Her days went by like clockwork.
She would be at her nanny job by 4 am. College classes at 8 am, bank teller job by 2, fundraising job by 7 and other modeling jobs by 10 pm. She can probably sneak in an hour or two of sleep but when the next day begins, she follows the same schedule all over again.
Some people thought she was insane to spread herself so thin. But US-based Filipina theater actress Shelene Atanacio may just as well have donned a cape and a superhero costume with a big “S" in the middle of her chest. She was a superwoman. If she wanted to reach her dreams, she believed there was no other way to do it but to be one.
The little dreamer
Shelene was among the first generation of her family to grow up in Daly City, California. Back in the ‘70s, the city was populated mostly by immigrant Filipinos, so much so that it was dubbed “Little Manila."
Recently, she flew to Manila to promote her self-development book “Act From the Inside Out" where she shares acting techniques that she used to improve her life and achieve her dreams.
In an interview with GMANews.TV in Makati, Shelene said that although their family was living in greener pastures, her family did not have it all too easy.
“I don't like to say that we struggled because in a Filipino family, you are always fed and you have clothes and you are always taken care of. But we definitely weren't wealthy. Money was definitely an issue. It wasn’t easy to afford a college education," she recalled.
In the working class community, the kids on Shelene’s block pretty much followed the same routine: go through high school, marry the first boyfriend, then settle down and have a family. Even Shelene’s parents didn’t go to college because they married young and had her too early.
This posed a challenge for the young girl who was filled to the brim with big dreams.
“Growing up I had all these ambitions in life. It was very difficult for me to see myself pursuing it because I was so shy. I had a lot of insecurities. I didn’t have the confidence to pursue it," she said. “I didn't feel like my family valued a higher education. Not that they didn't want me to go to college. But I was very ambitious. I wanted to go to an Ivy League college. I don’t think they understood what that meant."
The young Shelene often daydreamed about becoming a lawyer. She thought that being a lawyer meant you’re professional and successful. Come career day in school, she would research and write about being a lawyer. She would imagine herself handling a case and acting as if she was in a courtroom.
During her final year in high school, Shelene won a model search for Macy’s Department Store and got an agent to handle her modeling career. To help her gain more confidence and land more jobs, Shelene had to take acting classes – a minor decision that made a major impact on her life.
“It wasn't until I started taking acting classes that I started to gain confidence and part of that had to do with stretching outside of your comfort zone as an actor. Little by little I felt it chiseling away at my insecurities and I started gaining more confidence," she said.
The shy little dreamer became a go-getter girl ready to take on the world.
The supergirl
Shelene didn’t land in an Ivy League school, but she enrolled in a Political Science course at University of California in Berkeley.
With very little money to sustain her college education, she worked five jobs at a time to support herself.
“I tried really hard," she said. “If there weren't enough hours in a day, I would make it. I'd work. I really, really wanted it."
Applying what she learned from her acting classes, Shelene would launch her own “acting experiments" to harness her skills. While struggling with her shyness, she would participate in university debates to squeeze every ounce of her confidence. She would find activities and opportunities at every turn to develop her skills and to strengthen her weaknesses.
To inspire other young people to study, she participated in outreach programs to communities of Filipinos and other people of color. Eventually, she served in the UC Berkeley’s student government as a senator and advocated for increased funding for outreach programs to poor communities.
Finally, she found what she was missing while growing up in Daly City. At UC Berkeley, she was in a community of people who understood the value of education. She saw people like her who had dreams and definite plans to pursue their ambitions.
The best actress
Her final year in university became a crucial turning point in her life. While studying for her law school admission test, she worked as a legal assistant in a law firm and realized that being a lawyer wasn’t what she wanted to be.
“I remember going through a crisis because that was all I knew I ever wanted to do," she said. “I discovered that the work wasn’t good and the lawyers were unhappy. I even pursued non-profit law. Even then it wasn't happy. The work wasn't what I thought it was gonna be."
Meanwhile, she also found herself starring in her own real life drama. She had a son and got married at 21.
“I always had this push and pull feeling inside me. I was very driven but at the same time, I also felt very pressured by my family to settle down," she explained. “I realized it wasn't right for me. There were so many things that I wanted to do. When you get married so young, you don’t know yourself yet. It's hard to really know yourself more with somebody else."
