OF MUSIC, MAGIC AND MANIFESTATION
Singer and actress Shiela Valderrama-Martinez reflects on how believing in magic opened the door to a 30-year career spent on stage.
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Singer and actress Shiela Valderrama-Martinez reflects on how believing in magic opened the door to a 30-year career spent on stage.
For someone who spent the better part of her days acting and singing on stage, Shiela Valderrama-Martinez’s story began while sitting in the audience as a little girl.
She was watching musical theater legend Lea Salonga in Annie, and it was her personal eureka moment. “I told my seatmate, ‘I wanna be on that stage and perform,’ and it happened,” she shares.
Believing in the powers of manifestation, she set forth to carve out a storied career as a theater actress and singer. As Valderrama-Martinez celebrates her 30th year in the industry, she marks yet another major milestone — a dream spot on the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Triple Threat concert stage. As the stage lights go on, she invites everyone to join her on a magical musical journey, saying, become “Part of my world.”
Growing up in a business-minded family, a career in theater was an unexpected path for Valderrama. But destiny had other plans. While at school in O.B. Montessori, she found herself immersed in theater, getting cast in musical productions because she could sing. “The shows were also open to the public, which made them sort of professional. I was one of the few who would get lead roles who wasn’t an artista, because there were many of them in my school,” she recalls. ‘We’d also get exposed to the professionals because the likes of Freddie Santos would come to do workshops.”
In those early years, a role that stood out was playing Kim when they did excerpts from Miss Saigon. “I was so nervous because Lea was watching! But I’ve performed with her in other school productions since,” Valderrama notes.
This set her on the path toward taking a summer workshop at Repertory Philippines, where Valderrama was bumped up to the advanced class. Her classmates back then included the likes of Radha, Tim Yap and Waya Gallardo, who were also finding their way in theater at the time. As things progressed, she was asked to take part in joint auditions for several upcoming productions. At just 14, the idea was both daunting and exciting. “I felt so small, and the professional actors were owning the stage,” she recalls. “My prepped song was “Part of Your World,” and I was hoping they would at least let me finish a stanza.” They did, letting her sing through to the chorus and the bridge, which led to a callback. She eventually signed on as the cover for the role of Cinderella and as one of the fairies, followed by a part in Aladdin.
Hiatus
Valderrama took a seven-year hiatus from performing when she went off to college, pursuing a business degree with the intention of joining the family business. It was a bit of heartbreak, along with a close friendship with actor Joel Trinidad, that led her back to the stage. There were open auditions for Rep’s new staging of The Secret Garden, so she auditioned. “I got in, and the rest is history.” She hasn’t stopped performing since.
With her mind set on a career in theater, Valderrama needed to dig her heels into the work. Her three-year stint with Hong Kong Disneyland was an eye-opener, giving her a chance to live independently and find her footing in the world. To convince her parents that she could make it work, she made sure there was another job waiting for her when she decided to move on to something else. She shares, “You need to treat working in theater like a business, so it’s a viable and sustainable way of life.” With so many roles under her belt and more to come, this is clearly a formula that has worked well in her career.
At the moment she was asked to be a part of the 2024 season of CCP’s Triple Threat series, the wheels in Valderrama’s head started turning. She was drawn to the title Part of My World as an ode to the audition song that changed her life and used it as a creative anchor for the show. There were a few must-haves for this dream concert. “I was always enamored with the idea of performing with a live orchestra. That is a must,” she explains. Actress and director Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo was also top of mind to direct the show “as she has seen me grow in my career, from when I was starting in Rep. She was also the first one to do a Triple Threat concert, and she knows what the experience is like,” says Valderrama. “She is also the first lady of Philippine theater!” Handling musical direction is Rony Fortich, who has also worked with her since her days at Hong Kong Disneyland. Rounding out the cast for the show are Valderrama’s fellow “Leading Ladies” Yanah Laurel and Carla Guevara-Laforteza.
Among Valderrama’s special guests at her concert are the actors who have been her leading men in past shows, including Arman Ferrer, Floyd Tena and David Ezra. Among them is her real-life leading man, fellow actor and singer Lorenz Martinez. One of a handful of artistic couplings in Philippine theater, they met while working on The Secret Garden back in 2001. “We’re actually different from each other. Everyone in the show was a witness to our ligawan,” shares Valderrama. Since then, they have worked together on the majority of their projects, growing and learning in the industry together, including their stint at Hong Kong Disneyland and the Cinderella tour. “We often watch each other’s rehearsals and performances,” shares Martinez. “We discuss our acting choices with each other and even give notes when we ask for them. We help each other in that sense.” Most recently, they were part of the hugely successful run of 9Works Theatrical’s Once On This Island.
“I believe in manifestation. If you manifest something, it can happen. All the major points of my life are a result of that,” says Valderrama. “I am always in awe and grateful when I see it unfold.” Her CCP Triple Threat moment sits at the sweet spot of training, hard work and dreaming big. With each performance, she draws inspiration from the great musical theater voices that came before her, carrying them with her as part of the very fabric of her artistry. As she ticks dream roles and performances off her list, her husband Martinez says, “All of her success is a result of Shiela’s dedication to her craft.” When the lights go up on her big night, Shiela Valderrama-Martinez looks back on an already impressive body of work while also taking her place as one of the brightest stars and a driving force in Philippine musical theater.
