Theatre is widely used by the Departments of Mental Health of the Emilia-Romagna Region, and experts and professionals consider it a very important tool for promoting individual and social welfare, and a resource able to facilitate the building of “bridges” to develop communities, culture and occasions for vocational training. The main objective of the project is to convey and promote a new culture of mental health, and a new way to approach the issue of mental health care, thus improving the general welfare of society.

“MOVIMENTI – Theatres of health” featured:

A tour of the shows created by the Departments of Mental Health, that were presented in several theatres in Emilia-Romagna.

Each company presented their own show during the tour.

The 5 shows of the Departments of Mental Health were performed 23 times in 13 locations across the region.

This was possible thanks to the public and private entities and organisations (Associations, Municipalities, etc.) that manage the theatres in Emilia-Romagna.

DIVERSAMENTE - Theatre Festival

DIVERSAMENTE is the theatre festival that took place in Bologna, at the Teatro Arena del Sole, from 24^th to 29^th November 2009, under the artistic direction and supervision of the theatre critic Massimo Marino.

As well as featuring a few of the shows created by the Departments of Mental health of the Emilia-Romagna Region, other companies coming from other Italian regions had the opportunity to present their shows, and the festival thus became a national point of reference.

The two companies were also the protagonists of the Carnival Festival that was held on March 8^th in a park in the centre of Bologna, the “Parco della Montagnola”, with a lot of surprises and games for all the children.

Burattini in festa was developed by Riccardo Pazzaglia, head comedian of the company “I Burattini di Riccardo”, in collaboration with the Company “Arte e Salute”.

All the events were organised in collaboration with the Academy of Dramatic Art “Antoniano” of Bologna and with the support of the Bologna City Council. In the framework of the project Bologna Città dei Bambini (Bologna City of Children), the “Parco della Montagnola”, the green heart of the city protected by the Superintendency for Architectural Heritage of the Municipality of Bologna, is the place where children can find a lot of activities specially created for them and their families.

A.C.T.O.R. (A crazy tour of reason) is a Grundtvig education partnership project which involves 4 European partners:  Associazione Arte e Salute ONLUS;  Istituzione G F. Minguzzi;  Studio Citadela and Stowarzyszenie  Narzecz  Szkolnictwa Specjalnego, all of them sharing the aim of improving the autonomy, quality of life and bargaining power of people suffering from mental disorders, by combining special activities and work in the theatrical and mental health fields.

The project involves 3 meetings to be organised in the three reference countries (Italy, Czech Republic and Poland), during which the patients will have the opportunity to take part in vocational training workshops.

The main objective of the project is to improve the participants’ knowledge and skills in the field of theatre, and to experience different learning and teaching methods.

Further information on the project can be found at Teatralmente.it

Project’s results are in EST

The project is financed with the support of the European Commission. The author is the only responsible for this publication (communication) and the Commission declines any responsibility on the use of this information.

The Association Arte e Salute ONLUS and 10 other European partners are developing the vocational training and education project “Leonardo Da Vinci programme”  -  4T (Through Theatre To Talents), its main objective being to  upgrade the skills of professionals working in rehabilitation programmes using theatre activities for mentally ill people.  The project will increase the possibilities for professionals to learn from each other, also through debates and workshops aimed at tackling specific issues. All the organizations involved in the project work in the field of theatre and social integration of mentally ill people. They have already acquired experience in the field and they are able to offer high-quality artistic productions.

The partners come from: Italy, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Hungary, Greece, Turkey, Romania, Malta, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Slovenia.

The project involves 6 lessons on specific themes to be discussed in 6 transnational meetings:

1. Stage performance quality
2. Theatre benefits
3. Communication
4. The rehabilitative path
5. Training
6. Recommendations
Further information on the project is available at: www.davinci4t.eu

The projct’s results are in EST

Il presente progetto è finanziato con il sostegno della Commissione europea. L’autore è il solo responsabile di questa pubblicazione (comunicazione) e la Commissione declina ogni responsabilità sull’uso che potrà essere fatto delle informazioni in essa contenute.

Puppet Theatre

The puppet theatre company creates shows for very young children and organises puppet-building workshops in kindergartens.
The first shows were created thanks to the work of Tinin Matnegazza, Vittorio Zanella and Elena Baredi. Recently, director Gabriele Tesauri has involved Riccardo Pazzaglia and Sandra Pagliarani, professional puppeteers.
In 2011, the company was awarded the national prize “Ribalte di fantasia“.

The productions of the puppet theatre company are the following:

1999 – Roba da gatti (Cat’s business), directed by Elena Baredi.
2000 – Pierino e il lupo (Peter and the Wolf), directed by Vittorio Zanella.
2001 – A Brema a Brema (To Bremen, To Bremen), directed by Vittorio Zanella.
2002 – La fortuna a chi tocca (Who will luck smile upon next?), directed by Vittorio Zanella.
2003 – Campacavallo(That’ll be the day!), by Tinin Matengazza, directed by Elena Baredi.
2004 – L’acqua miracolosa (The Water of Life), directed by Elena Baredi.
2007 - Farsette d’animali in allegria (Happy, little farces of animals), directed by Elena Baredi.
2010 – Farsette d’animali in allegria (Happy, little farces of animals), directed by Elena Baredi (updated version with a new farce).
2011 – A Brema a Brema (Town Musicians of Bremen), directed by Riccardo Pazzaglia.
2011 – Il piccolo re di fiori (The Little king of Clubs), dramatised reading, Project by Elena Baredi

The Puppet Theatre Company was awarded the following prize:

2001 – National Prize Ribalte di Fantasia, promoted by the popular tradition magazine Il Cantastorie, the Teatro Setaccio Burattini e Marionette directed by Otello Sarzi, the Ethnographic Centre of the Municipality of Ferrara and the Fiera Millenaria of Gonzaga.

