Protégé holds first live gala night on August 5!

The search for the next big Kapuso stars officially begins as Protégé makes its highly-anticipated and star-studded premiere on Philippine television this Sunday, August 5. The first live gala night happens after IBilib on GMA's Sunday Grande block.

After several months of its intensive nationwide hunt, Protégé will finally unveil the coveted TOP 20 aspirants who will go head-to-head in the weekly elimination nights and outdo each other in hopes of winning over the judges' and the viewers' votes.

This competition is touted to be the grandest artista search this year as five celebrity mentors are tapped to train, supervise, and educate the Top 20 protégés in every rehearsal, workshop, weekly tests and trainings.

The mentors who were sent out to different parts of the country to find their four (2 boys and 2 girls) protégés include acclaimed actor and TV director Ricky Davao (Northern and Central Luzon), seasoned actress and TV director Gina Alajar (Southern Luzon), drama and action film legend Phillip Salvador (Mindanao), multimedia icon Jolina Magdangal (Visayas), and multi-awarded actor Roderick Paulate (Mega Manila).

Two winners will be proclaimed at the finals night -- one male protégé and one female protégé. At stake are 12 million pesos worth of cash prizes and a management contract with GMA 7.

As expected, the four esteemed judges -- well-respected talent manager/director Bert de Leon, multi-awarded drama actress Cherie Gil, entertainment guru Joey de Leon, and GMA Network Films President Atty. Annette Gozon-Abrogar -- will grill the Top 20 protégés armed with their hard-hitting yet motivational critiques.

All geared up to lend support and boost the spirit of the aspirants are Gala Presenter Dingdong Dantes and Journey Host Carla Abellana.

Witness the bracing drama as Protégé reveals the Top 20 during its first gala night this Sunday, 8:30pm on GMA

Gina Alajar as a mentor in Protégé

In an interview with entertainment bloggers last Saturday, July 8, veteran actress, director Gina Alajar said that she will combine her ferocious Dian Lamitan character in the GMA epic series “Amaya” and her motherly character as Zeny in the recently concluded afternoon soap, “Hiram na Puso” in her new stint as one of the mentors of the upcoming artista search “Protégé: The Battle for the Big Artista Break.”

“Binabase ko rin yan sa pagtuturo ko sa mga workshop e. When you spoon feed someone, halos nakadepende na siya sayo, halos hindi na siya magtatrabaho because you’re giving him/her everything na, there’s no challenge for him na kasi you’re giving it to him/her in a silver platter. Samantalang kung maghihigpit ka nang konti at ipapakita mo sa kanya na ‘hindi, huwag kang tatamad-tamad, magtrabaho ka, you should learn and you should learn by doing. ’ So combination yan. Anyway, I have the Dian Lamitan side and the Zeny side all in one nandito kay Gina (laughs),” she said.

Asked what her bases are in selecting her proteges, she said that she is not very strict at this point in the screening although she emphasized that looks is one of the first factors she looks into.

“Kailangan mga artistahin na talaga tapos nandun na yung talent, nakikita mo na yung pwedeng madevelop, tapos madaling sumunod, madaling turuan. Importante rin na meron siyang karisma, meron siyang “It”, yung mamahalin siya ng madla. Mahirap yun e kasi hindi lahat na-chacharm ang taong bayan. So, kailangan meron siyang gaang, meron siyang magandang bukas ng mukha para i-embrace siya ng tao,” she explained.

“Mejo mahirap hanapin yun and I think dun palang natin malalaman yan kapag inintroduce na siya sa mga tao. Pero ngayon sa akin, my initial reaction is: meron ba siyang mukha, meron ba siyang tayo, meron bang pag lumakad siya sa isang kwarto ay magtitinginan sa kanya lahat, nakaka-attract ba siya ng attention, yung ganon,” the director added.

So how’s her search for the ultimate protégé going so far?

“Nag-decide ako sa sarili ko na since artista search, glamour talaga yung hinahanap mo e. Pwedeng pwede mo na dapat siyang ilakad sa red carpet. I think hindi ganun kalaki yung time para i-build up siya, kailangan maisabak na siya kaagad. I would say I would go for the looks first kasi yun yung importante as of this point. Kasi I do believe, na kahit hindi masyadong innate yung talent mate-train yun, it can be honed. Lalo na kung masipag yung tao, pwedeng pwede, magiging mabilis yun.”

Gina’s main predicament is finding the perfect blend among the many factors that make up a completely-packaged “artista.”

“Yun nga yung nagiging problema e, kasi meron namang hindi masyadong kagandahan at hindi masyadong kagwapuhan pero nandun naman yung talent, kaya lang it will not stand alone e sa search natin. If it’s only pagalingan lang ng pagiging artista, wala yung looks, pwede yun pero very thin ang line ng pagiging artista.”

Gina and the other four mentors will present their protégés to the viewing public for the very first time on August 5, during the show’s first gala night, which will be hosted by Dingdong Dantes and Carla Abellana.

Will their proteges pass the scrutiny of the judges? We’ll find that out soon on Protégé: The Battle for the Big Artista Break only on GMA Telebabad.