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This Pride Month, "Choosing" returns to the stage — and once again, we find ourselves standing not just as performers, but as people still navigating what it means to love through change.
‘Choosing’ is a deeply personal theatrical work that the columnist co-created and star in alongside her life partner, Ice Seguerra. PHOTOS FROM FIRE AND ICE ENTERTAINMENT
This play is not just about being a queer couple. It's about what happens when the person you love evolves into someone new — and you have to decide if your love can evolve, too.
We didn't write Choosing to give answers. We wrote it to ask the hard questions. We wrote it to humanize queer love beyond coming out stories and rainbow-colored celebrations. Because queer love is human love. And it deserves to be seen in its full complexity.
So I sat down for a candid conversation with Mitch — I mean, Ice — on the experience of making Choosing, and why making art from truth can sometimes feel like the bravest thing of all.
Liza: Hon, let's start with the big one. Why did we do Choosing?
Ice: At first, we just wanted to act together. But when we started building the story, it became bigger than us. We realized that what we were creating wasn't just our story — it's a story so many people have lived but rarely see onstage. Especially trans men, or couples like us. I wanted to show that beyond the labels, there's just love — messy, painful, beautiful love.
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Ice: How about you, love? Why did you write this?
Liza: I wrote this because I know so many people have gone through similar experiences — especially the ones we rarely talk about. Choosing touches on trauma, consent, and the quiet pain people carry. I didn't write it just to confront difficult topics, but to create space for conversation. I wanted people to feel seen.
Some parts are drawn from real stories shared with me. Others, I understand deeply because of my own lived experience. And while it centers on a queer relationship, this isn't just a story about queer love — it's about human love. About the things we're afraid to say out loud, but need to.
Liza Diño-Seguerra as Stella, a strong-willed woman afraid of change.
Ice: How much of Mitch is me?
Liza: (laughs) A lot. The humor, the tenderness, the quiet moments when you shut down — that's all you. But what struck me most while writing Mitch was that he's always known who he is. That kind of clarity is powerful. It shows that being trans isn't about suddenly becoming someone else — it's finally being who you've always been. But Mitch is also bolder. He chooses himself in ways that still scare us sometimes. Watching you step into that kind of strength made me admire you even more.
Liza: Was it hard for you to perform Mitch?
Ice: Not in the way people might expect. It's not like I had to physically transform into someone else — Mitch and I already share a lot. But what's challenging is staying open and vulnerable every night. That's not easy for me. So in that sense, yes, it's hard. The emotional openness it requires — it strips you down.
Liza: But Mitch isn't you, right? You're still playing a character.
Ice: Exactly. I'm conscious of that. Every time I step onstage, I know it's Mitch's story I'm telling, not mine. So even if I'm going through something personally, I try to leave that at the door. I respect the line between myself and the character — but I can't deny, some lines hit close to home.
Ice Seguerra as Mitch, a trans man grappling with self-acceptance and the fear of losing love.
Ice: How about you, what was the hardest to write?
Liza: That monologue about the 30th birthday — the one about consent — was one of the hardest to write. I wanted to write it with authenticity. To honor friends, peers, even strangers who opened up when they found out what the play was about. I carried their stories with care, and I wanted Stella to be more than just the supportive partner. I wanted her to be real — layered, flawed, still healing. Like so many of us.
Ice: Why do you think this story matters now?
Liza: Because we're all being told to pick a side — straight or queer, man or woman, right or wrong. Choosing is about what happens in between. The confusion, the grey areas, the "I'm not sure but I'm still here." It's a love story, yes — but it's also a map through the unknown.
Liza: What about you? What do you hope people feel after watching it?
Ice: I hope they feel less alone. That their confusion is valid. That their love — whatever shape it takes — is worth fighting for. And that choosing yourself is never selfish. It's necessary.
***
"Choosing: A Stage Play" is now playing at the Doreen Black Box Theater, Arete, Ateneo de Manila. Limited run from June 6 to 15 in celebration Pride Month.
