BWW Interviews: Getting Real with Fred Lo, Caisa Borromeo and Kyla Rivera

Manila, Philippines, April 26, 2013 -- Fred Lo, Caisa Borromeo, and Kyla Rivera, cast of "Sa Wakas," an original Pinoy romantic rock musical, share their real-life thoughts about their play's central theme: love and romance.

"Sa Wakas," written by Andrei Nikolai Pamintuan and Mariane Abuan, tells a bittersweet love story: the end of one relationship and the beginning of another. It raises the question of why relationships fall apart, and explores the concept of how the choices one makes in life define who he or she is as a person.

Fred plays Topper, a former advertising guy, who follows his heart and goes full time as a photographer. But he soon finds himself having a hard time dating two women at the same time.

Fred's Topper is in search of his true self until he bumps into magazine editor Gabbi (Kyla Rivera), while he is still involved with medical practitioner Lexi (Caisa Borromeo). Fred claims that portraying the character of Topper is like exposing a bit of himself. However, Fred dismisses that he is not a cheater in real life.

If he found himself in a similar situation such as Topper's, how would he properly end a relationship? Fred quickly responds, "I think you have to talk about it; you have to settle everything. So it ends, then it ends. You have to say it before anything else happens. You have to take the initiative."

Like her character, Lexi, Caisa says if she caught her boyfriend with another woman, "I would leave him right there. It's hard to regain the trust. It's hard when you love someone for five years, and then the person you've loved completely changed and is not the same person you used to love."

Caisa, in real life, is not the type of person who is particularly conscious about her partner's age, which may or may not tell one's maturity. "I don't think things matter with age, but more on character and personality: It's the way how one handles a situation that displays his or her emotional, mental maturity.

Kyla, who plays Gabbi, the other woman whom Topper falls in love with, can be likened to a mistress begging for her partner's time and attention.

"At that point when I was asking [getting Topper's attention], it was the only time that I'd ever asked. It was the only time that I thought about it. Prior to that, when Gabbi learned that Topper had a girlfriend during the kuwentuhan [scene], she was already deeply in love with him. Wala na. Gusto na kita. Paano na?"

Kyla adds, "[I think] everybody [in real life] has his or her limits. OK, I can't take this anymore. Who do you choose? Me or her?"

In sum and substance, Fred, Caisa, and Kyla agree that to make a relationship work, a couple should find common ground: not necessarily the same career path, but the same core values at least. Being supportive of each other is also important.

"Sa Wakas" plays its last weekend at PETA-PHINMA Theater until Sunday, April 28.

For last-minute tickets, visit www.sawakas.com.

Photos by Mark Joseph de Leon