She got a divorce and started to chart her life’s direction on her own. Suddenly a single mom, Shelene became even more driven to set herself up for success.
Following her natural penchant for acting, she pursued her theater career with fierce passion. She would drive six hours from her home in San Francisco to Los Angeles to attend acting classes or to audition for plays. She knew that as long as she pursued her passion, everything else, including money, would follow.
“There 's a lot of ways to do what you love, and part of it is creativity. If you really love what you're doing, you don't do it for the money. I remember acting many times and not ever getting paid. But eventually, I did," she said.
Shelene’s career soon took off, landing her key roles in plays like “West Side Story" and “Vagina Monologues.“ She even performed the one woman stage piece “Underneath the Smile," inspired by her grandparents’ experiences and recollections of World War II in the Philippines.
In 2001, Shelene started doing movie roles including that of a young Harajuku seductress in “Harrison Montgomery" which starred Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau. She produced her own action movie, “Code Name: Dragonfly" in 2009.
The thriving artist
Breaking the mold of starving artists, Shelene is thriving in her chosen career.
“I feel like there's still so much I can do. I'm still walking through the path of my dreams. But I can say that I am living the dream," she said.
One of the keys to her success was her determination and discipline. Even as she strived to be a hands–on mom, Shelene would make time for her other passions like modeling and writing.
But one important quality that made her a thriving artist was her entrepreneurial spirit. Shelene knew she couldn’t put all her eggs in her acting basket, so she diversified her income streams and found a way to earn money from the things she loved to do.
“Once you are living your passion, it doesn't feel like work, because you love to do it. Even though you come across challenges and it could be hard, if you really want it, nothing can make you stop loving it," she said.
Looking back through her life, Shelene remains grateful for the struggles she had to go through. The stress, the heartache and the sacrifices she endured all made her into the strong woman that she is today.
Although in the beginning, she didn’t know how to get where she wanted to be, her strong will, discipline, and hard work eventually helped her to get there.
“My success had a lot to do with the journey I've been on, learning those life lessons, finding my own value and strength, trusting myself and having faith," said the 30-year Shelene, who is currently based in San Francisco.
An actress, a superwoman and a mom, Shelene’s real-life play goes on. And when her act is done, she will certainly get a standing ovation. – YA, GMANews.TV
She would be at her nanny job by 4 am. College classes at 8 am, bank teller job by 2, fundraising job by 7 and other modeling jobs by 10 pm. She can probably sneak in an hour or two of sleep but when the next day begins, she follows the same schedule all over again.
Some people thought she was insane to spread herself so thin. But US-based Filipina theater actress Shelene Atanacio may just as well have donned a cape and a superhero costume with a big “S" in the middle of her chest. She was a superwoman. If she wanted to reach her dreams, she believed there was no other way to do it but to be one.
The little dreamer
Shelene was among the first generation of her family to grow up in Daly City, California. Back in the ‘70s, the city was populated mostly by immigrant Filipinos, so much so that it was dubbed “Little Manila."
Recently, she flew to Manila to promote her self-development book “Act From the Inside Out" where she shares acting techniques that she used to improve her life and achieve her dreams.
In an interview with GMANews.TV in Makati, Shelene said that although their family was living in greener pastures, her family did not have it all too easy.
“I don't like to say that we struggled because in a Filipino family, you are always fed and you have clothes and you are always taken care of. But we definitely weren't wealthy. Money was definitely an issue. It wasn’t easy to afford a college education," she recalled.
In the working class community, the kids on Shelene’s block pretty much followed the same routine: go through high school, marry the first boyfriend, then settle down and have a family. Even Shelene’s parents didn’t go to college because they married young and had her too early.
This posed a challenge for the young girl who was filled to the brim with big dreams.
“Growing up I had all these ambitions in life. It was very difficult for me to see myself pursuing it because I was so shy. I had a lot of insecurities. I didn’t have the confidence to pursue it," she said. “I didn't feel like my family valued a higher education. Not that they didn't want me to go to college. But I was very ambitious. I wanted to go to an Ivy League college. I don’t think they understood what that meant."
The young Shelene often daydreamed about becoming a lawyer. She thought that being a lawyer meant you’re professional and successful. Come career day in school, she would research and write about being a lawyer. She would imagine herself handling a case and acting as if she was in a courtroom.
Confidence is key. Acting classes and modeling helped Shelene develop the confidence she needed to succeed.
