`Even though he practically grew up acting in front of the camera as a child star, John Prats only got his first directing credit in 2017 after directing a music video for Moira Dela Torre’s single “Malaya.” He eventually ended up directing Moira’s successful “Tagpuan” concert the following year. This year, John talked about directing his first world concert tour with TJ Monterde’s “Sarili Nating Mundo.”
During their last send-off presscon before starting the last leg of the tour in Australia, John shared how he felt after working with the same artists and production for the past 212 days this year.
“Last year, hindi namin in-expect talaga na ganito yung mangyayari sa Sarili Nating Mundo. Nakaka-sepanx kasi I’m just so grateful na first tour ko na mag-direct ako and sila yung kasama ko. Grabe yung hirap ng tour. Kasi sobrang konti lang namin and we have to do so many things. Kailangan mag-multi-task. Natuto akong mag-lighting director, natuto akong mag-ganito, to give that experience to our kababayans na nasa America,” he said.
READ: John Prats debuts as a lighting director: ‘Bagong unlock na kaligayahan!’
Apart from directing TJ Monterde and KZ Tandingan on stage, John shared how he has come to admire the real life couple’s work ethic even when the going gets tough.
“I’m just so grateful na sila TJ, sila KZ, yung mga stars talaga nung show, mga walang ere. Like sa tagal ko sa industriya, I’ve experienced working with, hindi ko na papangalanan pa, you know, like when you’re on tour and there are some na difficult talaga. And nakakababa ng energy.
“With these two, with TJ, kahit sobrang pagod, lalo na yung last namin, yung three cities na diri-diretso talaga, sobrang wala akong nakitang reklamo, all smiles. Talagang ang saya kasi ganun yung kinakapitan namin. Ganun yung environment na meron kami. Kaya sobrang sakit at sobrang hirap na andito na kami sa last five shows na ayaw talaga namin matapos,” he revealed.
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Having finished doing shows in countries like USA, Canada, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand, John shared that he works closely with the artist and the entire team in order to make every show special, even in the smaller venues.
“Alam naman natin, pagka-nag-tu-tour talaga ang isang artist, pag after ng big concert, pag nag-tour na, iba na yung itsura ng concert nila. Mas maliit na venue so feeling nila sa technicals din mas maliit. But we try to push na kahit papaano may production value, hindi man same yung stage na nabibigay namin, but at least maibigay namin yung parehong pakiramdam nung nasa Araneta (Coliseum).
We’re just so grateful to all the producers na nagtiwala sa objective namin to bring the SNM experience to them and so far naman sobrang saya ng mga tao at yun ang pinakamasarap sa pakiramdam namin, na after every concert ay grabe yung mga tweet nila, grabe yung mga post nila, and yun yung pinakamasarap sa pakiramdam talaga. Na maramdaman nila na yung worth ng pera nila sulit na sulit. Every show may bagong nangyayari,” he explained.