From culturally resonant roles to playing Wednesday Addams, the Philippines-born National Institute of Dramatic Art graduate is building a career that expands the visibility of Filipino performers in Australian theatre.
Key Points
- Representation without limitation. Culturally diverse performers are becoming more visible on stage, but culturally diverse communities are not always equally visible in theatre audiences according to Creative Australia's data in 2022.
- A performer with remarkable range. Jen's roles span Fil-Australian political theatre, new contemporary works and major musical characters, including Maria Clara, Chastity, Wednesday Addams and Mattie.
- A journey built on training and resilience. Raised in Perth, she trained in Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and NIDA before entering Sydney's professional theatre scene.
“A lot of us in this industry have gone through many of the same struggles… feeling different, feeling like maybe we don’t belong. And because of that, I think there’s a shared understanding whenever you see a performer of colour in the same room. We’ve probably gone through many of the same things to have gotten to this point.”Jen Guigayoma, Theatre Actress
My parents would never watch a theatre show if I wasn’t in it. It’s not as popular among other demographics, but I think that’s also because there aren’t many of us on stage. It’s not something that we regularly talk about.Jen Guigayoma, Theatre Actress
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