EPIC REGGIO CALABRIA ’24 COMES TO A CLOSE

EPIC REGGIO CALABRIA '24 continued its journey with seminars and workshops in close collaboration with local institutions and civil society organizations.

As part of the “ReggioFest24: Cultura Diffusa” project, promoted by the Municipality of Reggio Calabria and funded through the National Fund for Performance Arts under the Directorate-General for Performing Arts of the Italian Ministry of Culture, Reggio Calabria hosted the EPIC festival (Performative Experiences of Civic Engagement) in September. The festival was curated by Mana Chuma Teatro in close collaboration with the Parco Diffuso della Conoscenza e del Benessere in Pellaro.

EPIC is not merely a programme of performances but a cultural project stemmed from multiple collaborations aimed at fostering long-term exchange and enhancing the value of peripheral areas. These collaborations led to a series of seminars and workshops, held within the framework of EPIC Reggio '24, from 16 to 19 December.

Through the organization of these seminars and workshops, carried out in partnership with the UEPE (Ufficio Esecuzione Penale Esterna - Office of External Penal Execution) of the Ministry of Justice, the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria (MArRC), the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, the Order of Architects, Planners, Landscape Architects, and Conservators of the Province of Reggio Calabria, the Parco Diffuso della Conoscenza e del Benessere in Pellaro, and ACE Medicina Solidale, Mana Chuma Teatro aimed to strengthen synergies among local actors, institutions, and civil society and pave the way for joint actions on the ground. The objective was to work collaboratively toward the enhancement and socio-economic and cultural development of the area - in other words, to foster networking. The need to share ideas, practices, and experiences, to pool resources and address challenges in order to implement joint projects emerged strongly from all participants representing institutions or civil society organisations.

Monday 16 December

The first seminar, entitled “Performing Arts and Actions for Prevention/Inclusion in the Judicial Field,” took place at the Department of Law, Economics, and Humanities (DiGiES) of the Mediterranean University (Reggio Calabria). Following opening speeches by the esteemed Rector Giuseppe Zimbalatti, Anna Briante, Councillor for Public Education for the Municipality of Reggio Calabria, and Massimo Barilla, Co-Director of Mana Chuma Teatro, contributions were made by Marianna Passalacqua, Penitentiary Officer at UEPE, Antonella Vizzari of the Bar Association of Reggio Calabria, and Giovanna Russo, Ombudswoman for the Rights of Persons Deprived of Personal Liberty for the Municipality of Reggio Calabria and Human Rights Ombudswoman for the Municipality of Palmi.

The contributions highlighted several key aspects, all converging on the idea that efforts must be made to jointly mend a “fracture in society”. In a complex environment such as that of the prison system, it is crucial for all professionals involved to see and embrace the other as a human being, not merely as an inmate serving a sentence. Theatre can play a significant role in achieving this goal, as demonstrated by Stefano Salerno (Teatro Stabile dell’Umbria), who presented “Per Aspera Ad Astra: Reconfiguring Prisons Through Culture and Beauty”. This project, which has been implemented in about fifteen Italian prisons, aims to foster a connection between the penitentiary institution, the city and the broader community through culture and the pursuit of beauty.

Massimo Barilla and Salvatore Arena (Mana Chuma Teatro) shared their experience as playwrights and directors of “Come un granello di sabbia” (Like a Little Grain of Sand), which recounts the story of Giuseppe Gulotta, a Sicilian bricklayer forced to confess to the murder of two carabinieri, wrongfully sentenced to life imprisonment, and later exonerated after a long ordeal with the justice system. Arena emphasized the cathartic function of theatre, while Barilla revealed how the play served as a means to narrate the story even to Gulotta himself, creating a certain distance that allowed him to experience it as a small, continuous act of restitution.

Tuesday 17 December

The second seminar, entitled “Performing Arts for the Enhancement of Cultural and Landscape Heritage,” organised in partnership with MArRC and the Mediterranean University, featured contributions from Martina D’Onofrio of MArRC; Elena Trunfio, Director of the National Archaeological Museum and Park of Locri Epizefiri; Valerio Morabito Associate Professor from the DArTe Department at UniRC; Daniela Neri, EQ Official for the Culture Department of the Municipality of Reggio Calabria; Gigi Spedale, representing the “Interpretare l’Antico” Festival (Naxos Archaeological Park) and the Latitudini Network; and Gianni Brandolino, Associate Professor at the Mediterranean University.

This seminar explored the potential of applying performing arts to fully enhance the historical and cultural resources of the province of Reggio Calabria, with the National Archaeological Museum as its focal point. In this context, Massimo Barilla presented the festival EPIC as an example, especially this year’s edition that demonstrated how connections were created between audiences, artists, local grassroot organisations and the Parco Diffuso della Conoscenza e del Benessere in Pellaro, a location of extraordinary beauty overlooking the Strait. Barilla and Arena also presented the trailer for “Un’altra Iliade” (Another Iliad), a work by Mana Chuma Teatro that shows how contemporary dramaturgy can be applied to ancient stories to keep them alive.

Wednesday 18 December

The DiGiES Department at the Mediterranean University hosted a public workshop on contemporary dramaturgy and directing, focused on rewriting ancient theatre and literature, led by Massimo Barilla and Salvatore Arena. The workshop provided an opportunity to reflect on how new dramaturgy can revitalise and contemporise the vast heritage of ancient stories that have reached us due to their universal nature. These stories lead back to the original dimension of theatre, which was communal, serving as a tool to process and internalise collective events and situations. These elements were relevant in the past and are perhaps even more so today.

Thursday 19 December

The Polo Sanitario di Prossimità Arghillà (Healthcare Centre) hosted the first intensive theatre workshop aimed at exploring pathways for individual and collective growth. Organized in partnership with the UEPE of Reggio Calabria, the CSI Reggio Calabria and the Arghillà Healthcare Centre / ACE Medicina Solidale, this workshop was held in Arghillà, a socially challenging neighbourhood. It was specifically designed for individuals under the care of the UEPE of Reggio Calabria, with the goal of supporting the inclusion process for those serving alternative sentences to imprisonment.

It was a beautiful moment of human connection with young people who, on the one hand, feel excluded from the world but, on the other, expresse a strong desire to start anew, regain dignity, and fully reintegrate into society. This can be made possible through the participatory and collaborative methods of theatre work.

Like the seminars and workshops of the preceding days, this meeting laid the foundation for a long-term journey that Mana Chuma Teatro intends to pursue in synergy with institutional and civil society partners with whom projects have already been initiated, as well as with new collaborations that may emerge in the near future. All of this will be implemented in constant exchange with the local community.

Photos by Marco Costantino