TAGAPAGSANAY SA PAGGANAP or ACTING COACH became my official title in Dulaang UP’s Rosang Taba a week before their opening performance. SURPRISE! I was supposed to assist my thesis advisee in the production but I talked to Issa, one of the directors, if I could assist my current students in my acting class too. When I arrived at the rehearsal venue, I realized that some student-actors took my acting class via Zoom 2 years ago and this was their first time to step on a physical stage. I included them in my training too to build the discipline, confidence and endurance to perform an in-person performance. I realized that it was imperative to bridge the learning gap caused by the pandemic. While troubleshooting and experimenting on acting choices, I was also relearning and unlearning habits, and was discovering new ways of training actors and new approaches to acting.

I joined the DUP artistic team with the expectation to teach one student-actor only. “Lumagkit na ang performance” was the only thing I uttered after a gruelling week of early morning and late night rehearsals squeezed in between shows. With everybody’s hard work and commitment, we finally created a student ensemble. *pwera usog*

A decade ago, I could have chosen a lucrative career as a tv actor or an HR practitioner but instead I chose to teach in a university. This semester reminded me of the joy of teaching and my mad love for acting.