Connections Festival 2009

From the 8th to the 11th of October Teatro Litta presented the fifth edition of the Connections Festival. It was a particularly rich and interesting edition thanks to the many activities scheduled and the great participation of people.
This last edition was more involved with International Partners, after the important experience happened in 2008 when an Italian group performed its show at the Theatre Royal of Newcastle.

In July 2009 a young group from Russell High School of Milan spent a week in Newcastle (from the 27th of July to 2nd of August). During this period the young players showed “Tourist Club and Soldier Boy” by the Nobel Wole Soyinka and attended to theatre workshops (Stage combat – Puppetry – Improvisation) with other guys from different countries.

On March 2010 a show of Connetions 2009 has been invited at the International Festival of theatre for young people in Germany at the Consol Theatre of Gelsenkirchen, the European capital of the culture in 2010. The Festival will host partners from different European countries (Germany, Italy, England, Ireland, Norway, Poland and Turkey ). The young players during the entire week of the festival, as well as presenting their show, will participate in workshops and activities that will give them the opportunity to acquire new knowledges and overcome cultural and language barriers, through theatrical expression. During their stay, students will be hosted by the families of their colleagues, establishing international and intercultural relations.

According to the last edition in Milan, a large audience was involved on the whole festival who took place in all the Litta’s spaces (The main Venue, The “Cavallerizza”, “Cortile dell’Orologio”, “Foyer”, “Boccascenacafè”) with an average of 150 people per performance and an overall of 3500 presences; the theatre was full of enthusiastic and passionate young people who created a festive and involving environment.

During the Festival were showed 17 performances, selected among more than 30 shows presented on May and June. They are the result of the hard work of young students guided by theatrical skilled directors.

The 2009 edition confirms and claims the growth of the Connections project at an international level with a specific focus oriented towards England. A group from the Theatre Royal of Newcastle was invited to the Festival, showing its performance and taking part in workshops and specific activities. The guys were hosted by some Italian families of the same age people.

The project consolidated also at a national level through the new collaboration with the Giffoni Film Festival, the most important festival of cinema for young people in Italy. A group of young people from Giffoni attended the Osservatorio and the two workshops, living personally the Connection’s experience.

The appointment with the workshops had a great find: besides the workshop about a great classic of the literature, the “Odissea” by Omero directed by Luca Scarlini, there was also a workshop in English language “Shakespeare in Love” about the re-interpretation of some theatrical scenes got from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by W. Shakespeare, led by Ginevra Notarbartolo. The exit of the two workshops were presented to the public on Sunday afternoon.

The Osservatorio, led by a drama expert, saw a great enthusiasm and a strong presence: lots of young journalists made reviews, critics and interviews. Their hard work, executed in the press-room, made for the occasion, produced seven editions of the ConnectionsNews, a daily newspaper, which combines reviews of the shows seen on stage, with interviews to authors and all the protagonists of the festival.

After the good experience of the festival in 2008, in which the young critics met two professional journalists, this year the Osservatorio has been up-to-date with a television language’s elaboration directed by Mimmo Spina from RaiNews24 (national TV channel) and with a radio workshop led by Ira Rubini from Radio Popolare, which allowed young people to experiment with a real radio connection. A special moment was also the meeting with Roberto Traverso, author of the play “Anime”.

The International guests - National Theatre of London, Norske Teatret of Olslo, Theatre Royal of Newcastle, Consol Theater of Gelsenkirchen - attended all the Festival with enthusiasm.

Lucilla Agosti, a famous Italian actress, was the testimonial of Festival Connections 2009; she met the young people, carrying her own experience and chatting with them about her starting on theatre stage and also about her coming to television, making a comparison between the two worlds.

Today, Connections has created a full-blown Community around itself, starting by the Connections Card to the Facebook group. Everything helps to involve different participants and strengthening their network on the territory. The group can reach a greater number of users more easily and creates new contacts, sharing pictures, ideas and comments about their experience.

All these innovations represent a unique privilege to bring the young people in the world of theatre, making them real actors, using the project as a springboard for new ideas.