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[title]Throughout September, In the Midst of So Much Fire (tickets here), by Spanish playwright Alberto Conejero, can be seen at Dumont 4040. The play arrives in Buenos Aires under the direction of Alejandro Tantanian, with Victorio D’Alessandro in the lead role. The actor takes on the mantle of Patroclus, “the most beloved by Achilles,” in a one-man show full of poetry, projections, and music by Axel Krygier. A queer and contemporary take on The Iliad that strips away solemnity and dives into desire. “The biggest challenge was to hold such a solemn text on my own and bring it down to earth without losing its poetry,” D’Alessandro tells us.
How did you approach this character to give him his own voice in this contemporary queer version of The Iliad?
I came to it because I knew the author, Alberto Conejero. I had read La piedra oscura, and I was familiar with other works of his. I went to Teatro del Barrio in Madrid, saw this production, and was fascinated: a theater of words, an epic story told from another perspective. I really liked the staging, the actor, the director, and of course, the text, which is the most powerful element. It’s a great piece of theater. That was what excited me the most about bringing it here and performing it in Argentina.
Under Alejandro Tantanian’s direction, what was the creative process like to build Patroclus? What challenges and discoveries emerged during rehearsals?
It was the kind of process you usually go through in theater, but since it’s a one-man show, you work with your own awareness, your own timing, and your sense of rhythm. With a partner, there’s a back-and-forth; here, it’s with yourself and the tools you have. With Alejandro, we found a way to narrate The Iliad in a space divided into sections that function like chants, while at the same time showing the evolution of the character who tells this love story that perishes under the Trojan War. We started with an idea of how to tell the story and then, working with the text, looked for nuances so it wouldn’t be monotone, so it would have different moments. We also added projections to accompany a text full of meter, alexandrines, and poetry. It was hard work, rehearsing almost every day. I started studying the text in March, and in rehearsals new things began to appear, as they usually do: one idea opens different paths within the same atmosphere. The biggest challenge was being alone on stage with a text that already carries solemnity. We didn’t highlight that solemnity—we grounded it—but we also embraced the poetic moments and the special musicality it has.
“The biggest challenge was being alone on stage with a text that already carries solemnity. We grounded it, but we also embraced its poetry”
With original music by Axel Krygier and choreography consulting by Florencia Viterbo, the play seems to explore body and senses. How did these elements influence your performance and the overall atmosphere?
With Flor, we arranged some movements that could be used—or not. We laid out many physical and sonic possibilities for the play, and then decided what stayed. Her perspective, coming from body expression, dance, and rhythm, helped me a lot. The same with Axel, with his music and effects: he not only created atmospheres, but also gave us cues, exits, and support. Working with artists of that caliber makes you feel much more supported.
From your beginnings in Casi Ángeles to more recent projects, how has your approach to acting evolved?
An acting vocation, like that of any actress, actor, director, or writer, goes hand in hand with personal maturity. You acquire new curiosities, different urges to tell stories. Evolution has to do with how you evolve as a person: the projection you put into your career is tied to the hunger to tell stories. With time, you also gain confidence and security to choose texts and dare to do a one-man show. And we’re always evolving: it’s about staying curious, researching, working for the play and for the story you want to tell. If you work well, you enjoy it, and so does the audience. I’ve been working for more than 20 years, always with great responsibility, looking for projects I like. I’ve done theater since I was 13 or 14. I grew up reading Ibsen, Chekhov, Shakespeare, García Márquez, Benedetti, Lorca, Borges… you’re also what you read and what you watch. That defines which texts you take on and where you go.
“I’ve been working for more than 20 years, always with great responsibility”
What projects have been most meaningful in your professional development?
I don’t have one more important than another, they all have their place. But I remember very fondly a series I did with Hugo Arana, Círculos. It aired at a terrible time slot and didn’t get visibility, but it was a great story with a character I really enjoyed. The people who did see it still have wonderful things to say about it, and that makes me happy.
Besides In the Midst of So Much Fire, what other projects are you working on right now?
In October I’m shooting a film in Paraguay, and the second season of En el barro is also coming out. But right now my head is in theater, in premiering the play here and then going on tour. I try to live day by day, at a slower pace than life runs today.
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Is there a genre or format you’d like to experiment with in the future?
I’m always moving between series, film, and theater. I also enjoy writing and maybe one day I’ll direct something for the stage, but for that I want to keep learning as an actor and listening closely to directors. I always approach work with great responsibility and try to surround myself with people who know their craft. Right now, I’m really enjoying learning from Alejandro Tantanian.
PING PONG
Favorite Buenos Aires neighborhood and why: Villa Urquiza, the neighborhood where I live.
Dish you can’t resist: Asado.
A book that marked you this year: None in particular. La llamada by Leila Guerriero really captivated me.
Series or film you’d recommend without hesitation: Severance or Lost as series. And films, Parthenope by Paolo Sorrentino or Love by Gaspar Noé.
Actor or actress you admire: Leo Sbaraglia and Pilar Gamboa.
Something that always makes you laugh: My dad’s jokes.
A phrase that represents you: “You’ve got less street smarts than Venice.”