The first transnational artistic residency of ImproLANDS took place from June 24th to 30th across five municipalities (Belforte del Chienti, Caldarola, Camporotondo di Fiastrone, Cessapalombo, and Serrapetrona) in the ‘Unione Montana dei Monti Azzurri’ in the Marche Region. Mindful of the revitalising impact of locally-rooted cultural initiatives in their earthquake-affected territories, the administrations joined forces to support this Creative Europe project, enhancing their ability to accommodate international artists in venues fostering an ‘experience of closeness’ and a positive connection with residents.
The itinerant creative interventions involved 8 artists, 2 from each partner organisation, who explored different verbal and non-verbal improv techniques through knowledge and skills exchange. Capitalising on their complementary expertise in improvised and participatory theatre and audiovisual experimentation for social inclusion and therapy, the artists dove into two intensive days of practice exchange labs in Camporotondo di Fiastrone. During the training, they co-led methodological sessions in pairs, learning and drawing inspiration from each other, paving the way for artistic co-creation with the communities.
The residential stay combined formal and informal playful and learning moments. Professional theatre facilitators and local participants worked together on performance development in unique collaborative ways, unleashing their expressive potential and solidifying their collective identity. For instance, the ‘S…passi di Salute’ project, which organises weekly Nordic Walking sessions for cancer survivors, became a singular encounter where women connected their emotions with body movements, discovering the social power of ‘laughing with’ others.
Another meaningful step involved Civil Protection volunteers, who were on the frontlines of earthquake rescue efforts. The workshops provided them with a chance to emotionally rework their dramatic experiences while reinforcing team-building skills in emergency and post-emergeny situations.
With these elements forging the artistic production, the residency a became powerful place-based experience, where hard-to-reach population segments influenced the performance, and their stories, habits, and feelings anchored in the surrounding territories shaped the improv theatrical narrative.
The interventions grounded on ImproLANDS’ pillars of remote areas, communities, and artistic collaboration culminated in the final theatrical show Voices and faces of ImproLANDS – actors and spectators at the same time (‘Voci e Volti di ImproLANDS – allo stesso tempo attori e spettatori’). At the newly restored Caldarola theatre, artists from the four partner countries unlocked collective imagination, telling the ‘present, past, and future’ of Caldarola through different forms of improvised theatre, such as body movement, role-play, and humour. Audiences were engaged to the point of becoming co-authors and co-actors, transforming the theatre hall into a living stage where all envisioned Caldarola’s future in an intergenerational cooperative exchange, reawakening a sense of place identity.
Here a brief recap of all the Italian Residency activities:
Here the full Voices and faces of ImproLANDS – actors and spectators at the same time show:
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