Ang Kalatas October 2016 | Page 15

THE MESSAGE . BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA www . kalatas . com . au | Volume 7 Number 1 | OCTOBER 2016 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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FOCUS : Meynard Peñalosa

Veteran creative entrepreneur adds pizazz to 2016 Inspire concert

By Violi Calvert

Creative entrepreneur Meynard Peñalosa only arrived from Manila in March this year but he has already made his presence in the performing arts in Sydney . His most recent engagement was directing , emceeing , performing and even doing ‘ manual labour ’ in the 2016 Inspire Concert undertaken by Radio Tagumpay and Triple H 100.1 last month at the Magpies Waitara .

The concert team were all impressed and appreciated the dynamic and the likeable way Meynard organised the artists from the sound check right through to their performances .

This comes as no surprise as Meynard , at 44 , has many years of experience in the performance arena – that includes 20 years in the area of directing corporate events , theatre and television , editing film , tv commercials and more than 20 years in acting - stage , radio , tv and film . He also has at least 5 years composition experience in musical theatre and 15 years training both in corporate and theatre areas .

With these excellent credentials and exposure to huge events , Meynard ’ s humility is remarkable .

Commenting on his experience with the 2016 Inspire Concert , he said :

“ In Manila , I usually spearheaded the events and had a crew to set it up . My experience in Inspire , was a pleasant first : I helped the event engineer Peter Mudie , haul the equipment to the venue . I now have greater appreciation and respect for the crew who have done tireless work for me .”

All events somehow flow the same way organically , but what made Inspire special was the inspiring talents of the children and adults who generously gave their best for that evening . I am thankful for Jinky , Pin and Violi , for allowing and trusting me to contribute my experience to assist in running the show . Sa palagay ko , mukha naman naging maTAGUMPAY , kami .”

Meynard was a guest in Radio Tagumpay and soon after was convinced to stay on to

share his experiences as the new member of Tagumpay . He also put his hand up to help in the Inspire Concert to support the fundraising for the Childreamers day care in the slum area in Manila , micro finance projects extended to needy families under Grameen Australia .

Before being involved in Radio Tagumpay and only months after his arrival , Meynard played a role in The Viagra Monologues which ran from June to July .

“ I was fresh off the boat from Manila , and was getting overwhelmed with the unfamiliar horizon up ahead . Sydney is a brand new adventure , and I had some sleepless nights on my first week . On one particular night , I started browsing and stumbled upon the website StarNow . com . I signed up , found the listing for an audition for The Viagra Monologues , emailed my CV , and then , the rest was history . The former is my first foray in acting professionally abroad .”

This impressive “ cuddly teddy bear ” who towers at 6 ’ 4 , also has varied and interesting education . He went to De La Salle Zobel ( primary and secondary ), Ravenswood High School ( West Virginia , USA ), and the University of the Philippines ( UP ), Majored in Directing , Minored in Acting , Theatre Arts Degree .

Meynard credits his entrepreneurial DNA from his mother , Digna Rosales , the six-time and current President of the Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines ( FDAP ). He has been doing events since his teens ; setting up dances , concerts and house parties . He relishes being an apprentice under the veteran director of events for big corporate functions , Robert Tongco and took roles as emcee talent , voice-over talent , segment director , and assistant director .

He established his own multi-media business 16 years ago , specialising on AV presentations , live events management and production . He has partnered with Philippine companies , and multinational companies from the US , Japan and Malaysia .

As an artist , Meynard attributes his music DNA to his grandfather , Soc Peñalosa , a bigband leader and drummer that played for the Shah of Iran , and to his father , Manolo , a bassist for the 60s pop band The Atoms . Meynard started playing the piano at age three , and taught himself to play jazz in his teens . He is also a composer and playwright of musicals for children and is currently re-writing his finished plays for the Australian audience .

To share a further personal insight into Meynard , here are a few questions which he happily responded to :

De La Salle Zobel and Repertory Philippines present , Rogers & Hammerstein ’ s South Pacific , under the direction of Zenaida Amador . Meynard played Emile de Becque , the romantic lead in his first theatrical production in 1988 .

Geraldine Brody ’ s The Viagra Monologues , produced by Off The Avenue Productions , and staged at the World Cafe Theatre , Kings Cross , Sydney . Meynard played a total of six characters with varying ages and nationalities . The play was recently held last June , 2016 .

• VC : What brought you to Sydney ?

• MP : My wife got permanently transferred to the QBE Insurance ’ s Head Office . She is currently the Vice President for Human Resources , Global Office . She used to be the VP for Human Resources , Regional Director of QBE ’ s Global Shared Services Centre in Manila . I was part of the package .

• VC : Have you lived in other countries , for how long and what you did there ?

• MP : Yes , I have lived in the United States for about 4 years , to study . I attended my 12th Grade in Ravenswood , West Virginia , then studied in Queensborough College , in Queens , New York for a year , and Du Page College , in Illinois for two years . I visited my grandparents in Chicago , Illinois , regularly during summer vacations .

• VC : How do you find Australia compared to the other countries you have lived in ?

• MP : I am liking Australia a lot . In fact , I am slowly getting to love this wonderful country . The produce , in my opinion , ranks one of the best in the world . This is important to me , since I am a selftaught cook and gourmand . The harbours , sights , climate and the people are warm , sunny and beautiful . Plus , getting around is much easier , than say , the US or the Philippines . Public transportation is efficient and suffices our daily commute .

Performers at the recently held Inspire concert produced by Radio Tagumpay and Triple H 100 .

• VC : What is the immediate goal you wish to achieve in Australia ?

• MP : My immediate goal , is to set up a business so that my wife and I could have another avenue to secure our passive income portfolio . If fate allows it , we would love to live here in Australia . As to which city it would be , well , it is still too soon to know . Ideally , my plan is simple : If the business is healthy , and would provide us surplus cash , I would then venture out and savour the bounty of harbours abound Sydney and Australia , by sail . Yes , I was also a yachtsman in my youth , and competed in offshore and inshore races , and the annual Manila Yacht Club versus Subic Yacht Club regattas , as a helmsman . Currently , my sea legs are itching .