More conversations with the Dolls–Sarah Meier-Albano and Vicky Herrera
By: Annelle S. Tayao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
They began with radio, moved to a newspaper—and now, they’re invading bookshelves.
On Dec. 13, models Sarah Meier-Albano and Vicky Herrera of “The Dollhouse” are launching their first-ever book, “Unscripted: Conversations in the Dollhouse,” a collection of interviews from the former U92 FM morning rush-hour show.
Herrera came up with the idea late last year after their show ended, when she felt the need to “give back” something to “The Dollhouse” listeners.
“After our show ended, we were getting a lot of tweets, comments on our blog about how much they missed the show,” Herrera says. “We wanted something we could physically leave behind with our listeners.”
They decided to use interviews from a segment called “The Real OG,” which is part of their “Throwback Thursdays” retro lineup. It was a venue for the two to share lessons of different inspiring and successful Pinoys with today’s generation.
“OG” stands for original gangsta, slang for “a pioneer of sorts, who started a movement or did something uncommon at a time when it might have been easier to do something else,” Meier-Albano says.
The two chose 16 OGs, whom they felt shared the best lessons on their show. The roster includes former first lady Imelda Marcos, Kate Torralba, Carlos Celdran, Raimund Marasigan, Lourd de Veyra, German “Kuya Germs” Moreno, Jeannie Goulbourn, Jim Paredes, and Ryan Cayabyab, among others.
“It was really interesting. We had already learned lessons on our radio show, but as we were editing the transcriptions we felt that we were relearning some of those lessons,” said Herrera.
“The range of the conversations was so diverse. With some we were laughing the whole time, others had tears,” adds Meier-Albano.
“With some we were really part of the conversation, while in others we were just sitting there and really learning. What are consistent are the information, inspiration, and wisdom passed on.”
Though the authors added short intros for each OG, most of the book’s content are transcriptions from the show, giving readers a sense of how each conversation sounded on air. The two also worked with artists and photographers for the book’s graphics, with each OG having their own visual theme to go with the text.
It’s a mishmash of “all our loves—writing, photography, art,” says Herrera.
“In a way, it’s a timeless book,” adds Meier-Albano. “You can flip through it now and get something out of it, and six months later it could mean something different.”
