MONIQUE Wilson is based in London these days, but she tells us that the Philippines is really where her heart is. The ?Miss Saigon? alumna and artistic director of the New Voice Company currently teaches at London?s East 15 drama school, where she is the course leader for the MA/MFA acting program for international students.

She?s directing Martin Crimp?s ?Attempts on Her Life? at the Actors Centre?s Tristan Bates Theatre on May 19-22, and Tennessee Williams? ?The Rose Tattoo? at the Battersea Arts Centre on June 30-July 4.

Concerned messages

?There?s no place like home,? Monique enthuses ? which is why she makes it a point to come home in between terms and during the Christmas holidays. In fact, when something big happens here in the fields of politics, entertainment and theater, her concerned messages to us tell us how much she misses being here.

When she came home for a few days last month, it wasn?t easy to find the right day (and time) to meet ? so, we decided to have (meatless) dinner ? on Good Friday!

Monique was in town for a good reason: This year, she is celebrating her 30th year in the performing arts ? a milestone she?s commemorating with the release of her upcoming album, a 14-track collection of exquisitely rendered show tunes that showcase her confident and now full-bodied soprano.

Some cuts have been handpicked from New Voice musicals like ?Aspects of Love? (?There Is More to Love,? ?Anything But Lonely?) and ?Chess? (?Someone Else?s Story,? ?Heaven Help My Heart?).

The other songs in the lineup are among some of the best tunes ever written for the legitimate stage: ?I?m Not That Girl? (from ?Wicked?), ?Not While I?m Around? (?Sweeney Todd?), ?How Can I Win?? (?The Goodbye Girl?), ?With You? (?Pippin?), ?Not A Day Goes By? (?Merrily We Roll Along?), ?Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again? (?The Phantom of the Opera?), ?Send in the Clowns? (?A Little Night Music?), ?Half A Moment? (?By Jeeves?), ?Nothing Like You?ve Ever Known? (?Song and Dance?), and ?Unusual Way? (?Nine?).

Recently, we also found time to catch up with Jewel Lobaton-Pimentel, who co-hosted the regional children?s show, ?Kool Iskul,? with Andy Bais and me some years ago, under NUT?s direction. We shared a good laugh reminiscing about those good, old days.

Products

These days, Jewel has her hands full: Even as she continues to dote on her husband, lawyer Koko Pimentel, and their two kids, Martin and Aquio, the former beauty queen multitasks as the manager of Nutrisense (call 914-5560), a company that combines her advocacies for entrepreneurship and healthy living (among its products ?
recycled vitamin C!). She runs the business with Ma. Nina Cotero.

Jewel explains, ?Being a working mother is a matter of finding the perfect balance between raising a family and retaining your individuality. What I do now allows me to impart skills on entrepreneurial management and dabble in leadership training and financial management. It?s wellness and entrepreneurship that go beyond hype!

?I?m passionate about this because, growing up, I didn?t live a privileged life. I remember how it was in college, when I had to sell polvoron or go into the cell-phone business to augment my financial resources. So, this is right up my alley!?

Golden anniversary

It was impossible not to talk about politics, or her in-laws (Senator Aquilino Pimentel and his composer-wife, Bing ?whom Jewel lovingly calls ?taynay? ? celebrated their golden wedding anniversary yesterday). The soft-spoken, former Bb Pilipinas-Universe titlist knows how to speak her mind without sounding arrogant or offensive.

What are her thoughts about the unfortunate situation of Ma. Venus Raj, who was recently ?temporarily dethroned? as Bb Pilipinas-Universe? Jewel?s reply: ?I feel for her. They should have made their decision during the prescreening stage. Why did they wait until after the coronation?

?I think Ms Raj deserves to compete for the Miss Universe crown ? because she won. Truth is, Venus is the daughter of a Filipina; therefore, she is a Filipina. At the same time, I must add that we cannot allow cheating in the pageant, because, as beauty queens, people also look up to us ? and, this is probably where the Bb Pilipinas organizers? perspective is coming from.?