September 2, 2008: A special interview with Diqui James, creator and director of Fuerzabruta, about the philosophy behind the show, the famous water segment, casting, and more!
From the creators of De La Guarda, Fuerzabruta is an event where worlds collide, dreams are real and reality takes a back seat. Club beats and mellow new world music fill the air as performers run and tumble, whirl and spin, and sail over the heads of the audience in a new show from the creators of the long-running aerial sensation De La Guarda.
 Question: You are originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. How is theatre different in Argentina than it is here?
Answer: From an artistic point of view theater is very similar everywhere in America and Europe. The main difference between Argentina and the US, is that in Argentina there are a lot more underground and self produced plays and live performances. Here, in Buenos Aires, people still believe that things can happen without waiting for funding. The general feeling in Buenos Aires is that it is all out there to be created.
Q: How do you think your up-bringing and training there contributed to the creation of De La Guarda and Fuerzabruta?
A: When we started touring with De La Guarda I realized how Argentinean the show was and I had previously never perceived it that way. We were working with very universal feelings and elements, but the energy, the craziness and the acting are such a reflection of Buenos Aires, and I love that.
Q: Where have your shows been most popular?
A: If I had to choose two places I would pick London and Tokyo. I think the audience’s reactions were crazy and inspiring. Also the media was very clever in the way they spoke about the show. In those two cities people really enjoyed and understood the show.
Q: What is the philosophy behind Fuerzabruta?
A: Fuerzabruta is today. It is not theatre of the future, nor does it repeat itself time and again from the past. Fuerzabruta is now. It doesn't invent anything. It is a phenomenon natural and inevitable. The result of millions of years. It has it's origin in the depths of the ocean, in the botton of glasses, in a walk down the street. Fuerzabruta doesn't have a purpose. It is.
Q: What special skills do you look for when casting your shows?
A: When we hold auditions we look for performers who are physically strong and in tune with their bodies. They must also possess a wide emotional/expression range; they have to be able to do things small and subtly but also be crazy and wild.
 Q: How did you come up with the now famous water segment? Was there a fair amount of trial and error in creating that set piece?
A: The first thing I had in mind was a girl walking in the air, over the audience’s head, playing with a puddle of water that was following her. After a lot of research, we found a very strong, 1/4 millimeter thick, transparent material which we used to build the flying pool. That morning, I was walking to the rehearsal space from home and I was almost dying. I knew that we were going to see that scene for the first time and I had huge expectations for it. I knew that if we didn’t like the set, it would be so painful for me and for all the team. When we turned off the lights of the Whorehouse and the girl was standing there in the air, playing with the water I just cried. Nobody realized that, of course, I just started shouting through the microphone everything I wanted her to do: Walk! Stop! Play with the water! Jump!! It is amazing!!!!! We were all so happy. I was shocked. It was more beautiful than anything I could have ever imagined. It was a gift; one of those moments we are always looking for. Remembering it, makes me want to come back to work in the rehearsal space right away. It is the best part of my job. Experimenting new things.
Q: If money and practicality were no objects, what sort of mind blowing special effect would like to put in a show?
A: My obsession is shifting the spectator’s point of view like directors do in cinema with the camera. I hate scenes to be static. I need movement and speed. Be close and be far away. I want to touch you and disappear in one second. I do not like seats and stages. I like to break objects. Leave the space very dirty and messy. I would love to make the air blow between the spectators’ skin and their clothes; slow wind under their shirts and pants, warm fresh air moving inside their mouth, through their ears and brain and a splash of fresh air behind their eyes.
Q: Have there been any significant accidents or mishaps during the run?
A: No.
 Q: What’s next? Are you developing anything new at the moment?
A: The feeling of going nowhere. Lots of negative thinking about my new ideas. Feeling miserable because I would not have any good ideas in my life any more. And a lot of work. And a lot of courage to do whatever I do want to do. A new show. On February 2009 we start with rehearsals in Buenos Aires.
Q: What do you love about working Off-Broadway?
A: I loved that I have had the opportunity to put on 8 shows a week, over a span of 6 years, for a variety of people from all over the world, without leaving New York . With the show we travel from one city to the next. In New York the world moves through the city while you are always in the same spot playing with an international audience. I love looking at the audience’s faces; they are from so many different places. New York has big expectations. I love that.
More about Fuerzabruta:
Fuerzabruta is an event where "worlds collide, dreams are real and reality takes a back seat." Performers run and tumble across a vertical wall of technicolor cloth, a man runs headlong through a wall, two people try desperately to connect from opposite sides of a huge spinning and whirling sail andmost extraordinary of allperformers dance in watery world just above the audiences heads. This all takes place to a soundtrack that traverses thumping club beats to the mellow sounds of new world music. Fuerzabruta has been seen in Europe and South America . The show is general admission. Patrons will stand for the length of the show;dress casual. Strobe Light effects are used. The name of the show translates to "Brute Force."
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