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Theater and Community

“The theater for its intrinsic substance is among the arts the most suitable to speak directly to the heart and sensitivity of the community. We would like municipal authorities and councils to form this precise awareness of the theater, considering it as a collective necessity, as a need of citizens, as a public service like the subway and the fire brigade “

Paolo Grassi

1- Presentation

The theater has always been recognized as one of the main places dedicated to the community, a hub for social and cultural meetings and exchanges. 

The architectural complex of the fortress of Novellara, which houses Theater “Franco Tagliavini”, is historically a space dedicated to the cultural events of the community of Novellara. Over the years, Festivals, exhibitions, shows have inhabited the spaces of the fortress, making this space become a “Fortress of Culture”. 

The collaboration between Etoile, the municipal administration of Novellara and the management of the Franco Tagliavini Theater has given rise to projects aimed at creating an active and participatory dialogue with the entire citizens of Novellara. Since 2012, the year in which these entities started this collaboration in the Novellara area, the goal is to intertwine theatrical activities with those of citizenship, planning events and collateral activities capable of bringing people closer to the theater and at the same time to create a network with the commercial realities and services already present in the area.

Since 2012, Theater Franco Tagliavini  has hosted Teatro Lab, the International Festival, with a historic twenty-year anniversary, organized by Etoile. An event of this kind brings a large influx of young actors and performers from all over Italy and Europe to the Novellara area, giving rise to numerous collateral initiatives that involve the city’s realities. An example is the call for all public places in the city “The city goes on stage”, which invites business owners to furnish their premises according to the distinctive elements of the current edition of Teatro Lab. Another important point of contact with the city context are the “urban incursions” that, through playful activities, accompany the participants of the Festival to discover the “symbol” places of the city of Novellara.

“Guidami Tu” project was born in 2018, involving some young people from the Novellara area as volunteers in the management of the cultural and youth spaces of the municipality, thus giving them the opportunity to put into play and develop skills and passions. The goal is to train these young people to offer them the opportunity to move from a reception and surveillance service to a complete service of storytelling and guidance among the historical and naturalistic beauties of the area. 

From the year 2021,  Guidami Tu project will see young people involved not only in management and surveillance activities, but also in the planning part of cultural moments aimed at the entire citizenry in collaboration with Etoile.

Over the years a strong link has been created between local realities and Etoile, this has allowed the planning of events capable of involving the traders and restaurateurs of Novellara not only as partners, sponsors or collaborators, but also as real protagonists of the scene. In January 2021, the video project “Community Theater – Citizenship who reads” was created, aimed at the owners of local businesses. The project is the result of the fruitful collaboration of cultural associations in the area, united with the Malagoli Library, the Tagliavini Theater, the Gonzaga Museum and the Historical Archives, which promote proposals and initiatives aimed at citizens. The artistic process was coordinated by Daniele Franci, artistic director of the Etoile European Theater Center, who directed traders and restaurateurs on the stage of the theater in a series of readings from Stefano Benni’s “Bar Sport”.

2- Technical information

Teatro di Comunità

Progetto “Guidami Tu” – “Guidami Tu” Project

Anno Accademico di Riferimento/ Academic Year

Numero partecipanti/

Number of Partecipants

Ore svolte/

Number of hours during the project

Numero di giornate-eventi/

Numbers of events

2018/2019

5

30

15

2019/2020

6

30

15

2020/2021

6

50

20

Teatro di Comunità – Novellara Paese che legge 

Anno 2021

Numero di Attività coinvolte/

Number of Activities involved

Ore di ripresa/

Hours of filming

12

12

3- Reports

4- Material porduced