‘Choosing’ tackles queer love, transition, questions we’re afraid to ask
If the younger Ice saw this play, he’d feel empowered,” said singer-actor Ice Seguerra of “Choosing,” the stage production he shares with real-life partner Liza Diño.
Growing up in a world with no transgender representation, Seguerra remembers feeling “weird and alone”—a feeling this play hopes to change for others. Now, with an intimate show cowritten and performed with his wife, Seguerra is flipping the script. He’s holding up a mirror for his younger self—and for anyone who’s ever felt unseen.
In “Choosing,” Seguerra and Diño star as Mitch and Stella, a trans man and a cisgender woman navigating the emotional terrain of love, identity, and transformation. And while the characters are fictional, the wounds and triumphs they carry are anything but.
“I grew up during a time when there was no representation of transgender people,” Seguerra told Lifestyle. “If the younger Ice saw ‘Choosing,’ he’d feel happy. He would know that there is a space for him in this world where he could thrive, even if it’s small.
“I would love for audiences to see that despite what society says, we are all the same,” he added. “We share the same dreams and aspirations and want to love and be loved in return—without judgment. I hope this play can start a discourse toward understanding and healing. That beyond the labels, we are all human beings who deserve a place in this world.”
Playing for truth
“Choosing” wasn’t born from a pitch or production meeting, but from something far more tender. “I told Ice, ‘Love, I miss acting. And my dream is to act with you,’” Diño told him one day. And from that small moment came a big idea.
They brought in acclaimed director Anton Juan, who didn’t just shape the play—he helped them confront themselves. “You’re playing for truth,” Diño recalled Juan telling them.
For Seguerra, writing monologues from unexpected perspectives—like a Playboy model or even a bidet—was as liberating as it was challenging. “I recently started writing, so I’m proud to have created something Liza and I could perform together,” he said. “Writing the monologues was both fun and difficult because I had to adopt a different perspective. But despite the challenges, I enjoyed the process.”
About half the play draws from their real story, said Diño. But once those moments made it to the stage, they didn’t feel personal anymore. “I don’t know, maybe 50 percent,” she said, laughing. “But the interesting thing is, once we chose to share those personal moments, they didn’t feel personal anymore. They became universal. We found that so many people empathized with the experiences we thought were uniquely ours. Some of those scenes came from real trauma. Others from tender memories, like first kisses, slam books, those awkward but unforgettable awakenings.”
One of the hardest scenes for Diño is when Stella asks Mitch, “What if I don’t fit into the man you’re becoming?” It’s a fear she hadn’t even admitted to herself until she wrote it for her character. “That line came from such a deep fear I hadn’t even admitted to myself yet.”
Say it out loud
“What ‘Choosing’ gave me was permission to name that fear. To say it out loud, through Stella. And in doing that, I realized that my fear was valid. It wasn’t shallow. It wasn’t selfish. It was human. And I think that’s what made that scene the most difficult, but also the most necessary,” she added.
Working together as both life partners and scene partners had its emotional challenges, Diño said. But it also came with a deep kind of trust—the kind that lets you say and feel the hard things and still find your way back to each other.
“Sometimes, I found myself asking Mitch the questions I didn’t have the courage to ask Ice in real life,” Diño admitted. “In that way, it became this strange, beautiful reversal—I was living vicariously through Stella.”
The play is deeply personal, but its themes are universal: love, doubt, fear, change.
“For us, it’s about transitioning,” Diño explained. “But for other couples, it might be a partner moving abroad, changing careers, losing a parent—any shift that forces you to reexamine who you are together.”
Still, “Choosing” doesn’t ignore the unique challenges queer couples face—legal limitations, societal judgment, the exhausting pressure to prove that their love is just as real.
“These aren’t just political issues,” Diño said. “They become emotional issues in relationships.”
“We hope everyone who watches leaves with a deeper understanding of who we are beyond the labels,” Seguerra added. “’Choosing’ doesn’t preach, it invites. It doesn’t generalize, but gets specific, and in doing so, it somehow becomes everyone’s story.”
For Seguerra, that’s the ultimate full-circle moment. The kid who once felt invisible is now standing in the spotlight, telling a story that might just change someone else’s life.
“If he saw this play,” he said of his younger self, “he’d know there’s a space for him. He wouldn’t have to worry. Even if everyone told him he was different, he’d still find someone who sees his heart and soul.”
“Choosing,” a production of Fire and Ice Live! with music by Vince de Jesus, returns to the Doreen Black Box Theater at Ateneo de Manila University from June 6 to 15.
