Ice Seguerra, Anton Juan at Liza Diño
UMANI ng standing ovation at malakas na palakpakan ang kauna-unahang stage play together ng mag-asawang Ice Seguerra at Liza Diño.
Puro positive reviews ang nababasa namin mula sa lahat ng nakapanood na ng “Choosing (Not A Straight Play)” sa Power Mac Spotlight Blackbox Theater, Circuit, Makati, at mula sa direksyon ni Anton Juan.
Ang original stage play nina Ice at Liza ay bahagi pa rin ng month-long celebration ng LGBT Pride Month na nagsimula nitong June 29 at tatagal hanggang July 7. Ito’y
Sa mahabang Facebook post ni Ice, inamin niyang hindi naging madali para sa kanila ni Liza ang pagbuo sa “Choosing” dahil talagang dumaan sila sa matinding challenges mula sa conceptualization hanggang sa pagsusulat ng script.
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“The past few months have been so crazy that I haven’t had time to sit down and be with my thoughts. From directing and performing in Videoke Hits (nakaraang concert niya) to getting sick and losing a significant percentage of my hearing, it hasn’t been easy.
“And then there’s Choosing (Not A Straight Play),” simulang pagbabahagi ng OPM icon sa kanyang FB status.
Pagpapatuloy niya, “Liza and I have always wanted to act together. But I was a little queasy about doing something out of my comfort zone since I hadn’t acted in years. I’ve never done non-musical theater, so this was foreign to me. But we had a dream.
“We’ve always dreamed of telling our story because even if it looks rosy from the outside, we think the challenges we encounter and how we overcome them will help people understand the intricacies of the LGBTQIAP+ community, and maybe, just maybe, they can get past their biases and see that people from the community are not so different from the rest.
“We go through the same aches and pains and have the same dreams, just like everyone else. But we were stuck and couldn’t start telling our story because life and work got in the way,” lahad ni Ice.
Hanggang sa dumating na nga sa eksena ang kanilang napakagaling na stage play director, “When Sir Anton came on board, he made us sit down and answer many questions, often answering these questions in the form of monologues.
“Writing these monologues made us reflect on the past, remembering past loves and heartbreaks. Sometimes, we put ourselves in other people’s mindset while remembering the stories they told us about their journeys.
“Then, Liza started writing. It took her three days to write the first draft—three days of no sleep and without me bothering her. She was driven by inspiration but mostly DEADLINE.
“We had to start rehearsals ASAP to have a show to present by the end of June. Liza juggled producer jobs, promo head, marketing, and sales, on top of learning 30+ pages of text and blockings to memorize. My wife is a superwoman.
“There were still unanswered questions as we started rehearsing, so we kept finetuning our script. We would read to friends and colleagues, ask for feedback, and get to develop our characters and dialogues.
“Late nights would be spent with Liza and me, exchanging the laptop as we would write our lines. This exchange would sometimes evolve into fights because the text is too close to home, blurring the lines between real and fictional,” saad pa ni Ice.
Halos gabi-gabi raw siyang tinatanong ni Liza kung may manonood daw kaya sa kanila, “Of course, I would reassure her, even though I felt anxious too.
“I felt so liberated when we finally performed it in front of an audience on our opening day. Hearing their laughter or sniffles, seeing them pull their partners a little bit closer during tender moments in the play – I knew then that they finally understood our story because they’ve been there at one point or another, too,” pahayag pa ni Ice.
Pinasalamatan din niya ang kanilang creative team na naging katuwang nila sa pagbuo ng makasaysayan nilang palabas na siguradong tatatak na sa mga nakapanood nito at manonood pa lang.
“Lastly, I want to thank our playwright and my co-actor, Liza. Thank you for consistently sharing yourself with us. For shaping a beautful narrative out of chaos and making it so relatable to our audience.
“I never doubted your writing, I hope you know how gifted you are. You’re also a giving actor, always present with me in every scene. I always look forward to our scenes because I know there will be something new that will make these scenes different and unique for every performance.
“I love our late-night rehearsals and debriefing sessions. Thank you for trusting me, too. This has been, by far, the most challenging acting piece I’ve ever done and I couldn’t imagine doing it with anyone else but you.
“I want to thank our sponsors, show buyers, and audience for trusting us to deliver an experiential performance,” lahad ni Ice.
May chance pa kayong mapanood ang “Choosing” kaya watch na!