Artist interview: small talk with Eduardo Mossri

• Welcome to FITUT. How does it feel to play your play for the audience of FITUT?Was this your first performance in Morocco? How was the experience and how did you find the audience fed back so far?

Indeed, this is my first performance in Morocco with this play and the first ever abroad the country. It is a privilege actually to perform in front of such a wonderful audience. To tell you the truth I wasrather scared in the sense that I did not know what to expect as a reaction and I dare to say that I got a bit surprised.

Actually, I was told that English is not a common language in Tangier and maybe it is preferable to perform in both Portuguese and Spanish language as we are closed to Spain. But, since we were having rehearsals in English language in Brazil it was quite difficult to do anything at the moment. However, I was astonished by the reaction of the audience; actually, they could get the real spirit and essence of my show and that is an amazing thing!

• Can you tell us where has come from the origin idea of your One-man show (Lebanon Letters)?

Actually, am not a Libanon but it is very true though, because my father is from there, and as you might know, Brazil is a mixture of cultural identities, it is almost impossible to say who is a Brazilian and who is not. In 2009 I decided to bring to life the story of my family. It was just an idea at the very beginning, and has become a play later. I asked the writer, who has also a Lebanese father, to work together with me and make a research in order to collect all the stories of our family and with it, other true stories of some Lebanese immigrants who live in Brazil. It was a kind of a big laboratory from where we had gave birth to the performance of today. In fact, it felt more comfortable to talk about my personal story and other´s real stories because it touches me from within.

• In your country or city, is there any major issue (for example, a contemporary social problem or a specific theme) that artists, neglected to address on stage and you feel the need to talk about yourself? Why?

That is a good question to ask, in deed. When I got my degree in acting from San-Paulo University and moved back to Brazil coming from London, where I have been living for some years, I wanted to be part of different companies but I had a clear idea about what I want to become as an actor. I decided to select prudently the topics of my performances. Take the example of my first One-man show, which was a British text about a boy living with a dog in the street. I believed that it is important to tackle issues that touches our humanity. The same thing could be said about “Lebanese Letters” as it shed light on the question of immigrants in general and the difficulty of getting integrated within a foreign culture. As a human being, I am worried of what I have to talk about because it is important for my life and a kind of a personal challenge to see if I am taking the right path or not. I think my story reflect other people´s sufferance like Syrian immigrants or Africans. Something we can no longer close our eyes on it!

• Some people believe that the charm of drama theatre is almost over or say vanished. Others take acting on stage as a non-glamorous one. What you have to say about it?

This is another good question that I can simply answer by repeating something that has been saidto me once by an old university teacher. He said, “maybe all of the arts could die” because, if you do not have money to eat you are not going to buy a ticket and go to theater. I strongly share his opinion when he said that human beings needs to connect to each other and the best way to do this is to attend plays and get closer to the actors and interact with them. It is the unique way to feel alive!

• Within the same context, some artists would claim that they are seeking to make the world a better place through theatre – can you consider yourself one of them?

It could be a romantic kind of thought, but I do believe so and I do consider myself one of them. I think we can contribute a lot in making change and helping people through theatre.  

• What materials, techniques and themes you deal with in your pieces and do you have always the same artistic practices for your performances?

No not really, In fact, I believe that every show is going to be different. This specific Monologue, for example,depends on the audience. Generally, I know when to start and when to finish the show but it is good to play with the audience a kind of interconnecting with them. I like to improvise a lot; it makes the play much more interesting.

• It is obvious that you like definitely being on stage but then what do you enjoy most in your career?

I love being in touch with people, and I am quite sure that there is nothing more exciting than a warm conversation with people who share the same interests as you.

• What were the biggest inspiration for your career, and what is your personal secret to success?Do you feel that is important for someone to be passionate about your profession to be successful?

I do not know if I got a secret and maybe it is going to be a naïve answer (and I hate to be naïve) but there is no role for this. I think that, it is when I decide do things I really believe in, or when I have a clear idea about what I want to convey to the public. You may consider this as asecret, and yes,I certainly believe that, passion is the key to be successful and the right path to take in this journey.