Alex Diaz on why he does theater: ‘Theater saved my life’

October 25 ------ Alex Diaz returns to the theater once more with the third run of Barefoot Theatre Collaborative’s Bar Boys: The Musical. It was within the theater community that he found a way to heal what was once broken. “In so many ways, it’s healing. I think there’s a dark side everywhere, but with theater, I noticed that it attracts a lot of goofy, passionate, artistic theater geeks, and that kind of energy is just so healing.” “Theater saved my life and saved my passion for the arts in a lot of ways,” Alex said.

On why he keeps going back to the theater, Alex referenced the 1993 comedy movie where the same day repeats over and over again. “I think the most beautiful thing about theatre is that it feels like Groundhog Day,” he said. He finds comfort knowing that there are always new things to discover, rediscover, and improve upon with every show. “You get to live the best day of your life, and then you get to do six shows a weekend, and you never have room for regret.”

Alex started out in show business back in 2013. With so many years in the industry, he did not mince words in acknowledging that it is a difficult world to navigate. “I was launched long ago, and I always say this: showbiz attracts a lot of beautiful, broken people. There’s a lot of predatory behavior, a lot of grooming and conditioning. There’s a dirty, dark side to it,” he observed.

Co-actor Benedix Ramos started out as a content creato,r then later dabbled in showbiz as well. He seconded Alex’s sentiments and shared that he, too, found a safe space in the theater. “Theater is indeed a safe space for all artists,” stated Benedix. “Theater is really hope. It’s a place to land.” “It’s a place where you feel — kahit baguhan ka — you’ll feel you belong if you have that fire inside you and may passion ka talaga in doing what you do. The theater community is really welcoming to the people who are willing to dedicate their time, effort, and talent in a space where people will be very limited, pero they have a burning passion,” he added. “Ako, personally, kapag nasa stage ako, I feel that — this is home.”

Alex and Benedix are joined by Omar Uddin and Jerom Canlas as the four leads in Bar Boys: The Musical. Having already worked together had both pros and cons. “I think our journey this time was more about rediscovery and tweaking our already existing work,” shared Alex. “The nice thing was the four of us, coming back together again — me, Jerome, Benedix, and Omar — we know each other too well now. There is that baseline where we have that long friendship. So the director was telling us, ‘O, now you’re too familiar. How do you rediscover that friendship?’”

Benedix believed that the current sociopolitical issues in the country also helped add an extra layer of urgency and passion for the project. “I think the gap before doing the third run is actually very significant because marami kaming bagay na napulot at na-experience pa bago kami umabot sa third run na ‘to. And mahalaga ‘yun na nalaman namin ‘yung mga ganong eksena sa Pilipinas to prepare us for this bigger stage because it’s really something that ignites our will to perform and our will to change the world again.”

Source: news.abs-cbn.com