The Journey Continues…

nabasa ko yung comment ni ann sa last post ko. actually she wants me to see her daughter’s play on the 5^th of october. wala pa naman akong definite plans on that date, pagkabasa ko ng comment n’ya, something in my past just came back, my so called acting years.

i started acting when i was 16, 4^th year high school ako noon, it was during our foundation day. the filipino club wants to raise some funds & they want to showcase a musical-comedy, i was asked to audition & to my amaze i was accepted. the role that was given to me was of a native gay, can you imagine how it looks like?

it was an adaptation of a popular story “bakit babae ang naghuhugas ng pinggan”, who ever re-wrote the play has made it funny & beautiful. of course kailangan kong kumanta at hindi lang basta kanta, i have to make my voice on a higher tone kasi nga bading na katutubo ang role ko. it was such a great experience that i began to love the theater arts.

then i continued on with my “acting career” the next play that i joined was during our church’s annual christmas presentation. the play was entitled “hanggang kailan dapat magmahal” an original play written for the occassion. i played a retard, a mental patient, no script was given, ang instruction was to improvise, binigyan kami ng 5 minutes to say what we want & act crazy at the same time. ang role na napili ko was of a mayoralty candidate, after the play, lahat ng tao mayor ang tawag sa akin. hehehehe!

para sa akin masaya ang mag-entertain, di natapos sa pag-arte ang karir ko sa theater, through our church’s sponsorship i attended the stage director’s workshop in 1994, cunducted ito ng trumpets, di ko makalimutan yung not-so encouraging words n’ya, “if your here for a career or money, let’s just pack it up,” may point naman siya in saying that. hindi ganoon ka-glamorous ang theater sa pinas, unlike broadway & west end na packed ang theater tuwing may performance at kahit ilang beses nang paulit-ulit na ipalabas ang “cats” & phantom of the opera, hit pa rin.

sabi n’ya, “the theater business in the philippines is dying, but the art must stay alive.”

after the workshop, i had a chance to work (as a volunteer) as a ojt of some sort in reprtory philippines presentation of “the oz” and guess who played dorothy. it was aiza seguerra & cris villonco (the sarsi commercial girl) then back to my real world i directed a church play with my sister as one of the lead.

siguro kung hindi lang kailangan kong kumita ng pera para matuloy ang pag-aaral ng kapatid ko, sinubukan ko siguro pasukin ang teatro. when it comes to art, ito ang first love ko, may be we were not meant for each other.