The saying 'experience is the best teacher' holds true for Joaquin Pedro Valdes, a Filipino theater actor now based in London. A successful director too in the Philippines before he pursued a career overseas, the talented performance artist made the decision of a lifetime in 2018 when he took on a role in a major production instead of going to drama school, where he had a spot already waiting.

For specifics, Valdes accepted an offer to be an understudy for the roles of Thuy and The Engineer in the West End revival of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg's hit musical 'Miss Saigon,' just as he was about to enroll at a drama school in UK.