DIREZIONE ARTISTICA RUGGERO CAPPUCCIO – 2019

The XII edition of Napoli Teatro Festival Italia, the third directed by Ruggero Cappuccio, presented a rich programme that offers theater, dance, literature, cinema, shows dedicated to sport, video-performance, music, exhibitions, and workshops. The 37day event was held at 40 different venues – including theaters and non-theatrical venues – involving artists and operators from 29 foreign countries. 880 artists took part in the Festival, and 236 participants in the workshops; the event hosted a total of 146 live performances (among theater, music, and dance), including 63 world premieres, and 18 Italian premieres of foreign shows, for a total of over 300 events all over the Campania region.

Particular emphasis was given to the focuses dedicated to the new Arab scene, to Eimuntas Nekrosius and Pina Bausch, in addition to Creative Europe and La Francia in scena projects.

Great relevance has been given to the international theater with numerous productions and co-productions made by the festival. NTFI produced Liz Aggiss’ Slap and Tickle and Michalis Theophanous’ Tiresias. It also co-produced: Kanata – Épisode I La controverse by Théâtre du Soleil with Festival d’Automne à Paris, Printemps des Comedians, Onassis Foundation Athens; Cronache di una città senza nome with La Filature – Scène Nationale de Mulhouse, Kunstfest Weimar, Le POC – Alfortville; Tandem – Scène Nationale Arras Douai, Théâtre Jean-Vilar de Vitry-Sur-Seine; Sous un ciel bas with Les Bancs Publics – Marseille, France, Palais des Beaux Arts, BOZAR – Bruxelles, Shubbak – London, Dancing on the Edge – Amsterdam, Pays-Bas, Weimar festival of arts Weimar, Allemagne, One Week Dance Fondation – Plovdiv, LOOP – Athens, Greece, SEE Foundation Stockholm, D-CAF Festival – Cairo, Egypte (project co-financed by the EU).

While for the Italian section, the following were co-produced: Angels in America – Si avvicina il millennio e Perestroika by Tony Kushner with Teatro dell’Elfo; Nella lingua e nella spada with Le belle Bandiere and Ravenna Festival; Il tempo è veleno with Teatri Uniti; Coltelli nelle galline with Teatro Franco Parenti; Madre Courage e i suoi figli with Società per attori/Teatro Metastasio di Prato; La ronda degli ammoniti with Compagnia Teatrale Enzo Moscato/Casa del Contemporaneo; Moving with Pina with Il Teatro Blu, il Funaro Pistoia/Fondazione Teatro Piemonte. To these shows are added those of the Pompeii Theatrum Mundi projects (Edipo a Colono – La Tempesta – Satyricon – Il Paradiso Perduto. Leela), in collaboration with Teatro Stabile di Napoli.

NTFI shared 13 titles of its programme with an event of primary importance for the city of Naples such as the 2019 Universiade.

The 2019 edition of NTFI has seen the partnerships with the university network confirmed: the University of Naples Federico II, Suor Orsola Benincasa University, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples.

A collaboration has been activated with the Federico II University, Degree Course in Disciplines of Music and Entertainment. History and Theory, creating the possibility of traineeships for students with the Communication Office (in the Promotion and Press Office sectors). The collaboration with the Master in dramaturgy and cinematography was also renewed.

The Master in radio broadcasting of Suor Orsola Benincasa University has designed a radio format on the creative and organizational aspects behind the realization of NTFI (5 episodes). While the Master in Theater, pedagogy, and didactics. Methods, techniques, and practices of the scenic arts worked on the creation of a storytelling format on the Workshops and Observatory sections of the Festival.

The relationship with the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples, whose students at the School of Scenography have participated in traineeships at the Technical office and the Organizational office, has also been renewed.

The partnerships activated with the universities in previous years have been joined by recent ones with the University of Naples L’Orientale, the Link Campus University, the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli.

