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Pasolini on the set of his 1961 film Accattone in the
Gordiani zone of Rome |
To mark the 96th anniversary of Pier Paolo Pasolini's birth, we're revisiting our interview with members of Fondazione Aida, an organization bridging Italy with the
world and educating new generations about the maestros of Italian cinema and beyond.
Based in Verona, Italy, home of Romeo and Juliet, Fondazione at introduces the great Italian authors and
illustrators to youngsters in a way that is both entertaining and
informative. Aida`s hands-on approach
directly involves children by bringing theatre productions right into schools. The members of
Aida also reach beyond the borders of Italy and take their productions on the
road.
Members of Aida participated in a New York City tribute to Pier Paolo Pasolini by bringing their production of Trash to the Big Apple. I sat down with Roberto Terribile, one of the foundation’s artistic directors and Cecilia Cinelli, the former head of international relations. They told me what Fondazione Aida is all
about at how its homage to the great Pasolini keeps his spirit alive and his work relevant.
What is the mission of
Fondazione Aida?
Our foundation is a
professional theatre company for young audiences. It's been around for more than 20 years. Its mission is to promote, among the new
generation, the classic writers and masters of Italy, to keep alive the
importance of the masters' personalities and work. They weren't just filmmakers or poets, but
intellectuals, complete artists.
Tell me about Trash.
Every year, we have at
least five or six new productions. A
performance of Trash was orginally performed in Italy a couple of years ago
when we organized an exhibition dedicated to Pasolini. There was a theatre
performance that was presented to university students but it was just with one
actor. So this performance in New York
is not only with English text, but there are two actors; Rhonda Moore, who is an
American actress and Lorenzo Bassotto, an Italian actor and director.
Where did the name,
Trash, come from?
The performance is made
up of several poems by Pasolini. The poems were written about the lives of
young people living in the rough suburbs of the big cities. He had a very special eye for the most humble
people. He compared those neighborhoods
to trash because of the violence and poverty that was taking place. It wasn't just a chronicle that he made of
society. His way was always poetic with his gentle eye towards these poor
people. So this performance highlighted
the way he expressed what he saw.
How do children find
out about your foundation?
Our headquarters is in
Verona. We are known for our weekly
performances, which students attend and on Sunday afternoons. We have a special
family day in which students come with their families. We organize workshops and we tour Italy,
performing at schools, theatres and festivals. Our company has also toured Mexico and Guatemala, participating in
the Festival International Cervantino. We travel all over the world and have done many productions in the
United States with different authors and illustrators.
Is your foundation open
to American children?
Yes, we are always
looking for co-productions where we can work with American actors and dancers
like we're doing with this Trash performance. So, we're very open to meeting people, meeting actors.
Can you tell me about other interesting projects?
Well, we're working on
many projects, but one of our most important is an exhibition on Gianni
Rodari, a famous children's author
in Italy. He's also very well known all
over the world. He died in 1980. He
just loved children and had a great relationship with them. He knew how to relate to them. The exhibition consists of videos
of him interacting with children and a performance
of one of his novels, Grammatica
della Fantasia (The Fantasy of Grammar).
For more information
about Fondazione Aida, visit them online at www.fondazioneaida.it.
- Jeannine Guilyard
- Jeannine Guilyard
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