During her final year in high school, Shelene won a model search for Macy’s Department Store and got an agent to handle her modeling career. To help her gain more confidence and land more jobs, Shelene had to take acting classes – a minor decision that made a major impact on her life.
“It wasn't until I started taking acting classes that I started to gain confidence and part of that had to do with stretching outside of your comfort zone as an actor. Little by little I felt it chiseling away at my insecurities and I started gaining more confidence," she said.
The shy little dreamer became a go-getter girl ready to take on the world.
The supergirl
Shelene didn’t land in an Ivy League school, but she enrolled in a Political Science course at University of California in Berkeley.
With very little money to sustain her college education, she worked five jobs at a time to support herself.
“I tried really hard," she said. “If there weren't enough hours in a day, I would make it. I'd work. I really, really wanted it."
Applying what she learned from her acting classes, Shelene would launch her own “acting experiments" to harness her skills. While struggling with her shyness, she would participate in university debates to squeeze every ounce of her confidence. She would find activities and opportunities at every turn to develop her skills and to strengthen her weaknesses.
To inspire other young people to study, she participated in outreach programs to communities of Filipinos and other people of color. Eventually, she served in the UC Berkeley’s student government as a senator and advocated for increased funding for outreach programs to poor communities.
Finally, she found what she was missing while growing up in Daly City. At UC Berkeley, she was in a community of people who understood the value of education. She saw people like her who had dreams and definite plans to pursue their ambitions.
The best actress
Her final year in university became a crucial turning point in her life. While studying for her law school admission test, she worked as a legal assistant in a law firm and realized that being a lawyer wasn’t what she wanted to be.
“I remember going through a crisis because that was all I knew I ever wanted to do," she said. “I discovered that the work wasn’t good and the lawyers were unhappy. I even pursued non-profit law. Even then it wasn't happy. The work wasn't what I thought it was gonna be."
Meanwhile, she also found herself starring in her own real life drama. She had a son and got married at 21.
“I always had this push and pull feeling inside me. I was very driven but at the same time, I also felt very pressured by my family to settle down," she explained. “I realized it wasn't right for me. There were so many things that I wanted to do. When you get married so young, you don’t know yourself yet. It's hard to really know yourself more with somebody else."
She got a divorce and started to chart her life’s direction on her own. Suddenly a single mom, Shelene became even more driven to set herself up for success.
Following her natural penchant for acting, she pursued her theater career with fierce passion. She would drive six hours from her home in San Francisco to Los Angeles to attend acting classes or to audition for plays. She knew that as long as she pursued her passion, everything else, including money, would follow.
“There 's a lot of ways to do what you love, and part of it is creativity. If you really love what you're doing, you don't do it for the money. I remember acting many times and not ever getting paid. But eventually, I did," she said.
Act to succeed. Shelene's book shares acting techniques you can use to improve your life.
In 2001, Shelene started doing movie roles including that of a young Harajuku seductress in “Harrison Montgomery" which starred Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau. She produced her own action movie, “Code Name: Dragonfly" in 2009.
The thriving artist
Breaking the mold of starving artists, Shelene is thriving in her chosen career.
“I feel like there's still so much I can do. I'm still walking through the path of my dreams. But I can say that I am living the dream," she said.
One of the keys to her success was her determination and discipline. Even as she strived to be a hands–on mom, Shelene would make time for her other passions like modeling and writing.
But one important quality that made her a thriving artist was her entrepreneurial spirit. Shelene knew she couldn’t put all her eggs in her acting basket, so she diversified her income streams and found a way to earn money from the things she loved to do.
“Once you are living your passion, it doesn't feel like work, because you love to do it. Even though you come across challenges and it could be hard, if you really want it, nothing can make you stop loving it," she said.
Looking back through her life, Shelene remains grateful for the struggles she had to go through. The stress, the heartache and the sacrifices she endured all made her into the strong woman that she is today.
Although in the beginning, she didn’t know how to get where she wanted to be, her strong will, discipline, and hard work eventually helped her to get there.
“My success had a lot to do with the journey I've been on, learning those life lessons, finding my own value and strength, trusting myself and having faith," said the 30-year Shelene, who is currently based in San Francisco.
An actress, a superwoman and a mom, Shelene’s real-life play goes on. And when her act is done, she will certainly get a standing ovation. – YA, GMANews.TV
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