Reb Atadero is rewriting his voice from curtain call to a digital stage
A seasoned theater actor who once brought stories to life under the spotlight is bringing them to your screens, with history as his creative script.
Reb Atadero reimagines his role as a storyteller, now becoming known as a digital educator. In this era of regeneration, Reb bridges both past and present, showing that creativity can take on new forms.
When live performances halted during the pandemic, the theater actor found himself, like many artists, in a creative limbo. “I was bored out of my mind,” he recalls. What began as a series of fun livestreams in March 2021 instantly shifted in tone when he asked students joining his livestream, “How was school?” and, overwhelmed as they were by online learning, they said, “Sana hindi na lang kami nag-enroll.” That answer hit him like a truck.
“Maybe I can make learning fun. I have years of training as an actor and as a host, so why not combine it with something I really love, which is history?” he thought. So began his pivot into content creation. “I’m a really big nerd for that stuff. So I combined it with storytelling, and the rest is history,” he laughs.
Content creation only started as a side project born out of circumstance. But slowly, as theaters reopened and audiences returned, something surprising happened. People began recognizing him—not only from the stage, but from their screens. “They would watch the shows that I’m in, and they would actually greet me, knowing me from my content,” he says. That shift confirmed that he wasn’t just dabbling anymore. “I’m a content creator, I really am. At the same time, I am still a theater actor and 2025 is my 19th year on stage, and it's really cool to not just be one thing.”
For Reb, storytelling is a bridge to the audience. “If the storyteller is passionate about what he/she is doing, you can feel it as the audience. You’re now engaged, and (you) come back for more,” he says. “When you share something, it is a performance art.” His digital work isn’t a departure from theater, but an extension of it. “Editing is still part of the storytelling—it’s a gigantic part. How has it evolved? I guess I’ve paid more attention to detail in both aspects of my job.”
As he reimagines his craft across traditional and digital platforms, one thing remains constant: preparation. “I have learned that things will get more interesting when I really sit down and do as much research as possible before I step on stage, before I even write the first word of my script for content,” he reflects. “It's the attention to detail, the preparation.” History, after all, demands accuracy at all times—and empathy. And theater, he says, is also an exercise in empathy.
Having two different jobs across mediums also sharpened Reb’s sense of nuance. Onstage, he portrays different characters with complex provocations. Online, he presents historical figures with the same depth, resisting easy labels of good or bad. “The more nuances, the better. And if it's complete for me, it's gonna be a more complete experience for my audience.”
Yet the transition hasn’t come without any challenges. Theater is inherently collaborative; content creation, on the other hand, can be isolating. “When it's just me, it's a dictatorship because I only follow myself,” he jokes. But returning to the theater always grounds him. “It feels good to be able to be in a room where you are encouraged to share, and be part of a final product, and all that matters is you have a piece of you in there, somehow.”
@rebranger Ever wondered how it works backstage? Thank you, Encore Theater for letting me be a part of this unforgettable and necessary story! It will forever be one of my career’s highest highs. Thank you, Floy Quintos. #boomnowyouknow #theatre #theater #graceatpeta #actor ♬ original sound - Reb Atadero (IG @rebranger)
Despite his dual roles, Reb resists being boxed into any one label. “To me, what’s needed at the moment, that’s what I am.” His parents, especially his mom, have been his biggest support system, and his philosophy is simple: be authentic. “That’s the biggest gift I think being a performer has given me: you can be whatever you wanna be.”
Maybe I can make learning fun. I have years of training as an actor and as a host, so why not combine it with something I really love, which is history?
It’s a satisfying feeling to receive compliments for what you do, whether you’re an actor or a content creator. But for Reb, applause and algorithms mean little without intention. “At the end of the day, I think I’ve always wanted to be purposeful with what I want to put out there.”
“To me, impact is when somebody messages you online or goes to you after the show and says, ‘I saw my brother in you,’ or ‘Thank you for telling that story, it moved me,’ or ‘Gusto ko rin pong maging artist tulad niyo.’ It's in the person-to-person interaction.”
So what’s his next destination? Reb isn’t chasing another platform, but depth. “Instead of trying to enter another industry and trying to be a multihypenate, for me, the more important thing is to understand more things about the world,” he says. “It's the empathy and understanding, and (the gap in) nuance and critical thinking—that's what I wanted to fill. And if I’m able to just move one person towards that direction, that to me is impact.”
