he was already part of my shows in the ensemble.”
In 2018, David and her worked again. That time, he became her leading man for the Binondo at Chinoy musical at Solaire Resort Entertainment City.
After that, she also noted that David wanted to venture into other works such as events and become an “artista” — a matter that led her to becoming a manager of other theater actors.
“He is one of my main artists,” she also shared, noting that with her group of performers that includes the likes of Arman Ferrer and Cris Villonco, they treat each other as “barkada.”
“We all complement each other because we sound different. When we do sing together, regardless of (who we are with), kahit I-jumble jumble mo kami, maganda pa rin ‘yung sound and we work well together and I’m proud of that.”
