It has been a while since I appeared in front of the camera.
To those who don’t know, I don’t only edit and write a column for SunStar Cebu, but I also act in films and TV commercials.
Really.
In the past, I also directed a local live TV show. I even wrote, produced and directed a short that won a Gawad.
Am I bragging? Of course not. Otherwise, I’d mention the several nominations I received, including two Famas’ for Best Supporting Actor.
But enough about me.
Anyway, last week, I got a chat message from a friend asking if I was in Cebu. Normally, I’m the one who sends her a message with the usual “hi, how are you” and “do you have an acting gig for me.” Imagine my excitement when she informed me about an audition for a national TV commercial and would I be interested.
Does the sun rise in the east?
I have to admit, projects have not been falling into my lap like they used to. It doesn’t help that I don’t hang out with members of Cebu’s “film circle.” I don’t think the Gen Z’s have any idea who I am or what I am capable of acting-wise because, as I said, I’m not the type to toot my own horn.
Really.
To them, I may have well been a relic from a not-too-distant past.
Luckily, I do have a coterie of friends who are active in the industry and who remember me only because I remind them now and then that I once stood on the brink of greatness, waiting for the acting world to open to me like a magnificent vagina, but nothing happened because I refused to leave my comfort zone.
And so here I am, hoping against hope to get another break. I know I’ve missed several windows of opportunity but I am forever an optimist. I just need to be out there.
And that’s why I agreed to audition.
I know some of you are surprised. Me? Try out for a part? Has the world gone mad?
Of course, it hasn’t. It’s just that the last decent offer I received was right before the pandemic, and that didn’t pan out because of the lockdown. They ended up replacing me with someone from the National Capital Region since they were shooting in Luzon. Getting me out of Cebu would have been a logistical nightmare.
Was I disappointed? Very. But I understood that things were beyond everybody’s control. And I have been itching to act again since then.
And while I sat there waiting to show off my acting chops, I realized I never asked what the commercial was for.
I was so blinded by the desire to take on another persona that I was willing to prostitute myself. But I’m no whore.
Really.
It was bad enough that I was the poster boy for a local feed company for several years. I knew I had to set limits.
I told myself I would not push through with the audition if the commercial was for a diarrhea or constipation medicine. Or worse, for adult diapers. I wouldn’t even do it for rheumatism or arthritis.
I know I’m past 40—ahem—but I’m far from being old.
A little voice inside my head said, “What if it was for erectile dysfunction?” I almost fainted right there and there.
Ah, the things one does for the sake of Art.