Marco A. Calleja

LONG POST ALERT ...

Watching Season 3 of Heartstopper in preparation for the movie, and 18-year-old me is screaming with joy.

What a beautiful thing it is to see q***r stories represented so naturally, so honestly, and so unapologetically in mainstream culture.

To the younger generations: never underestimate the power of seeing yourself reflected on screen. Not as a stereotype. Not as a tragedy. Not as a lesson. Just as a person. Experiencing life, friendship, first love, heartbreak, joy, and all the messy, wonderful things that come with growing up.

When I was growing up, this visibility simply didn't exist.

It started slowly. Hunting down films from TLA. Ordering the occasional DVD from Play.com (yes, DVDs — those shiny discs that stored movies before streaming existed). Searching for stories about people "like you".

Many of those films were important and beautifully made, but so often they were rooted in trauma: abuse, homophobia, HIV, rejection, loss.

Heartstopper is different.

It acknowledges struggle without making suffering the whole story. It shows q***r young people as part of a vibrant, diverse tapestry of humanity — each navigating their own challenges, dreams, friendships, identities, and love stories.

And while I celebrate how far we've come, I hope younger generations never forget the shoulders they stand on.

As Will Truman said in Will & Grace:
"You guys can never forget the struggle that came before you, the people that fought and loved and... and died so that you could walk down the street in skinny jeans with rights you never even knew you never had. The minute we forget what we went through to get here is the minute it could all be taken away."

Happy Pride. 🏳️‍🌈

A little spotlight for **Chiara and Elena**. 🎭✨

Last Friday, they wrapped up their individual acting sessions with me and now they’re off on their next adventure.

They’ve worked hard, grown in confidence, and challenged themselves every step of the way.

This week, they’ll walk into an audition room. Whatever the outcome, we’re already proud of them.

Go enjoy it, trust yourselves, and give it your all. 💛
Let’s show them some love. 👇

May was intense. And then June came with the harshest lesson of all.

May was a blur of deadlines, productions, funding applications, reports, assessments, rehearsals, meetings, travel, logistics, budgets, and plans.

Building The Panto of the Opera. Running HPA through its busiest month. Taking 44 people to Birmingham. Producing an original musical with university students. Managing events, performances, and all the administration that nobody sees but everyone relies upon.

The work mattered.
The art mattered.
The ambition mattered.

Then life reminded me that there are things that matter more.

Loss has a way of reframing everything.

Not diminishing the work, but putting it in its proper place.

The truth is that while some people will always demand more, take more, expect more, and feel entitled to your time, energy, and attention, there comes a point where you realise that not every urgency deserves to become your urgency.

Some things can wait.

A quiet coffee.
A laugh with friends.
An afternoon with your child.
A conversation that lingers.
A memory being made without realising it at the time.

The work will continue. The next production will come. The next deadline will arrive.

But peace of mind, presence, and the moments that stay with us long after the applause fades are worth protecting.

June, Jon, and Karl have all reminded me of that.
💛

❤️❤️❤️

This was an emotional one and will forever have a special place in my heart. ❤️