“I can’t don’t think I can express in words how excited I am!!! I am obsessed with theatre, and this is THE event for the theatre-obsessed.”
WHO: Edoardo Tesio
WHAT: “Imagine a bar owned by Love itself. Only people who are in love are allowed in. A couple of young lovers enter the bar. After sultry musical and dance performances, and after meeting many of the guests embodying different types of love, the lovers realise that once someone enters the bar – once someone falls in love – it is hard to get out of it because romantic love can become addictive. Sultry performances. Obsession. Purity. Sex. Are you ready to enter Love’s Concordia Bar?”
WHERE: C ARTS | C venues | C aquila – studio (Venue 117)
WHEN: VARIES (90 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
Yes, it is! It’s the first time for all of us in the theater company, Theater Company della Luna— though we have been planning this adventure for over a year now. I mean, Fringe is such a huge opportunity, not just to share work, but to see it. It’s something that I personally have always wanted to do, and I am beyond thrilled to finally make it happen. And it took a lot of planning— not only the fundraising part, but the convincing people that this crazy idea would be worth it! Our theater company came together on its own, we were just a few friends meeting at NYU who all came from different countries across the world. I mean, I’m from Italy, one of us is from Dubai, one of us is from Japan… everyone from the United States is from somewhere different. And we all have different things we specialize in, which is what I think makes us so strong as a group— but the fact that we are all international always makes the logistical part of what we do a challenge. Coordinating everything amongst ourselves, and then getting our incredible actors on board was no small feat, but after a little over a year of planning, it’s finally happening!!! And honestly, I can’t don’t think I can express in words how excited I am!!! I am obsessed with theatre, and this is THE event for the theatre-obsessed.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
2023 was a year full of ups and downs, but I think the biggest thing I personally have been thinking about recently is the necessity of saying “yes” to yourself. In this industry, in the arts, It can be so easy to feel discouraged at times, or wonder, “Will my ideas work? Can these huge projects I am envisioning I have actually be as big as I want them to be?” But the answer is yes, of course, if only you say “yes” to yourself, without worrying too much about the criticisms of others. Making art is supposed to be fun, and at the end of the day, nobody knows your artistic vision better than you do. And some of the best ideas come from taking risks. I mean, 9 times out of 10, whenever I, or someone else on the team was faced with a risky idea- an idea that we were scared might be “too silly” or “too sexy” “too cringe” or “too much”— the risky thing has been the thing the audience liked most, and the thing we had the most fun doing! I mean, as much as we might want to, we artists can’t read the minds of the audience— so even though it’s hard sometimes, we HAVE to stand strong, and have minds of our own. So many of the jokes in “Love’s Concordia Bar” are just things that we personally thought were funny, or interesting… if they resonated with us, maybe they’ll resonate with others. I am so proud of the work I am doing currently, following my gut and my imagination…. and I know that this is just the beginning, and there is so much more incredible work to come!
Tell us about your show.
Our show is called Love’s Concordia Bar. I co-wrote and produced it with Marjorie Murillo, and the all-original pop soundtrack was written by Olivia Amicangioli. Costumes by Tomoka Takahashi, choreography by Bridget Spencer (that’s Theater Company Della Luna!) This version of the show is debuting for the very first time at Fringe, but we did workshop a different version of this same show- a draft of the same concept, a bar owned by Love Itself- in New York City in 2022. Since then, we have entirely re-written the script, and some of the music has been re-imagined, but the idea is the same: once you fall in Love, it’s not easy to get out of it. I think it’s something a lot of people can relate to, and Love as a broader topic is something everyone has to engage with, one way or another. Whatever your personal relationship to Love, it’s not really something you can escape, societally. So we had people write letters about what Love meant to them, and looked into different names for all different kinds of Love, and from that, made up these insane larger-than-life characters, who we’ve all since become very emotionally attached to. Because now they’re more than concepts, they’ve become complicated people, too… people are complicated!! That’s why we are trying to produce this show on a larger scale, to be honest: because it’s not just a show, it’s a conversation. A very fun, flashy, sexy and burlesque-y conversation!!! We want to make you think, AND we want to make you dance.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
With this being our first Fringe, I’ll admit I am not as familiar with the other people putting on shows this year as I would like to be— but there are a few shows I can definitely, confidently recommend, including some of my former classmates from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, whose work I personally cannot wait to see!
Number one is Gianna Milici’s musical comedy “Pretty Delusional”, as well as Catrin Ody’s “Sent From My iPhone”, which are both going up at @theSpaceUK . Gianna and Catrin are both incredible artists, and I promise you would be doing yourself a disservice by skipping out on catching their work.
As well, I would recommend the “Non-Player Character: Live Virtual Reality Musical” by Brendan Bradley, Maurice Soque Jr, and Michael Morran. It’s an interactive show, combining virtual reality with theater, which I think is such a cool concept! So many people have been innovating the possibilities of theater lately, and I am always in awe of anyone who finds new ways to stretch its limits.
But the show I am looking forward to most right now though is Tit Swingers by Le Gasp! Productions. We just saw one of Le Gasp’s other shows, Julie The Musical in London, and it was fantastic. Such amazing musicians, hilarious comedy, and such an interesting story!!! If you don’t know who Julie d’Aubigny, it’s worth looking into! I can only imagine what other great stories they have to tell. But mostly, I can’t wait to discover brand new shows and artists I haven’t heard of before. There are so many! It’s going to be a dream come true.
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