Read on to learn about Raymond Lauchengco's creative mind and life during the pandemic

You’ve seen him on stage or on screen, singing songs from the Eighties and the Nineties, often in a suit, serenading you with romantic melodies. Or maybe you’ve seen him at the backstage or at the control booth, directing a fabulous show. This is the Raymond Lauchengco that we knew—an award-winning performer who has been in the entertainment industry for decades. But like many others, his world turned upside down in a snap due to the pandemic. “I woke up and took a long look at all the bookings on my calendar that just vanished into thin air,” says Lauchengco in disbelief. For someone who used to direct about two events a month, regularly perform onstage and spend a month or two in the US and Canada with his family for annual concert tours, not being able to do all these things for months has had such a huge impact.

So how did he cope? “With my career as a performer and director, everything is on hold. But it’s alright,” he shares with positivity. When he was at the verge of going under from all the negativities around, he turned to art. And he believes this is what “saved” him.

“I believe we are all created in the image of a Creator—Imago Dei. Since our Creator is creative, there must be a part of us that is like Him. When we use our gifts, we realise there is more we can do than we ever thought possible,” Lauchengco says. So, while others opted to sulk or complain, he chose to use this “gift” and began sawing, carving, sanding, hammering, smashing and taking things apart just to take his mind off the gloom he was feeling.

I can't remember the last show I directed. It seems like a lifetime ago.

- Raymond Lauchengco -

“At first, it was to keep myself from feeling helpless over situations that I couldn’t understand, much less control. But when I started seeing finished pieces at the end of the day, the fulfilment of having made something with my hands comforted me; so I decided to press on and push myself harder with every piece that followed,” he says. “Making things soon became my ikigai, a beautiful Japanese word I learnt in my church that refers to the reason why you get out of bed excitedly in the mornings, even if it was so tempting to just stay there and mope.” With this, his collection of sculpture and functional art, aptly named Ikigai, was born. “I read somewhere that it is during difficult times that you discover there are things you can do that you never thought you could. So, despite these strange and incomprehensible times when so many, including me, have no idea when the next job will come, I find that I can still be grateful because I learnt something new about myself. And I have been given the time to explore a different path.”

If his pre-pandemic life was filled with writing scripts, supervising rehearsals and studying new materials to perform, he now spends his time way differently. Lauchengco is usually up by 3 am and by this time, ideas would flood his mind. He would then enjoy a cup of coffee in the lanai. The peace and quiet give him the perfect time to think and plan his day ahead. “You see ideas for making my Ikigai pieces are plentiful, but they don’t come with instructions. I need to visualise all the steps on how to make the ideas come to life,” Lauchengco says. His day’s work begins with quiet stuff like painting or applying gold leaf. The noisy tasks using tools have to wait until he knows the neighbours are awake. His work ends at 3 pm to make time for cleaning up the “mess” he makes before he cooks dinner for his family. This transformation made him discover a lot about himself as well as see things from a different perspective. “I can’t remember the last show I directed. It seems like a lifetime ago. I’ve sung in a few virtual events. That was fun because only a medium shot is required for the videos so I’ve actually worn shorts with a tuxedo,” he chuckles, sharing how parts of his old life blend in with the new.

In his new journey, Lauchengco learnt that his hands can make things, that all he needs is his family and that “nothing can forfeit God’s faithfulness, not even a pandemic”. And he jokes, “I’ve learnt that I like wearing shorts.”

While the year 2020 seems out of tune, Lauchengco is determined to play along with this melody. “God can work through any circumstance, no matter how dismal, to turn things around in the most unexpected and surprising ways.”