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Petite Ecole
Theatre
Academy
Petite Ercole
Academy was founded in 1988 in a historical place near the Esino river
almost uknown to the majority of people. It
was founded by a Teathre master, Gianfranco Frelli.
The Academy is located in an ancient carpentry, a bulding that had already
hosted a spinning mill.
Spinning mills were common in the Jesi at the end of 1800 and beginning of
1900. Jesi was in fact called “Little Milan”.
Gianfranco
Frelli studied
acting in Bologna. The idea of the Academy was first conceived to promote
the fantastic “magic box” of theatre among the people. Theatre is in
fact the place where actors can perform different roles.
Petite Ecole is managed by Cooperativa
Culturale Jesina and it is sponsored by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di
Jesi.
It is one of the most known
and attended acting schools in the city without doubt. Diction, acting, improvisation,
playwrighting, gesturing and direction are among the subject taught there.
Petite
Ecole is above all a formative experience as
it gives students the chance to impersonate different characters whose
points of view are various and different from the one of the student
himself.
Petite
Ecole
promotes a modern and committed form of
theatre. It wants to resist and countervail the rubbish and shallowness
that is daily broadcasted by Tv.
It wants people to reflect upon the past, upon social problems and civil
rights. An example of this
theatre philosophy is “Line”
play. There five characters bad-mouth and physically attack each other in
order to be first in row.
The play focuses on the duplicity and meanness of men. They cheat on
others, lie, seduce and use violence in order to gain what they want.
Gianfranco
Frelli,
the Theatre Master, is also the author of several plays performed by the
Academy.
He writes the play inspired by the people that are going to perform it. He tries to use a different
type of language each year (eg. Visual, visual and dialogic etc.etc).
Sometimes, when the children are the actors, they also write the play they
are going to perform. It is a most formative method.
Childern are in fact responsible for learning by heart their part – and
if they don’t all the play will be affected – and when they write they
can describe their experiences and problems.
Gianfranco
Frelli has
already some theatrical performances in store for the future: “The
Nose” on 8th-9th of September and “a
peculiar pair of women” on 22nd of September.
The most ambitious project for the future is “One
hundred cantors for Dante” that is still in course of study.
Petite
Ecole
also promotes
several workshops and projects along with some schools in town.
A year ago an interdisciplinary and on line project has involved several
high schools, such as Grammar School, Psico-Pedagogic high school,
Scientific school and Itas.
The scenography was designed by Arts students. Petite
Ecole, also promotes theatre projects meant for disabled people, in
collaboration with the Centro Diurno Arcobaleno di Chiaravalle.
Gloria Focante
per
Paradise Possible
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