After the first performances and shows directed by Elena Baredi and Carlo Maria Rossi, a new group of pupils/actors is currently attending a two-year training course held by Gabriele Tesauri in collaboration with La Baracca-Testoni Ragazzi of Bologna, focused on the techniques for creating and staging shows for children.

The productions of theatre for young people are the following:

2004 – Ascolta ti racconto (Listen, I will tell you a story), directed by Elena Baredi.
2005 – Naviga, Naviga Via (Sail, Sail Away), directed by Elena Baredi.
2006 – Storia di un Pifferaio (Story of a Piper), directed by Elena Baredi.
2007 – Don Chisciotte … un po’ per uno (Don Quixote… a little bit to each one), directed by Elena Baredi.
2009 – Una notte con i fratelli Grimm (One Night with the Grimm Borthers), directed by Carlo Maria Rossi, in collaboration with La Baracca – Testoni Ragazzi of Bologna.
2012 – Il viaggio degli uccelli, directed by Valeria Frabetti, in colalboration with La Baracca – Testoni Ragazzi of Bologna.

The theatre company directed by Nanni Garella has, over the years, created and staged several shows based on classic and contemporary texts, presenting them all across Italy.
Success came also thanks to the co-productions with Nuova Scena-Arena del Sole-Teatro Stabile di Bologna and to an unusual and innovative working method, which involved an important national theatre and an artistic/theatrical group with a background of social exclusion and discomfort.
In 2004, the Arte e Salute theatre company and its artistic director Nanni Garella were awarded the “Ubu Prize”.

The productions of the theatre company are the following:

2000 – A midsummer night”s dream by W. Shakespeare, directed by Nanni Garella.

2001 – Ghosts by Luigi Pirandello, directed by Nanni Garella.

2002 – The Giants of the Mountain by Luigi Pirandello, directed by Nanni Garella.

2003 - As you like it by William Shakespeare, directed by Nanni Garella.

2003 – I racconti dei Cippi (The Headstone Tales) by Lorenzo Favella, directed by Gabriele Tesauri. The show was produced and presented on the occasion of the Anniversary of the Liberation of Italy from the Nazi occupation in Correggio. The show gave life to the video “I Racconti dei Cippi”.

2004 – Pinter One-Acts – A Kind of Alaska, The Room, A Night Out, directed by Nanni Garella.

2005 – The Dark Side-Voices of artists who experienced psychic distress, by Gabriele Tesauri, written by Maria Cristina Lasagni, musical accompaniment by Maestro Vicini.

2005 – ???????????? The Ways of Life, directed by Nanni Garella. Touring show created on the occasion of the exhibition “The arts of health. The cultural and scientific heritage of Public Healthcare in Emilia-Romagna”. Texts by Alessandro Bergonzoni, Maurizio Clementi, Francesco Maria Piave and Jacopone da Todi.

2005 – Shakespeare Folies, clown games by Francesco Nicolini and Carlo Maria Rossi, directed by Carlo Maria Rossi.

2006 – Life of Galileo by B. Brecht, directed by Nanni Garella.

2007 – Didactic Dramas by B.Brecht, directed by Gabriele Tesauri, with Sandra Passarello, Massimo Sceusa, and Gabriele Tesauri.

2007 – Six Characters in Search of an Author, by Luigi Pirandello, directed by Nanni Garella, with Virginio Gazzolo, Angela Cardile and Nanni Garella.

2008 – Oedipus, based on the screenplay of “Oedipus Rex” by Pier Paolo Pasolini, directed by Nanni Garella, with Silvia Giulia Mendola.

2008 – Rubbish – De Rerum Natura, philosophical comedy based on Lucretius” poem, written and directed by Gabriele Tesauri.

2009 – The Gospel According to Matthew, inspired by the movie by Pier Paolo Pasolini, directed by Nanni Garella.

2010 – Mountain Language, One for the Road, Party Time. Three One-Acts by Harold Pinter, directed by Nanni Garella.

2010 – Motel, loose adaptation of “Free Exchange Hotel” by Georges Feydeau, directed by Gabriele Tesauri.

2011 – Al dutåur di mât, from “The Doctor of the Crazy” by Eduardo Scarpetta, directed by Nanni Garella, with Vito, Marina Pitta and Nanni Garella.

The Theatre Company “Arte e Salute” was awarded the following prizes:

2002, Hystrio Prize for direction, promoted by the “Hystrio” magazine, awarded to Nanni Garella and the Association Arte e Salute.

2004, Ubu Prize, promoted by the yearbook Patalogo, published by Ubulibri. The prize was awarded to Nanni Garella following the vote of 55 theatre critics, for “his work on great classical texts with the company Arte e Salute”.