With the pandemic, life has changed for young star Barbie Imperial. From a fun-loving gal, she has become stressed. Given that, Imperial wants to have the power to put a stop to stress and anxiety.

“Gusto kong matanggal iyong anxiety and stress ng mga tao ngayon (I want to take away the anxiety and stress that people have now),” she articulated when asked what kind of power she wants to have during the online conference for “Mang Kepweng: Ang Lihim Ng Bandanang Itim.”

Imperial recalled how happy she was before the pandemic.

“Sobrang masayahin po ako before pandemic happened. Siguro din po dahil ang tagal na naka-lockdown, nag-stay lang ako sa bahay ko. May mga days na nai-stress po ako na walang dahilan. Siguro dahil po nasa loob lang ako ng bahay at hindi ko na po nagagawa iyong mga bagay na nakasanayan ko like lumabas at magtrabaho,” she said.

(I was a very happy person before the pandemic happened. Maybe it’s because of the long lockdown, that I was just staying at home. There are days when I got stressed over nothing. Maybe it’s because I am always at home and I don’t get to do things I used to like going out and working.)

Leaving home is such a sad situation for Imperial.

“Nakakalungkot po kasi siyempre kailangan naming magtrabaho, malayo kami sa pamilya namin at para safe sila, iiwan na lang namin sila sa mga tahanan namin,” she said.

(It is sad because we need to work, we are far from our families and to be safe, we leave them at home.)

“Kahit bumalik po kami ng bahay, hindi pa rin naming puwede silang makasama kasi baka may dala kaming sakit sa kanila,” she added.

(Even when we go home, we can’t be with them because we might have the virus.)

With that, she reiterated her wish to have the power to stop stress and anxiety.

“Kung magkakaroon ako ng superpower pa aside from mawala ang COVID-19, sana may power ako na matanggal iyong stress at anxiety ng lahat ng tao na nakaka-experience kung ano rin ang na-experience ko,” she said.

(If I would have a superpower, aside from stopping COVID-19, I hope I have the power to remove the stress and anxiety of people who have experienced what I went through.)

Imperial is a first-timer in doing comedy and she relished the experience on “Mang Kepweng,” although she was surprised during instances when improvisation and ad-libs were utilized during actual takes.

“Ang dami pong eksena na sobrang nagugulat talaga ako kasi iyong na-rehearse namin ay iba doon sa take mismo. Sobrang tawang-tawa po ako; hindi ko mapigilan iyong tawa ko kasi ang galing talaga ng mga binibitiwan nilang jokes,” she noted. “Hindi lang po si Vhong (Navarro), lahat ng cast ng Mang Kepweng ay sobrang galing nilang magbitaw ng mga linya.”

(There were so many scenes where I got so surprised because the actual take turned out different from what we rehearsed. I was laughing so hard; I could not contain my laughter because they were so good at cracking jokes. Not just Vhong (Navarro), all the cast members of Mang Kepweng were good at throwing lines.)

“Mang Kepweng: Ang Lihim ng Bandanang Itim” will be released on Upstream, where the virtual Metro Manila Film Festival is taking place, starting on Dec. 25.

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