Ed: ‘Jack of All Trades’

You haven’t really understood the meaning of the phrase “Jack of All Trades” until you’ve met businessman and stage actor Romeo Ed Abaigar.

He is the type of person who likes getting into a lot of things all at once. Currently connected with the Aldaba Theater Friends of veteran theater actor and talent caster Ces Aldaba, Romeo is, believe it or not, a veterinary science graduate from DLSU-Araneta, has a company that manufactures percussion instruments (African djembe drums, which he has been doing since 1998), appears in TV commercials and has acted out cameo and guest roles on ABS-CBN teleseryes.

Some of the TV commercials and ad campaigns he’s done include those for Bear Brand, Meralco, Tide (with Bossing Vic Sotto), Pizza Hut, Kawasaki Barako, Smart, Western Union, Duty Free, Del Monte, Fita, Shell, among others. He is also part of a group that conducts acting workshops for kids every summer. Years ago, he even had a brief stint as an “island boy” in Boracay where he lived a nomadic existence for a year, sleeping on the beach and selling native-made Boracay artifacts such as bead and shell necklaces.

“Ever since, I never really had an eight-to-five job. Sometimes, I try to imagine it, feeling ko lang, baka awayin ko lang ang boss ko o ma-bore ako,” he laughs. Right now, he sees no need to change his lifestyle because it has worked for him. “So far naman effective ako sa ganoong style of living. Tapos pag may time, umaarte ako sa mga teleserye ng ABS-CBN. I remember before, I even appeared in a show with Nora Aunor, and I’ve done other shows where I played cameo roles and was a guest artist.”

Admittedly, though, his main passion is really in theater, acting and the arts. “Theater especially,” he says. “I love theater because it’s an expression of my being an actor, and at the same time, the movements are larger than life. I like that I have room to explore what my abilities are.”

Romeo has been doing theater for 15 years now and started his career in the venerable halls of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). After one season, he transferred to PETA (Philippine Educational Theater Association). Now, he’s still acting and presently appearing in Pahimakas: Huling Sandali ng Isang Bayani, a play on the last eight hours in the life of National Hero Jose Rizal.

He explains that Pahimakas (an old Tagalog word that means last farewell) is not a play on the life of the National Hero but specifically focuses on the last eight hours that he was incarcerated in Fort Santiago where he penned Mi Ultimo Adios.

He and the play’s creative team, led by writer Nathaniel Arzaga and director Don Umali, had to do their own extensive research, because doing a play about someone so well-known and well-documented presented a different kind of challenge.

The storyline they came up with had to do with characters from Rizal’s novels — the famous Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo — coming back to haunt him in the last eight hours of his life.

“Lahat ng characters sa Noli at Fili, nagmulto sa kanya lahat, sinisisi siya, bakit si Sisa naging baliw, bakit si Crisostomo Ibarra ay hindi natuloy lahat ng plano niya maghimagsik sa rehimeng Espanya, the story really goes in that direction,” explains Romeo. “But we had a lot of discussions and did a lot of research because, of course, we don’t know what Rizal was feeling at that time, that he would be executed the following day — did he cry or did he regret writing Noli and Fili — so we worked around that and brainstormed over what could have been on his mind.”

He adds, “Doon namin naisip na siguro, nag-multo lahat ng characters sa kanyang akda, pati si Padre Damaso, parang nasa korte at hinuhusgahan siya.”

Romeo was handpicked for the role by their producer Ces Aldaba. “I’ve been doing Rizal roles during my time with the CCP, at siguro, nakita niya sa aking aura si Rizal, that’s why he entrusted me with it. Ako naman, sabi ko, sige, it’s a dream for me to do such a role. Plus, of course, I also did my own research and really made an effort to channel Rizal so that it’s more realistic.”

The Aldaba Theater Friends premiered the play last year and have been touring it since, staging shows in different Metro Manila schools. However, Romeo emphasizes that the play isn’t just for students or teachers, but for everyone. Tickets, schedules and other details are available on the Facebook page of the Aldaba Theater Friends.

Romeo reveals that they’re thinking of taking the play on a nationwide tour, specifically to Cebu and other such places. It would be nice, he says, to be able to share this story and the challenge of channeling a hero with other Filipinos because it’s a story that needs to be told from generation to generation.