Illusionist Dace Pecolli: Country must find common ground with us. Otherwise, I'll saw it in half

By "sawing" Dace Pecolli is definitely thinking of the spectators' favorite trick - the alleged splitting of a person by illusionists. Sounds and looks scary, but the person stays healthy and whole. And yet – in every joke, there is a grain of truth. In fact, judging by the government's behavior and attitude towards people whose business has been hit hard by the crisis, sometimes the urge to saw something in half truly arises...

Dace Pecolli and her family - husband Enrico and son Dante - have created their own illusionist theater, and it should live in Riga, in the premises of the former cinema Liesma, but the Covid crisis does not allow it to live or operate. In order to try to deal with the situation in some way, Dace has written a letter to the Ministries of Finance, Economy, and Culture - about the absence of state support in matters of credit obligations and insufficient support for a company that is prohibited from carrying out the planned economic activity.

The letter is somewhat universal: it reveals not only the problems of the company run by Dace, which is on the brink of business failure, but also similar issues in many other companies. It is possible that the letter and the answers expected from the ministries will be able to indicate the types of solutions to the problems.

While we wait for answers from the ministries, meanwhile a conversation with the illusionist artist Dace Pecolli.

Please tell us what your last year was like.

In the first Covid wave, our pre-existing plans, on the basis of which we took a loan, practically collapsed. We had planned several performance tours, room repairs...

There was the option to give it all up and return the keys from the premises of the future theater to the financial institution Altum. However, I decided otherwise. I'm in the congregation (laughs) "I believe in the power of Facebook", I put a call there, and I was answered by hundreds of people who cheered: Dace, do it! We will help you! About 600 people came to my aid, working both for minimal money, as volunteers and as donors.

The walls of the new theater in the Golden Hall were painted by Jānis Jarāns, the ceiling by Dagmāra Legante, the entire Mystery Room was painted by the Nils Īle family, the ceiling in the Alberta Hall was painted by artists from the Riga Pantomime... The theater was born in nine months just like a child. I still can't believe how many entrepreneurs responded to us - gifted tiles, paint, building materials, a total of 26 entrepreneurs... For all nine months, architect Sandra Laganovska (one of the leading architects of the National Library of Latvia), SIA Datel electricians, my father Viesturs Vintēns worked by my side with no remuneration. In turn, the tile company Kerama Marazzi gifted beautiful and high-quality tiles. Lots of tiles. My biggest supporter is the very innovative family business Hatfam, which gave me many thousands-worth of state-of-the-art automated and computerized ventilation systems in the main theater hall of the Mystero. The building materials manufacturer Sakret gave us paint. The company Līmenī, the boss himself, Mārtiņš Strauss, came to the rescue during the holidays and poured a fantastic floor into the theater hall, to which Agris Kreislers, the representative of Mapei in Latvia, gifted me with the floor material together with all the "gold dust". All the design of the building was donated to me by the company Raugs, the signboard of the Mystero building was donated by GiftArt and Reklāmu darbnīca PLUS. I'm sorry I can't mention all the supporters here... And do you know what unites all these people who donated to us? They are dreamers. Realistic dreamers. They are not afraid to choose a dream and follow it. They are like us - energetic, full of enthusiasm, and a sense of humor.

There is also artwork on the building...

Yes, the artist Ilze Krastiņa gave it to us. I painted the area, she painted art. And at one point I realized that the paint was running out... I didn't have time to pick up the paint, and I called the Sakret chef. He threw all the work to the side and personally brought me the missing pot, I lowered myself down on the lift and took it...

So miracles do happen?

They really do! People's participation and kindness are one thing, but later they really started to really happen. I guess I will have to start believing in miracles... said the magician. A couple of days before the opening party, I realized that I had not thought about disinfectants. What to do?! Where and what to buy? After 15 minutes, a woman came through the door, saying: “I am Dr. Agrita Tirzīte, I was riding a tram past your new theater and I realized: I have to get off. You know, I want to gift you disinfectants.” And she gave me the best disinfectants! The same thing happened with waste bins. We didn't have that. The next day, a representative from the business group BNI Zapp comes and says: I have this one guy here - from the company Pireka, who wants to give you trash cans. Seriously? All I need is to just think and everything happens? Three days before the opening of the theater, I sighed hard, realizing that I didn't have a dress... But it is so important for me. And then suddenly the costume designer Ieva Ādamsone writes me and announces that she wants to give me a dress. I say thank you for the wonderful idea, but there's not enough time. But she came, took the measurements, I measured the dress the next day, and on the opening day of the theater - a few hours before the event - the dress was ready. I felt like a goddess.

When was the theater opened?

November 6. There were a large number of people invited, so the opening had to be divided into three parts. I have to thank the Riga City Council and the Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia: I wrote a project for the opening performance of the theater, and the project was approved and thus also partially financed. This funding was not intended for loan payments, heating, or rent of premises - it was intended for artists, lighting experts, musicians, video masters, etc. It was a support for the opening event, not for the regular existence of the theater.

Your theater season seems to have ended extremely short...

Yes, we could apply for the Guinness Book of Records as the theater with the shortest season! We opened on November 6, but on November 9, all theaters were closed by a government decision. We also had a museum in the theater premises, but it was planned to start our activities as a theater, but not yet as a museum. Seeing the reality that the theater was closing, we began to work actively to open the museum as a matter of urgency, got reservations for December and January, and then on December 21, the government closed the museums as well. The magic trick shop was also closed, reservations were canceled, all possible activities for our company were banned. All that was left was a virtual environment, which we magicians do not like very much because I believe that the show should be experienced in person. However, we are also preparing for the virtual environment... We are not sitting and griping, we are thinking of plans B, C, and D. However, it will take a long time for the realization of ideas, and it must be understood whether people will buy this product at all. The problem remains unresolved: credit liabilities, utility payments, and salaries.

