SINGER-ACTOR Robert Seña has been scoring high points with every performance he turns in. We first took notice of his promise in 1992, when we caught his brief but bravura guest stint in Lea Salonga's homecoming concert at the PICC. All it took was a Pavarotti song "Nessun Dorma" for Seña to get a huge ovation.

Seña was Salonga's colleague and batchmate in London when "Miss Saigon" first went on stage 10 years ago. From the chorus, he eventually took on the major roles of Thuy and The Engineer when the producers took notice of his talent.

While in London, Seña took pains to improve his natural skills, even paying £100 per voice lesson with renowned vocal teacher Mary Hammond. "I believe that learning is never ending, and the more aware one is as an artist, the quest to do more and perform better comes naturally. Then you realize that people expect much more from you and the discipline required has doubled, but you just keep on making room for improvement," Robert says.

It was also in London that Seña realized he was falling in love with his longtime best friend, Isay Alvarez. The two started out almost at the same time when both passed the auditions for "Magsimula Ka." "Things happened so fast. In about two month's time, we tied the knot," he smiles.

"Magsimula Ka" was Seña's baptism of fire in the theater world. He also remembers playing comedian Dolphy and many other roles in the hit musical "Katy!"

"I thought that life was simple and I was happy doing all those roles until 'Miss Saigon' came along," he recounts. "I was even late for my auditions but Cameron Macintosh and the rest of the core team didn't reprimand me." Seña chose the classic "Somewhere" for his audition piece, and was called back right on the same day.

He vividly remembers that there were eight of them who were asked to learn "Morning of the Dragon," a song from "Miss Saigon." "Then they had to eliminate some people and a friend of mine was even a victim of the final cut. I thought he had more chances than I did--but I guess things happen for a purpose," he recalls.

Seña's passage from Manila to London was not without hassles. He was almost taken out of the cast because Actors' Equity in London questioned why they had to choose two actors from Manila for the swing parts when one could be played by their London-based actor. "It was good I went to Jim Paredes, who was then one of the officers of OPM, and asked for help. Medyo kinabahan siguro ang mga puti, kasi di nila akalain, meron din tayong grupong tulad ng OPM," Robert grins.

So off he flew to the West End and showed that part of the world what stuff our local talents are made of. He was described as brilliant by his co-actors, and even went to Stuttgart, Germany to play Thuy when "Miss Saigon" opened there a few years ago.

When he flew back to London, an audition for the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" was taking place so he went and tried out. Seña took on the exacting role of Judas and got glowing reviews for his part.

Now 36, Seña is very different from the little boy who used to attend St. Francis School and Paco Catholic School. "I was so ordinary and I never thought I could sing and one day perform all over the world," he says.

Tonight, Seña will again delight local concert aficionados when he guests in Lea Salonga's show. He will be performing two solo numbers, "This Is the Moment" from the musical "Jekyll & Hyde," and "Unexpected Song" from "Song & Dance," another Broadway hit.

"I will also sing two duets with Lea, 'A Whole New World' and a medley of 'Miss Saigon' numbers. It will be wonderful to share the stage with Kim again!"

Many people in the entertainment circuit thinks that Seña is now ready for the bigtime. He got rave reviews for his Ravana character in "Rama at Sita." His name always lands on the list of powerful singers. He saved "One for the Soul" from being last year's concert popper with his splendid numbers. Even his guru role in the local anime "Pintados" is getting good feedback.

"I am enjoying all this. I hope to prove that theater actors can truly cross over to pop and mainstream entertainment. I am keeping my fingers crossed," he shares.