«I, a coconut seller to see Salemme and Casagrande on stage»
[ad_1]
the interview
NoonFebruary 8, 2023 – 07:33
Interview with Biagio Manna, actor known for the part of the smuggler Armando in “It was the hand of God”. Then came «The lying life of adults» and «Sea outside»
Of Anna Paola Merone
But do you know how offshore motorboats do when they go at 200 per hour? Tuf, tuf, tuf», says Armando the smuggler to Fabietto, while the two get lost in the night in the Gulf of Naples, on their way to Capri in one of the most exciting and true scenes of «It was the hand of God». To interpret Armando Paolo Sorrentino has bet on Biagio Manna, an actor who thus found himself from the alleys of the Spanish Quarters to the Venice Film Festival in the blink of an eye. And that he was then chosen by Edoardo De Angelis to play the suburban priest Don Giacomo in “The lying life of adults”. And that he is also in the cast of «Mare fuori». In the third series of the fiction Biagio is Tonino, a former prisoner of Nisida who has been able to free himself from the underworld by working as a pizza maker and who returns to the juvenile institute to teach the boys his trade. A real character and a true story: that of a young adrift who today has a chain of pizzerias in New York thanks to the opportunities for growth and redemption that he encountered during his detention.
When Paolo Sorrentino chose her, did you immediately understand that she was moving on?
«Before I worked in the theater, small productions, and on small sets. Of course, you immediately understand that things change when you work with a great director, who is also a generous man: you learn Serie A cinema and the first thing you notice is that your self-esteem rises. Of my own making things deferred, but of course I started breathing a different air right away. And to keep my feet on the ground, when I went to the set I would arrive in a pair of old shoes. Just so as not to forget the path taken to get there and all the steps painstakingly lined up one after the other».
First Sorrentino, then De Angelis: weren’t you tempted to move to Rome to have a more comfortable base of operations?
“The thought was there. But for what I do and what I want it’s not a right choice. I live in Naples in the Quartieri Spagnoli and I’m not just an actor: my great passion is writing. And without my city, the alleys, writing has nothing to feed on. I am very happy with what is happening to me, but I don’t get pissed off. De Angelis wanted me right away, he didn’t even audition for me. Within half an hour of our meeting I was already in the costume department. And I’m really honored and excited about it. I’m a fan of him and I love Elena Ferrante’s books »
What did you study?
«Technical Wood Designer»
And what do theatre, cinema and writing have to do with this path?
“Nothing. I grew up in a context where there were few resources, nor was there the possibility of paying for private schools or acting courses. I did this high school because it seemed like a possible and even concrete path».
And when did the fire of acting begin to burn inside her?
«I isolate two different moments. As a child I was a stutterer and in the small school theater, in the Quartieri, they never let me go on stage. I remained marginalized and mute, until the day when – after a long period of speech therapy – I chose to climb those four wooden planks alone and started telling jokes. And I went on without stumbling and everyone laughed with amusement».
And the second moment?
«In the Quarters there are abandoned buildings. Among these skeletons I spread a red sheet and improvised a theater, with some other boys. Those who passed by paid us with a few lollipops, a soda or gave us some change to pay for a fried pizza».
And then what happened?
«That I began to study with Piera Violante who believed in me and supported my path with a course focused on the Stanislavskij Strassberg method. Which in me crossed paths with the traditional Neapolitan theater».
Did you do other jobs meanwhile?
«A thousand jobs, which I tried to intertwine with that of the actor. In the true sense of the word. I wanted to keep them together. I have long sold the coconut on the beach.’
And what is the meeting point between the craft of the actor and the “beautiful coconut”?
“I wrote a script at night. During the day, I rehearsed my texts with potential clients, I won them over with the right lines: I increased the sales of the coconut and measured the impact of what I had written and my acting skills with the audience on the beach».
Other parallel works?
«The waiter, the leafleting, I worked for a health pharma and the door inside».
What does an inside door do?
«He is the figure who stops people outside the clubs and invites them to enter. Here too I got involved with an actor’s approach. I worked all these jobs to pay for theater tickets. I wanted to go and see Vincenzo Salemme, Maurizio Casagrande and all those whose jobs I thought I could ”steal”… I lived in the Marches for a long time, where my family had moved for practical reasons, and even there I never severed the cord that keeps me tied to Naples».
Is he 29, is he engaged?
“I could not. Chasing my dreams means coming to terms with a lack of stability, even financial. And after so many sacrifices and renunciations, I can’t help but look ahead and continue to pursue my goals. But the life of the actor is this. And right now it’s hard for me to imagine a woman who can accept all of this.’
The Corriere del Mezzogiorno newsletter
If you want to stay updated on the news of Campania, subscribe for free to the Corriere del Mezzogiorno newsletter. Arrives daily straight to your inbox at 12 noon. Just click here
February 8, 2023 | 07:33
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED
[ad_2]
Source link
