Meet Edoardo Tesio

We recently connected with Edoardo Tesio and have shared our conversation below.

Edoardo, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

As a kid I was obsessed with dolls. Back home in Italy I have hundreds of dolls. My grandma gave me my first two dolls at Christmas when I was five years old. I had eyes only for those dolls. I spent the following ten years expanding my dolls collection and coming up with stories with them. I created this world in which dolls and humans were in a conflict and the dolls in toy stores were prisoners of war that kids could save by bringing to their houses and creating a safe space for them. I created this queendom of dolls and I just kept making stories upon stories that took place in it. There was no judgment there. Just my dolls, my love for storytelling, and I. Remember this, there was no judgment, just stories.

I don’t exactly know why, but every time I come up with the idea of a new theater show, I always go through a similar experience. It is night. I feel angry, upset – but it’s a very specific kind of angry and upset. Then I turn all the lights off, I put some music on, I start walking around the house, and 100% an idea comes up. Every time. I can’t control when I feel like this, but when I do, I know I am about to create a new story – it’s as sure as science.

When do these moments happen? Usually when something emotionally impactful happens in my life. I consider myself to be a pretty sensitive person. I let life impact me and I feel a lot… This has its pros and its cons, but it surely allows me to get those moments that then lead me to coming up with new stories. Life happening keeps my creativity alive.

When those moments happen I feel like I used to feel when I used to feel when I used to make stories with my dolls – not judged.

I also get inspired a lot by other artists. If I’m looking for inspiration I watch Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride or any of the movies written and directed by Ferzan Ozpetek. They are truly masterminds in writing about human emotions.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

As an early teenager I used to love acting. However, according to many of my teachers back home in Italy, I had no future in the industry because “you’re too feminine, you’ll get no roles if you don’t learn how to man up.” I’m never going to learn how to man up. I don’t want to and I don’t need to. I’m powerful in my femininity. So, I was faced with a choice – either I don’t pursue my dream in theater or I try to change the rules. I went with the latter. At 15 I wrote my first theater show – a show where a man being feminine is not a problem. I didn’t talk about the fact that I was feminine. It just didn’t matter. It was normal. It was this cool story set in a magical circus with big pop dance numbers to Britney Spears’ songs. A few months later, I wanted to put it up, but I had no idea how to do it. So I just did it. I put together a cast, found a venue, fundraised to pay for the venue, budgeted the project, planned the rehearsals, and promoted it. I produced it without knowing that was the term for it. I really didn’t know what I was doing. The entire cast left half way through the process not believing we were ever going to make it. So, I found a new cast and I made it. All Eyes on Me! debuted in December 2017 in a sold out theater in front of a crowd of 357 people. That night changed my life. I felt free to be who I am and finally beautifully normal.
Shortly after, I brought the show to an Italian theater festival. The judges were fighting over the appropriateness of its empowerment, the different body types equally being given power to on stage, and, of course, the vulgarity of a man in heels. Had I performed a two hours monologue about body shaming or my experience with homophobia I would have been praised. The minute I let a variety of people with different backgrounds and appearances tell a story that is just a story, it’s controversial. Isn’t it hypocritical? I believe that words are powerful, but facts even more so. My cast and I just being ourselves on stage was enough to start a huge conversation. After opening, the dancer that was criticized for her appearance the most told me that that night she had “fallen in love with her body for the first time.” That’s a beautiful thing! Yet, it was so disturbing to some people. That’s when I realized the power of the theater I want to make. The power of real normalization. It is empowering for who needs empowerment – such as that dancer and some of the audience members who looked like her – and a slap in the face for who needs one – such as some of those judges. We won third place and an award as “The Most Talked About Show in the History of the Festival.”
When a few months later, at 17, I went back to straight acting at NYU, I realized my dream had changed. I want to bring my own stories to the stage. I started writing so much theater. I like to tell tales about human emotions set in imaginary worlds. For example:
A burlesque bar owned by Love itself where the only requirement for entry is that you have to be in love, but once you are in the bar – once you are in love – it’s hard to get out because romantic Love can be addictive after you experience it the first time.
A yard where four Queendoms of flowers are fighting for land wasting the entire Spring and Summer they have to live, until Winter arrives showing no mercy to them all equally.
An actor who wants to kill the character they are playing because it triggers unresolved trauma from their past.
And so on. I write stories about real life through magic. On top of them, add big fun pop musical numbers (think Britney meets Tim Burton) that – rather than moving the stories forward like in musical theater – build the worlds of the shows. It’s unapologetically authentic and maximalist escapism. I call it pop theater.
At NYU I met four people that changed my life – Olivia Amicangioli, a songwriter and music producer, Bridget Spencer, a choreographer, Marjorie Murillo, an actress and director, and Tomoka Takahashi, a costume designer. During sophomore year I told them: let’s make a show together. And we did. I wrote it, while they wrote the music and made the choreography. I put together a cast and produced it, faking it until I made it – I had a cast and a set of dates before I had even secured a theater!!! – and we performed. And then we did it again with a new show… And again… And again… Until two years ago, not even out of college, I started my own ensemble based theater company with them – Theater Company della Luna. Did I have a clue on how to run a company? Contracts, banks, grants, proper fundraising, taxes, finances, accounting, pr agents? No – I was getting a degree in acting! But I’m learning so many things on the way by studying on my own, talking to people, and just doing it. In two years, I produced and directed six of my original theater shows between New York City and Italy – four of which with Company della Luna. I scouted, led, and collaborated with over 150 actors, designers, and artists coming from 14 different countries. And then came the off-Broadway run, Edinburgh Fringe, Lovers Film Festival, the New York Theater Festival, the regional theaters, the national newspapers in Italy, press in American and British outlets such as Broadway World and The Daily Brit, and the positive reviews. I have produced 8 original shows in the last three years between New York, the UK, and Italy.
I’m tired of seeing gay characters dramaturgically being just that – gay. I don’t like when people say that I produce “queer” shows. No, I produce shows where many characters happen to be queer, but that’s rarely the point. Being queer isn’t a personality trait. That’s, in my opinion, real normalization.
I am currently attending the MA Arts Management and Entrepreneurship program at The New School. Theater Company della Luna’s show Love’s Concordia Bar which I co-wrote and directed will be coming to New York after its successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this past summer.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Resilience is definitely up there. In the arts, like in many other industries, it’s way more common to get a no rather than a yes. So I decided to say yes to myself and just open my own company. My career is definitely still a work in progress – I’m 23. But nobody is going to hand you the keys, you might as well just work hard and try to open the door yourself.

