ALTHOUGH she is not a follower of the iconic entertainment franchise Star Wars, Filipino-American artist Maya Encila credits “The Force” for bringing her to the Philippines.
“I came to the Philippines because I know something was pushing me,” the 17-year-old native of Arizona said in a recent interview with the BusinessMirror. “I know there was a force telling me to go to my second home.”
Encila’s interest on the Philippines, particularly its theater circuit, grew when she and her father Robert watched Philippine Stagers Foundation’s (PSF) presentation of #Popepular in Quezon City. Encila was blown away, so to speak, with the wonderful performance of the group founded by lawyer and actor Vince Tañada. After the presentation, Encila yearned to be a member of PSF to fulfill her ambition to be a top stage actress. Lady luck was on the side of the multitalented performer from Arizona.
Tough
ENCILA was able to meet Tañada at a cast party. She told Tañada immediately of her plan to join the PSF.
For the “audition,” she was asked to sing—for “fun”—“On My Own” and “Reflections.” After the two numbers, she was admitted to the PSF. “After the interview, he told me to prepare for my first show, Filipinas 1941, this weekend,” Encila said.
“I had only a week to learn the stuff. It was tough,” she added. “It was my first Tagalog role ever [and] I was conscious of my slang.”
But since we had many shows, they told me “You’re going to be better inevitably,” said Encila, who received positive reviews for her stellar performance in Katips: Ang Mga Bagong Katipunero.
Encila played Lara, a balikbayan searching for her father. She finds out that he died during the First Quarter Storm.
“It was my most challenging role so far because when you read the script you would think Lara was superficial,” Encila said. “But when you act her part, you would realize she was a deep person.”
She impressed the audience with her acting, singing and dancing.
DNA
PERFORMING is in Encila’s DNA as she grew up in a very artistic household.
Her father is a musician, actor and drama teacher, while her mother is a visual artist. Furthermore, Robert operated a community theater company in Arizona.
Since she was 3 years old, Robert was already preparing his daughter to be a no-nonsense performer. He bought Maya a small platform stage and a small karaoke machine so his daughter can perform.
Her parents would often watch her signing.
My parents were telling everybody “this is what she wants to do,” according to Encila.
She was determined to be excellent in her craft. She studied ballet as early as 6 years old and took up singing lessons to polish her voice at 14 years old.
Safe place
AS she got older, Encila always returned to the theater because she said this is where she could express herself. “Honestly, in school I was known as the theater girl. But I wasn’t involved in the theater industry,” Encila said. “It was just my own little safe place.”
Unlike other young people who instantly yearn for fame, the soft-spoken Encila said her motivation is to perform for a theater audience. The charming teenager admits she did not have much social life.
“I had a normal life, except that I didn’t have much of a social life because of ballet and theater,” Encila said. “But I was okay with that because I love that.”
“Doing theater has benefits as it developed my character, work ethic and perseverance,” she said. The support of her teachers and parents complemented her hard work.
Although she was exposed to community theater and church choir in the US, Encila says she never did anything as big as PSF. She admits doing theater is not a walk in park.
Nevertheless, she remains unfazed because this is her calling.
Comfort zone
ONE of the goals of PSF is to educate millennials in this crucial part of the country’s history through a material that is both educational and entertaining,
Encila admits meeting Tañada was “life changing” because she learned what a professional actress meant. She said Tañada motivates her and other members to raise the bar in their performances.
Encila has gone a long way since she first came to her second home when she was 14 years old. She acknowledges it was scary at first because she was plucked out from her comfort zone.
But she had to do it to grow as a person. Aside from her father, Encila is also grateful to the support coming from her mother because “she knows I am going to be happy with what I am doing.”
“Before coming to the Philippines, I had a lot of plans,” she said. “But I just trusted the force and I just waited for the things to come.”