Various activities were conducted with the Asia Africa and the Mediterranean Department of the University of Naples L’Orientale: the students attended the shows and produced of a paper on the international programme of NTFI; they participated in the Creative Europe Gathering: the texts and the plays of the artists were then studied by the Translation Workshops conducted by the professors of L’Orientale. The translated texts were presented as the first volume of the series directed by Michele Bernardini and Monica Ruocco dedicated to the translation of contemporary literature and dramaturgy; finally, the students took part in 3 public meetings organized in the framework of NTFI and Quartieri di Vita.

In the context of the 2019 edition of NTFI, the institutional network was expanded both locally and internationally. The financial support of the French Institute, the French Embassy, and the Nuovi Mecenati Foundation for the French programme of Napoli Teatro Festival Italia, was significant, as well as the collaboration with the Grant of the Institut Français in Paris in the Incounturnable call, a funding device for large-scale projects that emphasize the new French production.

Of great importance for the 2019 programme was the support received by the Goethe Institut and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Berlin for the projects of the German area of NTFI and of Quartieri di Vita.

In addition, the British Council contributed to the promotion and, thanks to their Grant, also to the financial support for the British shows included in the NTFI 2019 programme.

FCF has also collaborated with international networks of cultural operators, among which the Rennes International Festival and the Berlin Theatertreffen Network funded by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, thanks to which it has received support for travel and accommodation.

Furthermore, thanks to the French Embassy, Fondazione Campania dei Festival has been included among the cultural cooperation bodies in a large network organized during the FESTIVAL TNB – TNB – Center Européen Théâtral et Chorégraphique of RENNES. Thanks to the Institut Francais, FCF has entered the network of international relations promoted by the Institute of Paris in collaboration with Théâtre National de Bretagne (TNB), Office National de Diffusion Artistique (Onda) and the regional cultural agency Spectacle Vivant en Bretagne (SVB).

Thanks to the Goethe Institut, the German Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Berlin, FCF has been selected as the national representative within the international network of the 56th Theatertreffen Berlin 2019.

Another international network is the one that led to the creation of the Performances Beyond Two Shores projects, supported by the European Commission within the Creative Europe program. Les Bancs Publics was the project leader together with Pôle des arts de la Scène – Friche la Belle de Mai Marseille (France) Arab arts focus with the support of Stiftelsen Studio Emad Eddin and Ford Foundation (Egypt-Sweden). The partners, besides Les Bancs Publics (Marseille) and Napoli Teatro Festival Italia (Napoli), are Palais des Beaux Arts BOZAR (Bruxelles), Shubbak (London), Dancing on the Edge (Amsterdam), Weimar festival of arts (Weimar). These are joined by the associated partners One Week Dance Foundation (Plovdiv), LOOP (Athens), SEE Foundation (Stockholm), Sweden with D-CAF Festival (Cairo).

Fondazione Campania dei Festival is also part of the large network called Italia Festival: the Italia Festival Association connects FCF to the EFA European Festival Association.

The Artistic Direction of Ruggero Cappuccio in 2019 decided to participate in the European Arab Theater international project partnership network with 19 institutions including universities, advanced training centers, research institutions, and production centers.

At a national level, the 2019 edition has created together with the Teatro Pubblico Pugliese the section dedicated to Teatro Ragazzi, hosting it within the event.

Among the promotional collaborations, we would like to mention Teatri di Roma, CRAL, Arcigay and NPS Italia Onlus, Academies and acting schools, Comicon, Napoli Città Libro, Ferrari Arredamenti.

Agreements have been stipulated with La Feltrinelli, FAI – Italian environment fund, Touring Club Italia, SCABEC – Artecard, Arcigay Antinoo of Naples, Arci Movie, Museum and Royal Wood of Capodimonte, National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Madre Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art Donnaregina, Campania Museum Center (Charterhouse and Museum of San Martino, Sant’Elmo Castle, Duca di Martina Museum, Pignatelli Museum), Paestum Archaeological Park, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Foundation – National Railway Museum of Pietrarsa, Museum of the Treasure of San Gennaro, Filangieri Museum, Via Duomo District – Museum Street  (Monumental Complex of San Severo al Pendino, Pio Monte della Misericordia, National Monument of Girolamini, Donnaregina Monumental Complex and Diocesan Museum).

