ArezzoFestival 2006


Last year’s edition of the ArezzoFestival has been an intense week of shows, music, workshops and art in the fable-like atmosphere of the Accademia dell’Arte’s garden. Laura Meini’s article that appeared on the Rete Teatrale’s magazine at the beginning of July of last year, fully describes the richness of the events and unique atmosphere of the festival.

Rete Teatrale Aretina Magazine- July 4th 2006

Novelty air blows over the hill: ArezzoFestival 2006

ArezzoFestival, located at the Accademia dell’Arte in Villa Godiola, is a Festival that has already been taking place around the first week of July for the past three years.
It’s a theatre festival where different kinds of companies perform - from university students to international professionals. It’s an indefinite and fresh breeze of culture in a place who’s importance, in terms of art, is increasing every year, with a growing university campus and an effort to make it grow to an international level.
The main and most interesting characteristic of the festival is the variety of themes and stories performed, each one by a different company coming from all over the world (America, China, Ireland, Germany, Korea, Slovenia, Poland, Italy), reflecting its own culture and trying to actively confront it with different ones in order to reach a deeper knowledge and comprehension of a more and more multicultural reality.Another important characteristic of the Arezzo Festival is the attempt to make every show as professional as possible - trying to make a professional use of complex costumes, tools and scenes.
As far as the past festival organization is concerned, two good choices have been made: turning the old university parking area into an open-air theatre (Villa Godiola used to be, the old Philosophy Dept. of Arezzo University), and dislocating the shows among different theatres in town, being the Accademia a bit de-centered from the heart of the city.
The festival also offered open spaces for artists- painters, sculptors and photographers- who wanted to expose their art and creations, adding a permanent art exhibit for the duration of the festival.
As far as the shows are concerned, they all have been very innovative, transgressive and non-conventional. It is not easy theatre; it’s that kind of theater that induces the audience to reflect about important issues like - identity, world, culture, in a way that some times may also turn out to be disturbing. There has been, for example, a version of Aristofane’s “The birds” set in the demilitarized area between north and south Korea, result of the collaboration between the California University and the Korean Arts University, a union of the comic power of the original Greek text with the tragic element of the political situation of that area. Another example of the festival’s attitude could be the original “performance art” presented by the Ljubljana Academy, where actors were hanging around the stage speaking Slovenian and touching the hands of the audience as if imploring them, others were wrapping their bodies with cellophane while dancing. Everything was strange, exaggerated and highly dramatic.

But what is the aim of this all? The aim is simply to make people think, the important thing is not to accept, to refuse, to like or dislike something. It is an attempt to reflect on differences, to understand other worlds: it is a matter of observing reality from a different point of view.
Article by Laura Meini


translated and edited by Fabio Boncompagni and Francesco Piattelli Palmarini - Original version in Giornale Rete Teatrale Aretina - 4.7.2006



This year, the Festival will take place at the Accademia dell’Arte from July 1st to July 8th. The programming of the shows is still in phase of construction; here is a brief description of the participants:

Trinity College is coming from Dublin for the fourth time this year, offering a Cabaret show directed by Paul Keenan. The show will revolve around the theme of “fear in the western world”, with the use of texts, of old tunes and original music composed specifically for this show.

University of California, Irvine returns after having been here last year as part of the Pan Pacific Players in collaboration with Korean students. This year they will present a show named Colwnzilla, a Love Story, under the direction of Eli Simon. The group will also offer a workshop for the duration of the festival, and all the participants will have a chance to perform what they have learned.

The Adam Mickiewicz University will be coming from Poznan for the third time – the exhilerating group of the university’s perfomance company named Prefabs, will offer an orginial (…and never too serious) work on the figure of Judas.

Also coming for the third year, is the berliner schule für schauspiel from Berlin, that presents an expressive mask performance, enriched with Sheakespeare’s verses from Venus and Adonis – a himn to the memory of love.

We are happy to have the Budapest Accademy of Film and Drama again with us. This group will present the lagest performance in the festival: 22 artists will be on stage performing an intense and multidisciplinary work called Mikado by Gilbert Sullivan, that involves dancing, pupetteering and music.

The Accademia dell´Arte will present a production that will be created during the two month summer program prior to the festival.

Last but not least, the ArezzoFestival will guest a production of the permanent workshop that the local Diesis Teatrango organization has been holding at the Accademia dell’Arte during the year.


See website for future updates