Carlo and the never-say-die spirit

All in God’s time. That’s how Carlo Orosa describes the "arrival" of his first lead role, that of Ugly in Trumpets’ The Ugly Duckling at Meralco Theater up to Sept. 7.

Carlo doesn’t hide the fact that he’s an incurable worrier. He knows that physically, he’s no Richard Gomez nor Aga Muhlach. To top it all, critics of his performance have brought his morale to an all-time low. And he admits he would have attacks of self-pity because of this.

Then came Honk! the story of Ugly, a cock-eyed optimist of a duck who won’t let the taunts of anyone get him down, even for one minute. Carlo sat upright from his seat and realized, "Hey, why can’t I be like Ugly? Why should I let others bring me down instead of rising up to the challenge?"

The realization hit him like a lightning bolt.

"I realized I have special qualities that can make me the person I am meant to be. God prepared me for this role. Everything happened just at the right time," the Christian artist muses.

So it is that at 38, Carlo found himself in a play that not only puts his name way above the others in terms of billing, but is turning out to be a learning experience for him as well.

"How amusing it is that my first lead role is that of a duck!" he chuckles.

Seriously though, Carlo thinks the role (from Hans Christian Andersen’s famous children’s tale) rekindled a never-say-die spirit that has always been within him, making people think he is makulit, when he is just being persistent.

His friend Audie Gemora knew Carlo well enough to conclude that the role was cut out for him (Carlo). When Audie saw Honk! in Singapore, he had no second thoughts offering the role to Carlo, who saw it as a fresh challenge to prove himself anew.

The milieu, theater, is not new to Carlo, who has found his niche in theater as a veteran of many stage plays. Thus, when he sings, say Different, Carlo does it with the aplomb of someone to theater born.

Different, after all, is second skin to Carlo. In La Salle’s Kundirana, for instance, a then lanky Carlo was ranked among the best, but not as good as Gary Valenciano, who stood out above the rest.

He was Benjamin in Joseph the Dreamer, but Carlo did not land the lead role of the favored youngest son who learned how to forgive his erring brothers.

But Carlo did not raise a whimper. He waited patiently in the wings, giving his all in every role, big or small — comical (as that of Tumnus in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) or otherwise (Nicodemus in The Little Mermaid).

Now, this fighting spirit has paid off. After 20 years, Carlo has finally landed the lead role no less, in a production with all the works — from the fabulous costume, to sets, to script, at that.

It is, he says, beaming, a learning experience all over again.

Carlo says he’s learning a lot just by watching the acting nuances of Franco Laurel, who alternates with him as Ugly. It is a sign that even if he’s been there, done that in theater, Carlo never discounts the fact that he can learn from others, even those with less experience on stage than he does.

But that’s not the best part, though. The best part is something intangible, even life-changing. Honk! has made Carlo take another long, hard look at himself.

"Just like the Ugly Duckling, ours should be a positive attitude in life. Ninety percent of our worries don’t happen all the time," Carlo reveals.

He, and the rest of the Honk! cast will be driving home this message in their performances (with matinees) at Meralco Theater up to Sept. 7.

After all, in these times of rebellion and coup attempts, we can use an extra dose of optimism ourselves.