What is the best thing that I love about my work?

I think that my job is to transmit emotions to those who come to see me at the theater.

Being an actress means being the transmitter between the author of a text and the audience who comes to see the performance.

Conveying emotions is my favorite thing because the audience hangs on my every word and can’t wait to see how the story will end.

In those moments it is not me who is on stage, but my character and I act and speak as the character I am playing would.

This happens every time, for every repetition and every time time time crystallizes in an image and I am always there in that moment to act, think and speak like my character.

What is my idea of happiness?

Happiness is a very subjective concept.

For me happiness is looking at my daughter and realizing that she is growing up and doing it the way she wants to.

With my and my partner’s indications and suggestions, of course, but she is making her own way, which I hope will be wider and wider and full of personal satisfaction.

Seeing her happy is what gives me the most joy because her happiness is mine.

What is my greatest fear?

Losing my memory.

Forgetting who I love, who has lived moments of happiness or sadness with me, forgetting dates, places, people who have been part of my life.

This is my greatest fear.

For an actress, memory is fundamental, not so much the mechanical one, but the scenic one, made of sensations, gestures, emotions.

Losing all this is my biggest nightmare.

What is the trait that I most deplore in myself?

I can’t let anything go. If I think I’ve suffered an injustice I can’t leave it behind. I think back and plot to make the person who perpetrated the damage pay for it. Obviously, everything is never resolved through legal action, but very often I have been forced to go on for months before getting my due.

Which living persons in my profession do i most admire?

Unfortunately, all the actresses I admired and who were a constant inspiration to me have died. Anna Marchesini, Franca Valeri, Monica Vitti. Those who, in one way or another, made me live a dream, are no longer with us, and unfortunately there is no generational change that can make me not regret the time that has passed and that is not coming back. At the moment, there are no actresses who can equal those who have accompanied me for a lifetime and who have made me love this work.

What is my greatest extravagance?

While I live like all human beings, I have no great appetite for extravagance. Only in the theater do I manage to do what I would not do in everyday life. Sometimes I think that my real life is the theater because only there do I feel I can truly express myself as I want to. Without constraints of any kind, without judgments, without limits. In the theater I can do anything. Offstage, my greatest extravagance was getting my ears pierced when I was 40.

On what occasion would I lie?

Never. Lying is a harbinger of destruction.

What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work?

In my work unfortunately everyone tends to look at their own garden without thinking that collaboration could be very fruitful. People think they are always the best and denigrate their colleagues. It’s a really bad thing. It happens in the small and in the big city, it happens with famous people but especially among non-famous people like me. It’s very depressing because, especially now, theater needs everyone’s energy. But, sometimes, these people don’t understand the importance of culture and just want to bring their presence on the scene trampling on everything and everyone.

When and where was I the happiest, in my work?

I’m always happy when I see that my work is appreciated, when I see that I managed to convey emotions through my interpretations and I see in the eyes of the audience, all that world that I tried to tell.

If I could, what would I change about myself?

I would like to be less irritable, to let things slide off me like water off plastic and not feel sorry for everyone except myself, I would like to learn to think of myself first and then of others.

What is my greatest achievement in work?

I’ve been able to act in cities and theaters that as a child I only imagined, I’ve made films and I’ve been able to see myself on the big screen in many cities, I’ve dedicated myself to comedy and drama and I can follow both directions, I’ve established important collaborations and met cultural figures who have enriched my mind and my knowledge.

Where would I most like to live?

Exactly where I am now.

What is my most treasured possession?

Obviously my daughter. She is everything I wanted to be. Intelligent, smart, creative, uncompromising. And she is only 7 years old!

What is my most marked characteristic?

Probably madness. That healthy madness that pushes me to dare. Where many would retreat, I advance, I throw myself into situations and make them my own, I try, I experiment, I always push myself further to test the human being, his emotions and his feelings.

What is my most inspirational location, in my city?

I don’t have a precise place or a precise city. Everything and everyone can give me inspiration at any time. The actress’s job is to “steal” everything that can be useful for the purpose. Analyze it and re-propose it under your own magnifying glass.

