THE
AUTHOR AND THE BLOGGER
by
Antonio C. Antonio
June
10, 2014
About
the Author…
In
the 1970s, Lotis Melisande Key was a movie and theatre actress who starred in
more than 80 films in the Philippines and other countries in Asia. She received a FAMAS Award nomination as Best
Supporting Actress for her outstanding character portrayal in the movie
“Dalawang Mukha ng Tagumpay” in 1973. In
spite of her excellence in dramatic/serious roles, Lotis is best remembered for
appearing in about a dozen popular comedy films which starred Dolphy, the King
of Philippine Comedy movies.
Lotis,
in a never-ending search for excellence, transitioned to theatre. Her acting skills were further honed to
perfection by stage director Roxanne A. Lapus, a legend in Philippine theatre. Under the expert tutelage of Director
Roxanne, Lotis played leading lady roles to other stage greats like Gus
Aldeguer and Miguel Faustman for SRO… a company that pioneered high-end dinner theater
in hotel ballrooms. Several years of
exposure in the theater arts further brought out the artist in her.
After
moving to the United States in 1986, Lotis pursued her love for the visual arts
by keeping busy with video production, TV commercials, voice-over dubbing,
radio and theatre. By 1999, she became a
theatre director and began writing stage plays.
Writing, directing and producing stage plays allowed her the opportunity
to extensively travel north America.
With
her passion for writing theatrical pieces, Lotis moved up to writing reports
and articles for numerous magazines and newspapers based in the US. At present, she is the Vice President of the Minnesota
Christian Writers Guild and takes special pride in being called a “Christian
Author.” So far, she has authored two
books: “The Song of the Tree” and “A Thing Devoted.” I have yet to read Lotis’ books but judging
from her blogs posted on her website (www.lotiskey.com)
which I have read, these books will be very interesting reads. She is an excellent writer with a knack for using
metaphor… guaranteed to get your imagination juices flowing. Lotis is truly a creative and intellectually engaging
writer!
It
is quite unfair for people to remember Lotis as just an ordinary actress and
comedienne. Actors and actresses live in
a structured world where the script becomes their bible. Everything is fed to them and all they need
to do is memorize their lines, internalize their character and play/act the
role when the director shouts “action!”
And, as many would say, showbiz and movie personalities could survive in
their glitter and glamour world with a minimum requirement for brains. Even more disturbing is the fact that some
teenagers join the showbiz bandwagon even without the benefit of a formal
education so long as they look good on television or on the big screen. This seems to be the stigma often attached to
TV and movie stars. After Lotis left the
Philippine show business scene in the mid 1980s, her fans lost track of her and
they never had the opportunity to know the other intellectual facets of a
person they only knew to be a movie star.
There really is more to Lotis… but, sadly, her literary brilliance seems
to be overshadowed by this showbiz stigma.
It’s really time for people to acknowledge Lotis as a scriptwriter, a
playwright, a journalist, an author and a novelist. I should add that Lotis is a graduate of St.
Paul’s College-Manila.
Lotis
is married to Bambi Kabigting who used to play basketball for the Ateneo Blue
Eagles and the Crispa Redmanizers. Time
for a little throwback… Many moons ago, I used to watch young Bambi play for
United Parañaque in the local summer basketball tournament. Even as I was awed by his basketball
skillset, I had to cheer for the opposing team, Sun Valley led by Bert Guevarra
who played for Letran in the NCAA. I
also remember a hyper active young boy who cheered wildly for Bambi then…
someone who someday will run for Vice President (Edu Manzano). Anyway, to keep the long story short, Bambi
was the top scorer in that game and United Parañaque won.
A casual
encounter between the Author and the Blogger…
When Lotis Key found out that I’m a pro-environment
Blogger, she commented: “Thank
you Anton. Wow I didn't know people like you existed in the Philippines. I'm in Minnesota right now but I go back to Manila
every few months. Here's one for your
book... I used to drink water straight from the tap in our kitchen... locking
my mouth against the faucet because I was in too much hurry to get a glass. I never got sick. A few months ago I had an iced tea in Mega
mall... sick for three days. I used to
wear white a lot. Try that now... you'll
need a new outfit every other day. As
soon as I leave the airport my throat swells and my voice becomes very raspy
(sexy daw). It won't clear up until I am
in Antipolo. My heart just BREAKS for
the generation condemned to live in that, day after day. What will the next generation of our children
be? Pollution is robbing their minds and
bodies with every breath they take. Naku
don't get me started. My heart is with
the children I see everywhere sleeping on the filthy streets and begging for
scraps of food.” I answered: “That's
sad... anyway, at least you're "sexier"! There are several of us (pro-environment
advocates) but still very few compared to the 100 million population we have
now. Hope you can find time to check on
my blogsite: https://antonantonio.blogspot.com/...
You'll enjoy it! Stay well...”
This
casual exchange of comments with Lotis bared another of her innate personality…
the author has a pro-environment heart and mind. Her observations validated my argument that
there is less concern for air and water pollution and landscape ecology
planning in our country. Lotis, as I
observed, is a natural at concern for the future generations.
Another
bothersome note is the impression that environment advocates don’t exist in the
Philippines. Perhaps, this is the shared
impression of people living in environment-friendly countries including Filipinos
who now live abroad. Could we blame
them?... certainly not! The manner by
which we have treated our environment and managed our natural resources in this
part of the world is not at all ideal.
Do I sound like I’ve given up?... of course not! My blogsite (antonantonio.blogspot.com)
carries several articles on ways and means to engage the public to increase
their level of concern for the environment.
It seemingly is an uphill climb but at least we have started
popularizing environmental issues now.
Eventually we’ll get there!... how?
In a blog I’ve written entitled “The Ripple Principle”
(antonantonio.blogspot.com, posted April 22, 2014), I outlined a simple and
doable method to increase environmental awareness. We, lovers of Mother Earth, may be fewer than
we think but we are surely and steadily increasing in number day by day. Ms. Lotis Key will certainly be a very positive
addition to our ranks.
Lotis
Key once said: “The true calling of the
artist is not the entertainment of fools but the awakening of thought.” It is my fervent wish she also contributes
her thought-provoking literary artistry to environmental causes too.
Just
my little thoughts…
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