If I understand correctly, you, Enrico Pecoli, and your son Dante Pecoli are self-employed.

Yes. We have a company - SIA International Show Production, and the theater building has been taken with credit obligations to this company. Researching the situation, I found that there is more support for individuals, so we formed ourselves as creative self-employed. I wrote various projects in SCCF creative competitions, two projects were supported. There was money to buy food. I also did research on the history of illusionism in Latvia, for which I received 1,500 euros. Have to survive somehow: my company doesn't pay me a salary because my company has no income. I stopped paying my salary in March last year, and I got the first three downtime benefits because my salary had been paid before. But then there was nothing to pay that salary from! After all, repairs were taking place, and all contracts - including international ones - were terminated. As I do not pay my salary to myself or others, my company was denied access to the proposed support mechanisms, neither downtime benefits, nor subsidies, nor working capital grants. This means that the law does not provide for those for whom things are not going badly, but very badly, that is, for those who are unable to pay their salaries. There must be such a support mechanism!

In its place, there is a bunch of papers to fill out.

And then I imagined, for example, circus artists. Including those who do not really speak Latvian. They don't even know where to look for their support. Circus artists mostly have a contractual relationship, at one moment there is work, at another there is none... There is no salary, there is no downtime benefit, they do not know how to write projects, they do not receive the support as a creative person. Therefore, I would like to recommend to the government: there is a very large group of people who suffer the most during this disease, so - open one office, which is filled not with cold officials, but kind people who can help those who do not know how to help themselves. It would be a helpdesk where jugglers Vasja and Pēteris could come and get help to fill in the necessary documents to receive benefits or become self-employed. Otherwise, they simply have nothing to eat! But please note that I am not complaining myself, I am trying to put my foot in every door.

Why do you emphasize that?

Because one day... I talk openly about all the shortcomings in government decisions because my company does not have enough support for us to exist. Probably someone doesn't like that... Well, here it is. On Facebook, the head of the public relations department of the Ministry of Culture wrote the following answer to one of my opinions: Dace, it is not true that you have not received state support. And then she counts that we, three people, have received 9,000 euros. She does not mention that this amount includes all taxes. Divided for three people and ten months - it is less than 300 euros per month. After that, she also mentions 17,000 euros for the opening performance of the theater. But this money was for three opening events: in one we would not have been able to provide the necessary distancing. The costs were high: airplane tickets for the invited artists, hotels, meals, royalties plus taxes. Maybe this official of the Ministry of Culture, in order to have an informative balance, could also reveal how much she has received from the state in these ten months?...

Of course, I am grateful for the money of the Culture Capital Foundation, because without it the opening performance of the theater would not have taken place. The state supported this show, and that's it - our relationship is over with that money. But it is strange that this representative of the Ministry of Culture spread the information available to a public official in a public space. It didn't look very decent. Her goal was obviously to blow smoke in people's eyes so that they would believe that the country is good because it gives money to artists, but we are the bad ones.

So how exactly has the state helped - not for me as a person, not for the opening of the theater, but for my company. Loan payments, utility payments, salaries - in ten months they are about 35,000 euros. The state has helped my company with 3,000 euros. Shouldn't I start yelling for help? At a time when I was denied the opportunity to do business, which was the basis for taking a loan. Therefore, I can clearly say that the state has not thought about helping those companies that have suffered badly as a result of Covid, including their inability to meet their credit obligations. If the loan was taken from Altum, the only option is to defer the loan payments for six months. The entrepreneur continues to pay only interest. I used it in the first Covid wave. It is even beneficial for Altum - they have an additional half a year's interest in their profits. But I cannot go on like that because it is not a support mechanism. Altum is a state-owned company that lends money according to principles interesting to the state. The state itself forbids me to work, but at the same time, the state wants to continue earning at my expense... It is pretty unfair. But, of course, thank you for the fact that Altum supported us by issuing the loan initially. But I do not want to increase my loan payments without seeing opportunities to continue working. In the professional sphere of theatrical guest performances in the world, everyone claims that 2021 has been written off, now the 2022/23 season is being planned. We must focus on the resources found here. I think museums will be the first to open. Consequently, ours as well. When other forms are allowed, the state will earn good money from our company in taxes. Because we know how to work. Therefore, the country must find common ground with us. Otherwise, I will saw it in half (laughs).

And yet. While no one is sawn in half yet, is there any hope that the state will at least come to terms with easing utility bills?

There is. This has not been said officially yet, but there is a possibility that the state will help the companies affected by the Covid to pay the utility bills.

Despite everything, you are very optimistic.

Want to know why? Because I've met fantastic people during these Covid times. Not just talkers, but real doers. And everything that has happened to us proves that I am actually doing everything right. I have expressed my problem in writing: my company is barred from working, but in return, there is no appropriate support mechanism to pay the loan, its interest, utility bills, and minimum wages. Either let me work or guarantee me support.

Yes, I'm optimistic, but last year depression tried to sneak up on me at least four times. And what did I do? I took the rake and went to Torņakalns cemetery - I raked leaves. Raked, raked... There I met the grave manager Valdis Gavars. He started telling me about Torņakalns cemetery, which is the oldest in Riga. There lies a man with the names of all his 22 children written on a tombstone. There lies Natālija Draudziņa. There lies a pilot with his sad love story. There lies a man who gifted land to Stradiņš Hospital, but no one knows or remembers him. And then I thought: I should make a theatrical tour - in the evening twilight, with lights around this part of Torņakalns neighborhood. A walk through the cemetery would result in a show of spiritualism... In the 18th century, spiritual séances created by illusionists were all the rage. Why not have them now? Even in bad situations, good and creative ideas come to mind.