What is my favorite place to eat and drink, in my city?

Pubs. I like pubs because in my country they are open until late and I can go and eat after a show or after rehearsals. Wherever I went in Italy, I always ate in pubs. If I want to treat myself to a luxury, I take refuge in the mountain villages of my region to eat typical high quality products.

What books influenced my life and how?

I really appreciated “Crime and Punishment” by Fedor Dostojewskij, but also “The Portrait of Dorian Gray” which is an excellent example of writing. Then I love Italian poets such as Antonia Pozzi, Joyce Lussu, Alda Merini…

You Only Die Once. What music would I listen to on my last day?

Obviously Madonna. Probably “Like a prayer” but also “God control”. But I would like “Can’t help falling in love” by Elvis Presley to be played at my funeral.

Who is my hero or heroine in fiction?

Wonder Woman is certainly my favorite. Maybe it’s because I grew up with Linda Carter on the TV shows and she was really wonderful and still is!

Who are my heroes and heroines in real life?

My daughter is certainly my favorite heroine. She is exactly how I wanted to be: strong, brave, smart and feminine. All these are things that I had to learn over the years, it took me a long time. She, on the other hand, has them as innate qualities and will surely improve and get wherever she wants to go. That’s why I take her as a daily example to improve the world around me and to improve myself.

Which movie would i recommend to see once in a lifetime?

Definitely Mary Poppins, which is a perfect movie from every point of view. Then all the films of Marylin Monroe and Joan Crawford who were the best and sweetest actresses in Hollywood. For Italy I recommend the films of the great directors De Sica, Wertmuller, Vancini, Antonioni.

What role do stories play in my life and work?

Stories are important in my work because they allow me to create the character I’m going to play, I have to take inspiration from everything to write my scripts and to build all the characteristics of the character or characters I’m going to play.

What do the words ‘You are the storyteller of your own life’ do to me?

It does. That’s exactly how it is. We build our lives day by day, nothing is written, we must not give up in front of difficulties and fight until the end. We must bite into life because otherwise it will bite us. We can’t just wait for events to happen. We must be the ones to build our future.

Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime?

Always my daughter. I’ve never received so many certificates of esteem and understanding as from her. She understands me, supports me, imitates me and this gives me a lot of pride because she takes me as an example and I hope I am worthy of it. In general, I have never received much support from my family because they never believed I could do anything with my work. So if I had to choose one person to live my adventures with it would definitely be my daughter.

Which people or companies would I like to work with in 2022?

I don’t have precise names because, as an actress, I’m a bit of an old whore (in a good way), that is, I go where I’m paid. Unfortunately, in my line of work there are many cases where you don’t get paid. It’s frustrating and demoralizing because few people perceive that of a theater actress as a job. Culture, in general, is not perceived as a job from which one can live. Despite everything, I manage to make a living at it so that means it can be done!

What project, in 2022, am I looking forward to working on?

I have written 2 new plays and plan to represent them around Italy, then there is the Fringe festival in Rome which I would like to participate in because it is a great showcase for artists. I still have courses in which I teach acting to children, young people, adults and the elderly that I bring to the stage and make them act to the amazement of the audience.

Where can you see me or my work in 2022?

The future doesn’t scare me, I’ll try to be present in the major theater festivals.

What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me?

I am happy with the work I have chosen because it allows me to improve every day without a moment’s rest, it forces me to be always ready to receive external stimuli in every moment of my life, it gives me the possibility and the obligation to work until the end of my days because in the theater, for those who know how to act, there is always a part.

Which creative professionals should Peter invite to tell their story?

Luca Vagnoni, Sergio Soldani, Serena Dellisanti, Manuela Lunati, Frank Micucci Ganapati, Massimo Pizzingrilli.

How can you contact me?

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/gaia-dellisanti-57377432/

Fb https://www.facebook.com/gaia.dellisanti

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gagliardaaa/

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0ZFmeB18hkvzdV7Nu7BzZA

Mail: gaia.gagliarda@gmail.com