The Festival, thanks to the Festa dei Teatri per la socialità special project, has created a collaboration with the mental health units of Salerno and its province.

The print and online press saw the presence of 656 journalists for a total of 640 articles on paper (daily, weekly, and periodicals) and over 1000 links to online articles. The national television broadcasts were 58 among the different channels: Tg1 (8 news stories), Tg2 (7 news stories), Tg3 (4 news stories), Tg3 Chi è di scena (4 news stories), Rai News (21 news stories), Uno Mattina, Rai Sport, Rai 5, TV2000, Sky Sport, Vieni da me – Rai, Rai 3 – Save the Date (2 news stories), Tg 3 Linea Notte, as well as 30 news stories on Tg Rai Campania.

20 radio news stories were broadcast on Radio 3 Suite, GR3, GR1, GR2, Radio3 Fahreneit, Radio3 Zaza, Sciarada, Rai Radio Live, Gr Campania.

The collaboration with Rai5 for the creation of a documentary directed by Nadia Baldi, which tells through the words of the protagonists what happens before, during, and after the staging of the shows in Napoli Teatro  Festival Italia, was also confirmed.

In this edition, the sponsorship relationships were growing: Volaviamare, BCC NAPOLI, LETE, Amarelli, MCAR BMW dealership, LE ZIRRE Napoli, ANM Azienda Napoletana Mobilità,

EAV Ente Autonomo del Volturno.

Thanks to the agreements with ANM and EAV, the Festival has animated the stations of the ANM funicular (Piazzetta Augusteo and Piazza Fuga) and of the EAV metro line (Secondigliano and Montesanto stations) with performances that involved the users of the transports. In addition, NTFI participated in the Metro Art Tour, with a surprise mise en scène in which the public was able to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of those places, which have become real sites of cultural interest.

Also in 2019, NTFI was represented at the prize Premio Ubu, which awarded Hubert Westkemper the prize in the Sound project or original music category, for the show Lo Psicopompo.

This year 200 collaborators contributed to the realization of the festival, a number that includes collaborators, freelancers, technical and floor staff.

The 2019 edition was a record edition for the Festival, which has doubled the number of admissions compared to the previous year: the number of spectators has risen from 21 thousand in the last edition to 47 thousand.

Napoli Teatro Festival Italia has received the ministerial award for the three-year period 2018-2020.

Scintille

In addition to the Festival programme, FCF has implemented the SCINTILLE project, a training course for young theater audiences, with the participation of Associazione Quartieri Spagnoli Onlus and Associazione Culturale Agorà.

Quartieri di vita

Still within the artistic direction of Ruggero Cappuccio, Fondazione Campania dei Festival has produced sixteen workshops, shows and events of the Quartieri di vita training and social theater festival, winter session of NTFI: Che sia l’ultimo compleanno di guerra (ASSOCIAZIONE Ensembles PINA BAUSCH FOUNDATION); Mini-workshop by MARIGIA MAGGIPINTO; Another round for five by CRISTIANA MORGANTI; Esistenze. Drammaturgie arabe tra diaspora e rivoluzione (UNIVERSITY OF NAPLES L’ORIENTALE – ASIA AFRICA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN DEPARTMENT); Pollicinella e i canti de lo carnevale (GLI ALBERI DI CANTO TEATRO); Quattro+ (NAPOLI EST TEATRO); BUIO/Fare Teatro… oltre lo sguardo (MURÌCENA TEATRO); Mastrogiorgio (LE NUVOLE / CASA DEL CONTEMPORANEO); “sex_(H)umàn” (DERRIERE LA SCENE); E quello per questo è un sogno (TEATRO CIVICO 14); Hypno-Mnemata (ASSOCIAZIONE CULTURALE LUNGRABBE); Non c’è differenza tra me e il mondo (PUTÉCA CELIDÒNIA); Gioco dell’amore e del caso di MARIO SANTELLA; Le belle stagioni (HYPOKRITÈS TEATRO STUDIO); Il pre-giudicato. Un’odissea sociale (LE VOCI DI DENTRO), Pangea (MAGNIFICO VISBAAL TEATRO).