Aiza’s daring dreams

Aiza Seguerra could have easily settled into a routine after staging a sold-out birthday concert at Music Museum and recording the phenomenal hit, Pagdating ng Panahon for Vicor Records. Except that complacency is not the name of her game.

At the presscon of her upcoming horror- special effects film for Regal, Singsing ni Lola, Aiza was holding the script for The Rocky Horror Show, a play she’s doing for Bobby Garcia’s Atlantis Productions next month. While she’s internalizing her role for Singsing ni Lola (playdate: Oct. 30), Aiza is studying her lines for the comedy-horror play, where she is cast as Eddie and Dr. Scott at the same time.

"I don’t want a boring life. I balk at routine," she explains.

Little do people know that Aiza was once upon a time into theater, having done such plays at The Little Shop of Horrors and The Wiz. Until she filed a leave of absence to concentrate on her showbiz comeback, she was also a Fine Arts sophomore at UST.

"I can’t think that clearly in Fine Arts when I’m in showbiz," she explains.

Still, Aiza is learning a lot from her new show, Body Talk, a trailblazing sex education program she will host for the Knowledge Channel soon. Aiza has taped four episodes and she’s bristling with excitement over this brand-new world of hers.

"We will tackle topics close to the hearts of high school students, the target audience for the show," reveals Aiza. Topics range from virginity, to sexual abuse to the evils of drugs and smoking. Aiza will interview an expert on each topic for good measure.

At 19, Aiza could easily relate to her audience, the kind who also sang and waxed sentimental with her when she recorded the wistful Pagdating ng Panahon. This is why she said yes right away to the offer from the Knowledge Channel.

If something else can be said of Aiza, it’s that she loves the colorful, daring life. This much she admits over a late lunch for Singsing ni Lola. Like her character in the movie’s predecessor, Bahay ni Lola, Aiza wouldn’t mind embarking on one big adventure after another.

One way of doing this is by getting into a criminology course so she can be – hold your breath – a detective.

But not just any kind of private eye. Aiza wants to be a detective with a cause.

"I want to study criminology abroad and practise it here so I can help the poor people with unsolved cases. Seeing all those unsolved criminal cases frustrates me a lot. I want to put up a center where poor people can go so they’ll have a fair chance in fighting for their cases," she explains.

Aiza is not planning this big, bold move with eyes closed, though.

"It will be dangerous, especially when you reside in the Philippines. By then, my family will be abroad," she says. By that time too, fans will be missing her sorely; yes, she would be out of showbiz.

But before anyone raises a howl of protest, Aiza herself assures everyone that it will not be anytime soon. She has yet to record a Christmas album with her mother company, Vicor. And, because her birthday concert last month was such a success, she’s just waiting for a good signal from her bosses at Vicor to hold a repeat show.

No wonder Aiza, down to 103 lbs. (she lost 27 pounds) after taking a no-rice diet for her birthday concert, is doing everything to maintain her new weight. Her demanding career requires that much her. And, the trooper that she is, Aiza is taking these demands oh-so-seriously.