At the table with... Daniele Finzi Pasca, creativity and imagination at 360 degrees

Daniela Finzi Pasca, when did you first dream of being on a stage or in a circus arena?

I began to understand that it was nice to look the spectators in the face while being an altar boy at the Sacred Heart. You had to remain serious, keep your hair well-groomed, and not make faces. Sitting next to Don Reggiori, I realized that with nothing, you could make the whole church laugh and relax the atmosphere. I didn't become a priest, it was too complicated. I decided to become a clown to make people smile , then I discovered that we actors can tell moving stories.

What were the most important formative experiences that allowed you to become a versatile and multifaceted artist?

One morning at breakfast my younger brother asked with all the naivety in the world: “Why does Daniele leave the room at night through the window and not the door?”. In fact, since I was a child I woke up early, very early; even today I'm on the dance floor at 5 in the morning. I would wake up and climb down from the first floor into the garden and then goodbye , while everyone was asleep. Years later I understood that my parents knew about my escapes and sometimes they followed me, keeping their distance. There are those who trim the blades of grass on the lawn so that the garden is perfectly proportioned , others instead love the exuberance of nature that chooses to grow towards the light as it pleases, as it can, as it can. I am a plant grown in a garden where my individuality was protected and stimulated. I grew up in a family where I could ruffle my branches and grow exuberantly. I grew up in a garden where imagination was at home.

Can you learn the profession of clown or do you need specific skills?

" You need masters, you have to follow them, "stealing" the craft from the apprentice. You have to overcome and digest the setbacks and not pay attention to the initial successes. You have to be lucky, and for those of us who work in theater, knowing how to work in a team is essential . "

What is artistic talent and what should be done to enhance it?

Talent is a gift that must be tested every day. Not using it is one of the stupidest mistakes you can make. Talent must be forged; it is a small seed, it must be cultivated with attention and care. Talent is a wonderfully complicated gift to manage; it is an act of faithfulness to a promise that binds you for life. Talent alone is useless; locked away in a drawer, it is useless. To turn it into a large plant, it takes a lot of perseverance.

What prompted you to found the Sunil Theatre and what is the outcome of that extraordinary experience?

« With my brothers and a group of friends we had an obsession, a mission, a small idea that we cared a lot about and so we got to work: we wanted to change the world ».

At the Sunil Theater, together with his brother Marco and Maria Bonzanigo, he developed the technique of the “Teatro della Carezza”, a vision of clowning, dance and play. What does this approach mean?

" There are stories that heal, that can convey the wisdom of the experiences of those who came before us, the questions both large and small that haunt our anxieties. Our theatre is profoundly linked to the study of empathy; our actors work to expand their perception of their surroundings; we don't think about what to do on stage; we train to embrace the audience . "

Canada is a significant historical base for your artistic creations. Why did you, along with the co-founders of the Compagnia Finzi Pasca, choose Lugano as your headquarters?

Montreal welcomed me, and I worked and collaborated with major theaters, Cirque du Soleil, TNM, and many other institutions. The same thing happened in Mexico, Uruguay, St. Petersburg, Paris, New York, and London. I returned to Lugano when LAC needed legitimacy to exist and justify itself. I returned with the desire to share what we had discovered.

Your relationship with the municipal and cantonal public administrations has not always been idyllic. What is the current situation and how do you judge the cultural policy, in the field of entertainment, carried out by the city of Lugano?

" Over the last nine years, we've presented eight different shows at the LAC, totaling more than 59.000 spectators. If we add the repeats in the rest of Ticino, the numbers are still growing, and this speaks to the affection that surrounds us. I've worked for producers on Broadway, for major opera houses, and in 2019 I was even invited to Vevey to direct that crazy and wonderful Fête des Vignerons, a Ticinese to direct a Confrérie Vaudoise… du jamais vu . There have been successes with Cirque du Soleil and the Olympic Ceremonies, which are measured against the backdrop of millions of spectators. In all these adventures, I had to learn to handle the pressure: there was a lot of money at stake, the expectations, the many unknowns, I had to dialogue with hundred-headed monsters. At home, it's easier, much easier . "

What are the most important projects you are currently involved in?

We've secured the rights to Suzie Miller's Prima Facie , a major play, a monologue that my wife Melissa Vettore will perform. For years, we've been hearing about the violence women suffer and how difficult it is to defend them. Despite the weight of the topic , we'll approach it with our own dreamy perspective. We're putting a lot of heart into this project, which is complex and difficult to tackle, but tremendously necessary.

And for the future, is there a project you would absolutely like to realize?

« Many, perhaps one day I will direct the theatre in the city where I was born or the Carnival in Rio, or the Festino in Palermo, or Icaro by Baryshnikov in New York ».