Jodi Sta. Maria is taking a well-deserved respite after she wrapped up work for Lavender Fields, which is now on its last week on television.

“After this, magre-rest muna tayo kasi nagdire-diretso tayo. Kahit noong pandemic hindi tayo tumigil ng trabaho — 2020, 2021, 2022, hindi tayo tumigil (After this, we will take a rest because we worked straight through even the pandemic. We didn’t stop),” she said.

The 2022 Asian Academy best actress revealed that the taping for the series was tedious and nerve-wracking.

“Just to give you an idea, sometimes we shoot 28 to 30 scenes per day for four to five months so you can just imagine how many sequences those were,” she related.

But she’s far from complaining. In fact, Sta. Maria expressed gratitude for all the work she did last year.

“I’m just really thankful to the Lord for His provision, for the work na ibinigay niya,” she said.

Sta. Maria felt she needed a well-deserved vacation after working so hard the past year.

“But of course, kailangan din natin ng konting pahinga, ‘di ba? Kasi all work tayo. Kailangan nating mag-refill ng creative juices (But, of course, we needed some rest, right?  Because it’s all work for us. We need to refill our creative juices).”

Rest, for the actress, “will mean travel, embarking on something new, going back to school.”

“That’s rest for me. Hindi siya rest na walang ginagawa (It’s not rest like not doing anything).  It’s doing something else outside of work,” she said.

Most memorable scenes

As Lavender Fields wraps up on air next week, Sta. Maria recalled the most memorable scenes she did for the series.

“One of the most memorable scenes was with Lotlot de Leon,” she mused.

“Gusto ko ‘yung rapport namin, ‘yung relationship namin nilang mag-ina. I really, really felt her. Napaka-loving ang caring niya kasi as a human being and as a person (I like our rapport, our relationship as mother and daughter. I really, really felt her. She so loving and caring as a human being and as a person).”

The breakup scene with Jericho Rosales is another unforgettable moment, according to Sta. Maria.

“We attempted to shoot that scene so many times. The scene was shot in a cliff so there’s a beautiful view, but there’s fog, so we waited for the fog to clear.  When the fog cleared and we were ready for the take, suddenly it rained,” she recalled.

“It’s like you’re so ready to shoot but nature won’t allow you to shoot the scene. But then we’re thankful that we were able to shoot the scene anyway,” she said.

Sta. Maria also considers memorable her fight scene with Janine Gutierrez, who plays Iris Buenavidez, wife of Jericho Rosales’ Tyrone de Vera character.

“I remember that day. We were so nervous. We rehearsed it for about two days. And when the day came that we needed to shoot that scene, we just held each other’s hand.  We encouraged and assured each other that we could do it,” she recalled.

Sta. Maria was grateful that they were able to pull off that scene without hurting each other.