Why there are rules in improv, according to Gabe Mercado

One of the bravest things Gabe Mercado did in his 40s was to move from his hometown of Quezon City to Baguio. He said, “If I don’t do this now, I will never have the courage to do it later.”

- By JANUAR JUNIOR AGUJA

Mercado, now 52, has been based in Baguio for eight years. Explaining his decision to leave the city where he was born and raised for one he had frequently visited since he was a child, he said: “You’re brave until you’re about 40, and then you get too comfortable in your ways. I decided to move to Baguio while I still had that bravery left in me.”

Although he moved to a city where he had no family or friends to rely on, Mercado easily found his peers thanks to Baguio’s arts-centric culture and slower pace of life.

“The people I would never meet in Metro Manila, I would meet them in Baguio instead. It’s a place where you want to catch up,” he said.

While Mercado is still acting, his main focus is his work as the executive director of Vivita Philippines, a nonprofit organization that fosters creative thinking among Filipino youth through makerspaces and project-based learning.

He also serves as vice president of Koppett Asia, a leadership development firm that helps corporate leaders improve communication, teamwork, and leadership through storytelling and improvisation.

- Improv is like a conversation -