I'm Just a Broadway Baby...?

"Recoged Esta Voz," 2004 | Dulaang UP

"A Midsummer Night's Dream," 2004 | Metropolitan Theatre Guild

Hello, Friends!

Doesn't every gay man at some point dream of becoming a Broadway baby?

It seems like ages ago (in fact, it was) when I had a tidy, little career playing sinister characters onstage... Paul Snyder in Brecht's St. Joan of the Stockyards, the Black Horse in Lorca's El Publico, Jean in Ionesco's Rhinoceros. Directors easily pigeonholed me into menacing roles perhaps because I'm relatively large for a Filipino. And I have mean eyes.

I was a strong, reliable character actor.

And it got old too quickly.

In a country that romanticizes the Spanish mestizo as a hero, I had little to zero chance of ever becoming a romantic lead. Plus, I was impatient; I wanted things to happen, like, immediately. Plus, I'm gay. I came out on national TV in 2004, in what was then the country's hottest talent show. Plus, I hated playing the stupid card. Which made many people hate my guts.

Being gay didn't mean I was content to play bit roles in sitcoms or menacing characters created by dead playwrights. I wanted the man, the drama, the kiss, the soaring music, the climax. I wanted it all.

Needless to say, I got none of it. I was barely out of puberty when Rent held auditions in Manila, so was I meant to cry bloody murder that I didn't get to play Angel?

So it was a super-easy decision for me to move to Hong Kong when Mickey Mouse offered me a job in Disneyland.

Of course it didn't take long (surprise!) for me to want it all, all over again. Performing with Disney is fine if you're content enough to do the same show every day, five times a day.

I quit performing altogether when I just got dissatisfied with it, in general. Granted, life is one big audition. But it's downright disgusting to have to count on how many jobs you book in a month to determine whether you're gonna make mortgage.

Recently, though, I've been missing the stage so much. Thank goodness this came along.

And guess what?

I was surprised that I didn't get asked to audition for it...

And guess what else?

I played a no-name drag queen in an acid fantasy, who turns on her party friends.

A sinister character all over again.

And I loved it.





With Affection,
James

"An Invincible Truth," 2011 | Performer Studio / Muse Motion

P.S.
The audience seemed to love it, too.
*Phew*