“Ito yung first ever show ko na, ‘Hala, wala akong dyowang katrabaho,'” says Andrea about “Drag You And Me”
Andrea Brillantes admits that she had to adjust when she took on her first solo project.
She headlines the upcoming iWant TFC series, “Drag You And Me,” where she plays Betty, a young woman who was raised by LGBTQIA+ parents.
A true LGBTQIA+ ally, she ends up joining Manila Queen Supreme, the grandest drag competition in the country, in order to earn money and save her family’s gay comedy bar.
However, her fellow competitors are unaware that she is a woman and not a real drag queen.
As a drag queen, Betty assumes the name of Valentine Royale, who becomes the fiercest competitor of Jason (JC Alcantara), who is Shania in the drag scene. However, Betty and Shania’s relationship develops into something more, enough for Charlie (Christian Bables), Jason’s mentor, to form an indifference towards Betty.
Charlie is also popular in the drag community as Bubbles Lacroix.
While Andrea has a love interest in the story played by JC Alcantara, the romance is not the main plot of the story compared to Andrea’s past projects, where she was paired with Seth Fedelin.
Late last year, ABS-CBN decided to break her love team with Seth after doing at least five projects: “Kadenang Ginto,” “Huwag Kang Mangamba,” “Saying Goodbye,” “Wild Little Love,” and “Lyric and Beat.”
This means that “Drag You And Me” is Andrea’s first project without a love team.
During the press conference of “Drag You And Me” on May 22, 2023 at Nectar Nightclub, FreebieMNL asked Andrea about doing a non-love team project for the first time.
She first says, “Actually, wala akong masyadong hirap sa pagganap dito kasi nga tulad ng sabi ko, dream role ko yung ganito, e. Inantay ko talaga ito.”
Andrea then admits that it was not easy being a solo artist for the first time, having been paired with Seth, who also became her real-life boyfriend, for a long time.
To add to this, Andrea is also working with a new team.
The Star Magic actress says, “Nahirapan ako kasi simula 13 ako, lagi akong may love team, naging kaibigan ko yung love team ko,” pertaining to her first love-team partner, Grae Fernandez.
Talking about Seth, she continues, “Simula 15 ako, naging boyfriend ko yung ka-love team ko and iba kasi yung dynamics kapag in a relationship ka with your partner, parang it’s not work, e. It’s fun, parang nagde-date araw-araw.
“’Tapos yung staff na kasama ko sa ‘Kadenang Ginto’ is kasama ko na sa lahat ng shows ko, 15 years old pataas. Ito yung first ever show ko na, ‘Hala, wala akong dyowang katrabaho or wala akong friend na katrabaho.
“Kasi lahat po sila, ngayon ko pa lang nakakatrabaho, e, na usually, laging meron akong katarabaho.
“Kasi ang tagal ko nang andito pero lahat sila bago, yung staff bago, as in parang medyo nahirapan ako na super ako naninibago.”
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But the new environment proved to be a learning experience for Andrea.
She continues, “Pero it was fun being with new people ‘tapos nakaka-work ko, mga legends. Ang dami kong natututunan sa kanila, ang dami talaga.
“’Tapos at home ako, e, kasi nasa LGBTQIA+ community ako, so, hindi talaga ako nahirapan.
“Noong una lang at saka ko lang nari-realize na kapag tahimik ako sa isang tabi, wala akong ka-chika, ‘Bago ‘to, ha?’
“So, io-open ko yung sarili ko sa hindi ko pa gaano kakilala. So, ngayon, mas marami akong friends at saka mas masaya po.”
Andrea then proudly declares, “It’s a first pero parang set na ako dito, I’m loving the solo era, I’m loving it!”
“Drag You And Me” is set to premiere on June 2 on iWant TFC and is scheduled to run for 10 episodes. Directed by JP Habac, the show also features Romnick Sarmenta, Ice Seguerra, Brigiding, Lance Carr, Albie Casino, Cris Villanueva, Kaladkaren, Amy Nobleza, Noel Comia, Jr., and Jon Santos.
Banner Art Paulo Correa
