Meet Edoardo Tesio

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

Hi Edoardo, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

Funny enough, it all started with Britney Spears. When I was fifteen, I would spend hours watching her music videos and dancing along in my room. Something about it just felt good – it was pure joy, and it made me fall in love with who I was. Through dance, I started to embrace my own identity, my femininity, and my sense of self-expression. Despite what everybody said.
Then came the industry. As I began sharing my work and building my theater company putting on shows I wrote and directed, I encountered producers and gatekeepers who told me things like, “It’s too gay to be mainstream,” or “You’re too feminine on stage.” Feedback that helps you grow is one thing, but those kinds of comments cut deeper – they made me question my place in the field and in life.
I rebuilt my confidence through the work itself. Writing new stories, shaping a vision that felt true to me, and collaborating with artists who believed in it – Olivia Altair, Marjorie Murillo, Soraya Omtzigt, Bridget Spencer, and Tomoka Takahashi – reminded me why I do this. They don’t just understand the vision; they’re part of it. I can’t express how key these people are for me. A good community does wonders in my opinion. Or at least it does for me. Honorable mention to my parents who support me and love me.
Knowing that I have something to say, and that I’m not saying it alone, gives me purpose. It’s what grounds me when doubt creeps in. I still get affected by criticism, but believing in the work – and in the community that builds it with me – keeps me strong. Even if “it’s too gay” for a producers’ liking. And on the hardest days, I just put on some Britney, start dancing, and somehow everything falls back into place.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m a writer, director, and producer who creates theatrical worlds that celebrate femininity in people of all genders. Through my company, Theater Company della Luna, my collaborators and I tell original dark fairy tales set in imaginary worlds to explore the complexity of human emotions. We want to blend that blend pop music, fantasy, and commentary. I call what we do pop theater — imagine Tim Burton-inspired stories meeting Britney Spears-inspired performances. My personally objective is to make an audience to laugh, reflect, and maybe even want to dance before the night is over.
What excites me most about our work is normalizing authenticity on stage. In the worlds we create, a man being feminine isn’t a statement.
Our company has presented work in Off-Broadway venues, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in Italian regional theaters, and at international festivals such as Lovers Film Festival, where we were invited twice by former parliament member and TV personality Vladimir Luxuria. Critics have described our shows as “a highly entertaining mix of drama, comedy, music, dance, social commentary, and a dash of fantasy.”
Right now we are developing our new pop theater show, The Perfect Story. It’s a meta-theatrical piece about the exhaustion that comes from constantly chasing perfection in the arts industry. It follows an apprentice writer in a magic library who becomes trapped in the impossible task of creating “the perfect story,” only to realize that perfection is the very thing suffocating her heart and mind and, subsequently, her creativity. It’s about burnout, self-worth, and the courage to keep making art – even when you feel like you’re not enough. But, of course, we still make it sexy!

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

The three qualities that have shaped my journey the most are self-determination, passion, and self-care.
Self-determination taught me that you can take things into your own hands and make them happen, even when they’re not perfect. Some of my early shows were messy, but they happened because I refused to wait for permission. Maybe it wasn’t the best show ever, but we got out there, we learned, we connected with audiences, and we grew. That’s how you find a better way: by doing.
Then there’s passion. If I didn’t believe so deeply in the work, I wouldn’t have had the motivation to keep going through all the rejection and uncertainty. Passion keeps me grounded in my purpose when everything else feels unstable.
And finally, self-care, which, honestly, is still a work in progress. I used to think taking a break meant losing momentum, but I’ve learned that burnout will stop me faster than rest ever will. Our new project, The Perfect Story, is actually about that realization: that chasing perfection without balance only leads to exhaustion. My advice? Take that break. If you don’t, your body and mind will eventually force you to.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

It’s not a book – here I go again doing things my way, but Corpse Bride has had a huge impact on me. I’ve always loved its whimsical yet dark tone and how it explores very real human emotions like longing for connection, empathy, and loneliness.
Is it dramaturgically perfect? I’ll say it: I don’t think so. There are a few plot holes, and I notice them every time. And yet, I cry every time too. It’s not perfect, but it’s authentic, and that’s what moves me.
That film taught me that the “perfect story” isn’t the goal. Authenticity is. You won’t connect with everyone, and not everyone will connect with your work and that’s okay. What matters is creating something that feels true, something that makes even one person feel understood.

Contact Info:

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

Image Credits

Riccardo Ezzu, Emmettia Henderson, Laura Cravero