Knowing how to bring people together and learning the value of collaboration is vital. Yes, I had the initial vision, but i wouldn’t be able to do everything that I do without my fellow company members. It’s about finding a balance in a group, but also being open to different perspectives and ready to listen. Five minds are better than one and can also get more work done. It is important to know how to delegate and it definitely took me a while to get there.

Taking breaks and time to rest would have to be my third one. This one I’m definitely still learning. I’m a workaholic. I love what I do but I also struggle with anxiety if I am not working because I find myself thinking “I could be doing more.” However, breaks are necessary. If I don’t take breaks, my body will just not allow me to keep working. Does it mean I’m properly taking care of myself taking time off from work? Working on it, but I definitely understand how important it is.

My advice is to work hard because – let’s be real – nobody is going to do it for you, but have fun and be present while you do it. Otherwise why do it in the first place? And listen to what your body is telling you. Stop if you need to.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

I am going to be real here – it’s anxiety. The work I do with the company is so fulfilling for me, but also very draining. I have big goals, but sometimes I get so anxious about having to work that I don’t stop and appreciate what I have already achieved. Burnout is a beast. It’s okay to be tired or less productive for a day or two. It’s important to have a life outside of this. See, I’m saying this but I still struggle with following my own advice. Therapy has been of great help. It’s teaching me to accept that I am human, not a robot. Taking time to do things that I love that are not related to theater with people I love is also helping.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://edoardo-tesio.com
• Instagram: @edoardotesio @companydellaluna

Image Credits

Jonas Dellow, Marco Sersa, Riccardo Ezzu, Emmettia Henderson, Jack Hyler