Ilenia Caleo and Silvia Calderoni experiment with the attunements and relationship possibilities between bodies, starting from a political model of sex in public. These are seen as acts of care between many, and between strangers. A yearning desire for community. The present is not enough draws on memories of the NYC gay & queer world of the 70s and 80s to take us into that scene, getting inspiration by New York’s historical experiences at a time when the Chelsea Piers area was the place to meet. Warehouses where sexual and artistic communities mixed before the arrival and consequences of AIDS, before gentrification via contemporary art too, all of which can only be accessed through insubstantial archives. Situations, gestures and fetishes are reassembled by the two authors on stage, manipulating concepts of temporality, desirability and collectivity, between grotesque, crooked and emotional. The topics criss-cross selections of photos, stories and allusions from fag friends and brothers, the work of David Wojnarowicz or the reflections of José Esteban Muñoz who in Cruising Utopia talks about the possibility of thinking about sex, about cruising in the male gay community, as forms of relationship, ultimately as a form of utopia, a glimmer of something that is not yet here.
Calderoni-Caleo met in 2012 at the Teatro Valle Occupato in Motus’s Animale politico project and began a common project between artistic residencies, research ateliers and performances. Since 2018 they have been teaching at the IUAV in Venice. In 2019, they gave life to KISS, a show with 23 performers. For the Hong Kong Queering Platform they curated the nomadic project SO IT IS. In 2022 they created the installation Pick Pocket Paradise for the Castello di Rivoli (Turin). They are advisors to the Italian Pavilion of the Architecture Biennale 2023.
Silvia Calderoni is an actress, performer and author. She trained artistically with the Teatro della Valdoca and since 2006 has been part of the Motus company. At the cinema she was the protagonist of The Legend of Kaspar Hauser (2012) by Davide Manuli and Moonbird2 (2022) by Rä Di Martino. Since 2023 has been artistic consultant to the Sherocco Festival (Ostuni).
Ilenia Caleo is a performer, activist and researcher. She is a philosopher by training, dealing with corporality, feminist epistemologies and forms of cultural work. She works as a dramaturg and published Performance, matter, affections. A feminist cartography (2021). She is an activist in commoning and queer-feminist movements, she grew up politically and artistically in the community centre scene.
Tony Allotta is a Roman performer and theatrical trainer, with origins scattered throughout the Mediterranean, trained between the School of Gigi Proietti and the Sapienza University. He is the author of three solo theatre shows: Stolen Letters – Looking for Fernando Pessoa where he has never been, The Life Before Us inspired by the novel of the same name by Roman Gary and the Pasolini performance walk Like dogs without a master. He collaborates with various Italian companies, especially from around the Roman scene. He is part of the art collective Isola Teatro directed by Marta Gilmore as well as the artist/activist group against serophobia “White Rabbits”. He plays the part of Califfo in the series The New Pope by Paolo Sorrentino, a character who declares war on the Vatican.
Ondina Quadri works as an actress and performer. She made her film debut with Arianna (Venice 2015), and starred in the films Il Nido (Locarno 2016), Piccolo Corpo (Cannes 2021), Euridice, Euridice (Locarno 2023), Soldato Peter (2023). In theatre she has collaborated with Motus, Teatro Valdoca, Nova Melancholia, Kokoschka Revival, Alexia Sarantopoulou, Silvia Calderoni and Ilenia Caleo. In the visual arts she worked with Andreco and Ludovica Carbotta. In 2017/18 she conceived and co-directed the show Taken For Granted with Paola Stella Minni and Konstantinos Rizos. Quadri lives and works between Athens and Rome.
Giacomo AG, jack of all trades actor, trans, feminist and queer. He collaborates/has collaborated with the companies ATIR, Teatro Ringhiera, Fattoria Vittadini, Atopos, Figli Maschi, and the festivals Santarcangelo, Orlando, Up To You. He is currently a performer in The present is not enough by Silvia Calderoni and Ilenia Caleo, is part of the Spazio ‘500 collective, continuing the independent project Antibody as well as facilitating workshops of queer practices. Sun in Aries, Ascendant in Cancer, Moon in Sagittarius.
Gabor (Gabriele Lepera) was born in Rome on August 12th, 1987. Musician, singer, dancefloor freak and performer, for years he has been an active part of independent cultural movements based in the east of Rome such as the Circolo Fanfulla 5/a, the Tropicantesimo collective, the bands Holiday Inn, Metro Crowd and Next Week Revolution.
Fede Morini is a dancer, author and performer. She grew up in Milan and lived in Lausanne and Venice before moving to Rome where she lives today. She graduated in Ancient Literature with a thesis on gender in Hesiod’s Theogony. She attends IUAV-Arti Performative in Venice and Da.Re. Dance Research in Rome. She has collaborated with Silvia Calderoni and Ilenia Caleo, Michele Rizzo, Alexia Sarantopoulou. With Sebastiano Pala she created Dans ma chambre (CIMD – Milan 2022).
a project by Silvia Calderoni / Ilenia Caleo
with Giacomo AG, Tony Allotta, Silvia Calderoni, Ilenia Caleo, Gabriele Lepera, Fede Morini, Ondina Quadri
sound Gabor + SC
production Elisa Bartolucci
dramaturgical advise Antonia Ferrante and many friends
co-productions Azienda Speciale Palaexpo – Mattatoio | Progetto Prender-si Cura, Kampnagel (Hamburg), Kunstencentrum Vooruitvzw (Ghent), Motus Vague
with the support of Lavanderia a Vapore (Torino)
thanks to Leonardo Cruciano, Michele Di Stefano, Paola Granato, Simona Gallo
ph Rebecca Lena
