Lessons of Florence

Bari

Buon anniversario!

Ragazzi! It’s been two years today that I landed on Italian soil and began the journey of banging my head on Renaissance stones! What a journey it has been! What a journey it is! What have I learned?

I’ve learned how to walk on cobblestones with high heels (and only loose my balance occasionally!)

I’ve learned that dinner is served best with wine and conversation over a three hour time period.

I’ve learned that I can explain everything about FITC in Italian to someone and they will understand me!

I’ve learned that I’m a pretty hot babe (at least to the eyes of Italian men)

I’ve learned that I’m a good teacher.

I’ve learned that I truly love empowering people. And that I am extremely good at it.

I’ve learned that I can face hardship and challenge - and not only overcome them, but grow from them.

I’ve learned patience for people who don’t speak my language well - as so many here have for me.

I’ve learned that governments are, basically, useless if not dangerous.

I’ve learned that art - and artists - have a responsibility to express and explore and encourage.

I’ve learned…………that I am learning……

I’ve changed my spatial relationship. I am perfectly comfortable with cars whizzing by me only inches away whereas my visiting American friends give a very wide berth.

I’ve changed my perspective. I declare I am no longer engaging in tug of war with Firenze. She neither wins nor loses. I neither win nor lose. We now live together in harmony.

Perspective, a dear friend told me recently, was created here in Florence and perfected by the artists whose work I see everyday as I run errands or go to meetings. Suddenly, the world could be drawn and painted with an entirely different view.

Suddenly – my world has taken on a new perspective. I’ve been closed into tight spaces and looked at the details for two years. It’s now time to take what I’ve learned, apply my newly acquired comfort with being more up-close and personal with life (and Italians) and create the masterwork of my life.

Let’s see what il terzo anno portera’ ragazzi! Chi sa?

Baci per tutti!

Bari

It’s a amazing what you can do with absolutely no money. You can’t pay rent or your phone bill. Or buy litter fast enough for your two cats who insist on drinking more water than any dog I’ve ever known. You can’t satisfy the US government on the back taxes you owe them (although, when compared to what they owe … for example… China… it really isn’t even a molocule in the Yangtze River) nor can you purchase a flight to visit your family and friends back in the states who you love so much and miss so terribly. However, you can make theatre. That is, you can make theatre for Teatri Aperti - Florence’s theatre festival now completing its second year where all the theatres (there aren’t that many in centro, but the ones around the city are included), the museums, the libraries, etc. offer performances and lectures, workshops and special events for an entire week all for the price of 5 euro.

“Love Letters” performed last night to over 200 people in a 198 seat house. We didn’t have money for posters or fliers so all marketing went through Teatri Aperti, our email, press releases and word of mouth. Obviously…. it worked! We estimate that there were 40% Italians in the audience - many of whom didn’t speak English. This is so encouraging because it shows us that Italians are interested in English language theatre (with subtitles) and will come to see it. This portends well for our future! There were also many Florentine theatre people there who came to see what FITC is all about. What we were about last night — was a beautiful example of what theatre can do. In one room for two hours we had people from around the world — both in the company and in the audience — come together in a way that doesn’t happen that often in Florence.

Of course… being in Italy… we ran into a little snag of time… we started 50 minutes late. Somehow the lovely lady in the box office couldn’t figure out how to get the names checked off fast enough since they were not in alphabetical order and so the line was around the corner outside of the theatre for quite a while. But, when the audience came in, Aaron stood on stage at 9:50 (yes, theatre in Italy starts at 9pm) and gave a wonderful speech both in English and Italian. We began and it was one of those nights where the audience and the actors played together happily. There was a great deal of laughter from the first moment and several tears and during intermission my spies told me many people were heard saying “che bravi” (how wonderful they are!). American approach to theatre is different than Italian and our goal has been and is to combine the two. Aaron spoke with someone (in Italian) who said that it was so different for them to see our style of theatre, but that somehow it also seemed Italian. We were very pleased by this…. to think that even in some small way we’ve begun our artistic journey in the right direction.

Our set - designed by one of our Creative Campus students - was made of paper, my friend Melinda’s chair, a sofa we pulled off the street and the desk from “Agnes of God.” I know he didn’t expect to come to Florence this semester and make theatre. He was thrilled to have the opportunity. But then when he saw the “antiquity” of the equipment he had to work with — which is pretty common in most Florence theatres — things got difficult as we had to go back to theatrical basics. So…. with paper and 15 lights and a light board probably older then he was he did a wonderful job defining the space with nothing but his imagination.

But really…. isn’t that what we’re doing all the time? That’s what I do here…. create my space, my world, with my imagination. It’s becoming clearer each day. Friday night was exactly how I envisioned it (except for the late start): a full house of an international audience, laughing and loving what we were offering. Students on the production and in the audience and two languages being shared in one experience. If we make our lives — and I have to believe we do — then last night was a creation of my mind realized in a wonderful form. It wasn’t perfect, the picture isn’t complete yet, but it was the perfect next step…. quite joyous, satisfying and realized with far less stress then the previous season’s accomplishments!

The only thing is…. I wish you could have been there.

Ciao ragazzi,

Bari