Francesco Laganara founded the company “Cesco” in 2018, marking the beginning of his career at his first street artist festival in Italy, in Sarnico, where he presented his magic show, “Cescow”.
2015–2018: Member of the illusionist club “La corte dell’illusione” in Folzano (BS), Italy.
Between 2017 and 2019, he attended a prose theatre course in Sarnico with teacher Walter Tiraboschi.
Also in 2019, he won 3rd place as Best Artist at the festival “Le Fiere del Teatro”.
Between 2019 and 2020, before the pandemic, he moved to Barcelona, Spain, to refine his street performances. During this period, he also began performing close-up magic in salon theatres.
In mid-2020, he relocated to Lugano, Switzerland, where he studied the art of pantomime under the guidance of Mimo Cleta.
In 2023, he moved to Zurich, Switzerland, where he created his mime show, “Ridi, che ti fa bene”, first presented on the street.
In 2023, he embarked on a European tour, performing at various street artist festivals, and for the first time also in the United States, in Washington DC and Los Angeles.
In 2024, his show “Ridi, che ti fa bene!” won two awards:
People’s Choice Award at the Carnaval Sztukmistrzów Festival in Lublin, Poland.
Prix Saltimbanque at Winzerfest Döttingen, Switzerland.
The following year, 2025, he took part in a one-week intensive workshop in April with Walter Velázquez and Jorge Méndez, focused on dramaturgy and slapstick.
In May, the show “Ridi, che ti fa bene!” once again won the Audience Award at “Festivart di Novara” as Best Street Show.
In October, the show, received for the second time the award at Prix Saltimbanque at Winzerfest Döttingen, Switzerland.
For the first time, the show was also presented in Asia, specifically in South Korea at the Busan International Performance Arts Festival (BIPAF) and in Malaysia at Butterworth Fringe Festival (BFF).