The Road to Edinburgh. A diary reflection. 

From First Reading to the Fringe

Every actor has a story that never makes it into the programme notes. Mine isn’t just about standing in the spotlight. It’s about missed trains to auditions, late-night rehearsals, friendships forged backstage, moments of self-doubt, and finding the courage to keep showing up, even when life seemed determined to pull me away from the stage. This blog is my diary of that journey—not just the destination of performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, but everything that happened before the applause. The highs, the setbacks, the lessons, the laughter, and the moments that shaped me as both a performer and a person. If you’ve ever chased a dream that felt just out of reach, I hope you’ll find something familiar in these pages.

Welcome backstage.

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Where It All Began. It all started with a phone call from our director,
Ramon Teñoso. He invited us to the very first script reading of
JoMarZeb. I still remember the excitement as I turned each page, already imagining the
characters coming to life. As I read the lines, I found myself instantly drawn to Joshua. There was something about him that felt familiar, and before long, direk (our director Ramon) entrusted me with the role. I had no idea then how much Joshua would teach me—not only as an actor but as a person.

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The Night I Almost Fell Apart
Fast forward to our opening night at Chelsea Theatre in October 2025.
Standing backstage just minutes before the curtain rose, I felt… nothing.
The emotions I had worked so hard to build during rehearsals had vanished. Internalising the character suddenly felt impossible. Was it stage fright? Too much coffee? Less than five hours of sleep? Perhaps it was all of them at once. There wasn’t time to figure it out. I whispered a quiet prayer, asking only for enough strength and clarity to get through the
performance. More than anything, I didn’t want to let the cast down. Then the lights came up. Somehow, scene by scene, Joshua returned. When the final curtain fell, I found myself crying backstage. Not because it had been perfect, but because we had done it.

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Finding Theatre When I Needed It Most
Theatre first became part of my life during secondary school. It was more than a hobby. It became a safe place—a way to express emotions I didn’t know how to put into words and a way of stepping outside the shell I’d spent years hiding inside. Years later, life became unexpectedly difficult. I was grieving the loss of my younger brother, just a year after losing my father. During one of the most vulnerable chapters of my life, my better half, Alison, encouraged me to join Philippine Theatre UK in the summer of 2024. Looking back, I don’t think she realised just how life-changing that encouragement would become. What began as a hobby slowly grew into a genuine passion, one that continues to help me heal, grow and discover parts of myself I never knew existed.

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The Call That Changed Everything
After our Chelsea Theatre performances, I thought the JoMarZeb journey had come to an end. Then direk called. He told us he had submitted the production to both the Brighton Fringe and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. At first, I didn’t fully appreciate what that meant. If I’m honest, I knew very little about either
festival. As soon as we hung up, I started researching
them. That’s when reality hit. Performing at the Fringe wasn’t just another
production—it was a dream stage for theatre- makers from around the world.
A few weeks later came another message from direk. We’d been accepted into Brighton Fringe. Shortly afterwards… Edinburgh.
It was one of those rare moments when reality feels almost too unbelievable to accept.

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Raising the Bar

Brighton Fringe challenged us in ways Chelsea never had.
This wasn’t simply another run of the show. It was a festival where every performance mattered. Direk Ramon encouraged us to dig even deeper,
to sharpen every line, every pause and every emotion. To embrace each challenges and
changes with an open mind. For me, that meant rediscovering Joshua. I had to understand him more deeply than ever before so that every scene felt truthful rather than rehearsed. It wasn’t easy.
But it was exactly what I needed as an actor.

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More Than Applause

By the end of the Brighton Fringe run, everyrehearsal, every difficult note, every sleepless night and every moment of doubt felt worthwhile. The audiences welcomed JoMarZeb with warmth and generosity. Their feedback, heartfelt messages and emotional reactions reminded us why we tell stories in the first place. As actors, we hope people remember our performances. As storytellers, we hope they remember how
those stories made them feel.
That is something I’ll carry with me long after the
final curtain.
And now…
The journey continues.

Next stop: Edinburgh Festival Fringe.