Snapshots presents Edu Díaz (Spain to U.S., 2019-20) on his upcoming solo show Fantastic Mr. S
"...after six months of vibrant, social, and inspirational life in NYC, the pandemic hit my dream. Ironically, I became like the character of my play: a lonely man in isolation, dealing with extreme anxiety."
Can you tell us about your upcoming solo show Fantastic Mr. S?
Fantastic Mr. S is an unusual solo show that involves puppetry, lighting, sound, - and tons of childish imagination - to tell the adventure of Simón Santacruz, an antihero in crisis fleeing from a disturbing island.
Created and performed by myself, Fantastic Mr. S began as the project I presented to apply for the Fulbright grant that brought me to the Susan Batson Studio in New York, home to incredible artists such as Nicole Kidman, Juliette Binoche, and Lady Gaga.
Fantastic Mr. S will make its world premiere in October at the United Solo Festival of New York City: it’s an exciting way to close the circle three years after I arrived in New York with a bunch of ideas.
Could you tell us about how your experiences during your Fulbright award contributed to the development of Fantastic Mr. S?
They’ve been fundamental. During an exercise at the Susan Batson Studio -my acting school and hosts as a Fulbrighter- I realized that the piece would be based on my father, who tragically passed away after years of self-destruction.
Then, after six months of vibrant, social, and inspirational life in NYC, the pandemic hit my dream. Ironically, I became like the character of my play: a lonely man in isolation, dealing with extreme anxiety.
Fortunately, the faith of Susan Batson and Carl Ford kept the project going, which was developed remotely from that apartment in Manhattan, and then from a garage in the Canary Islands. Actually, Batson is a coproducer, and Ford is the director and dramaturg.
The Fulbright experience not only changed my vision and life. I am finding my voice as an artist, which is the essential goal for everyone that wants to tell stories.
If you could invite one famous person to dinner, who would it be?
For this challenge that I’m meeting - the biggest in my career - I will break the rules and make a reservation for dinner for three. Joining me would be Antonio Banderas. I have a bunch of questions for him about his experience as an actor in the US and a theater entrepreneur. And I would get inspired by another genius in the field: Lin-Manuel Miranda.
About Edu
Edu Díaz is an actor, producer, and marketing and communications expert from The Canary Islands (Spain). He has produced several shows in key venues in Spain and performed in theater and films. In 2019, Edu won the Fulbright grant in Performing Arts, which led him to produce international-nature shows as a creator and performer. Fantastic Mr. S is the first project of his new career stage.