In a quiet neighborhood in Pasig, where residents can take
leisurely walks and teenage girls are free to roam in scooters, actress Alice
Dixson has found a home. The two-bedroom condominium unit with an attic for a living
room will be her base now that she's picking up her acting career again.
In August 2000, Alice migrated to Canada with husband Ronnie Miranda, the entrepreneur behind Storm Visualization & Imaging Inc. Last December 2001, when Alice came back to spend Christmas with her parents in Taytay, Rizal, she was offered TV and film projects. "When I got home," she relates "sunud-sunod na ang mga offers ko. I told my husband, ‘Hon, it looks like I'm gonna be here a bit longer than I expected.'"
Ronnie, a former teacher at Ateneo de Manila High School, understood. Alice recalls what he told her: "Sige lang, okey lang. In a couple of years hindi mo na rin mababalikan yung career na iniwan mo. Sige, habang bata ka pa, sige, balikan mo. When you have a family, hindi mo magagawa 'yun. Enjoy it while it lasts."
"Mabait naman siya," is how Alice describes Ronnie in a tone that shows just how much she thinks of him these days when they're apart.
Her husband is not the only one she misses. She also yearns for the uncomplicated life she was leading in Vancouver. "Nami-miss ko na nga," she admits. "Because simple lang ang buhay ko doon. I'm just an ordinary person. I could go to the grocery, spend hours going through the aisles, picking out items to cook. Just to relate to people on a non-showbiz level."
There, Alice is a member of a choir, a part-time employee at a boutique, and an acting student. There, she found people she could relate to. "Parang nag-uumpisa pa lang ako magkaroon ng mga friends."
Then, with a hushed voice and a faraway look in her eyes, she says, "Iba ang buhay ko doon. Simple lang."
She might as well be describing her self and the kind of life she wants to lead. Her condominium unit is furnished with no more than the essential sofas, dining set, beds, refrigerator, and stove. There is no décor save for a few colored throw pillows and a crystal desk clock. And instead of having photos of her and Ronnie framed, Alice opts to stick them to the side of her dresser mirror where she can look at them each time she gets herself ready to go out.
Our stylist noticed the absence of make-up items on her dresser table and commented: "Mas marami pa akong abubot kaysa sa kanya!"
"Hindi talaga siya maarte," says her personal make-up artist Jean Castor. "Simple lang at conservative."
Road manager Vanessa Marcelo of Arnold Vegafria's ALV Productions has been egging her to take on an entirely different image. "We want to repackage her, reinvent her in a sexier mold," says Vanessa.
Alice, who admits that being a star is "difficult," confesses that she got into the business out of a desire to be noticed.
With great honesty, she says: "When I was younger, my parents were both working. So I never really had a playmate. My parents weren't always there for me to talk to. So basically I grew up by myself. And I realized through self-examination, the reason why naging artista ako, parang feeling ko siguro kulang ako sa pansin. I wanted to get attention."
Alice has been in show business since she was 17, or for over 15 years now. Her foray into acting has not only given her work and an acting award (1998 Metro Manila Film Festival Best Actress for Sambahin Ang Ngalan Mo), but also a creative outlet. She puts it this way, "I look at it as a profession. At the same time, it's my way to express my art, my craft."
Having been out of the entertainment scene for over two years, Alice is still adjusting. She admits: "I was talking to [The Philippine Star columnist] Ricky Lo one time and he said, ‘Mas mahirap talagang mag-comeback.' Sabi ko, ‘Oo nga.' Sometimes out of sight, out of mind ka. So you have to rebuild again. Let people know you're back and you wanna act!"