Hybrid ritual. Theatre in Palm

 My theatrical experience with Theatre in Palm started in Sardinia from 6 to 17 november. During the first week we all worked online. Our group representing Belgium had to work in different little groups for the first 3 days, because Andrea and Virginia were busy with a theater tour, while Dafne lives in Florence. I was operational from the Cagliari office together with Ilaria. The first task that the mentors assigned us was to create a performance to present to the other groups with a duration of maximum 5 minutes. This performance had to be inspired by the topics covered on the first day. I worked on the wedding rite and the customs that exist in Sardinia. The ritual of rice and candles which are auspicious and long lasting. During this week our mentors explained to us in detail the work we would have to do, after an initial connection with all the participating countries we started working. The themes of the first day were Antigone, rituals, types of ephemeral and eternal happiness, organic materials and climate change. We worked with our trio online to get to know each other. Also we did artistic experiments with the impulse materials: organic material, the Text of Antigone (Sophocles or Anouith) and Climate change. We discussed these questions: what does climate change mean in each partner country? What can the Antigone tragedy give us in our modern age? What kind of organic materials can end up in our performances? We collaborated with others using text, visualization, scenography, song, choreography, scene and gestures. In the following days, Mentors gave us 5 minutes of planning time to create a coworking group using the different materials. I worked with all Italian groups with earth: first dirtying the body of Antigone and then cleaning it. It was a work that we perfected during the second week. So, during this week we got to know all the people in our residency and trio. We also explored and were inspired by discussions, exercises, and impulse materials.

I believe that the Mirroring concentration exercise that the Irish Mentor Michael proposed was very inspiring because it encouraged performers to work together in focused, cohesive harmony. During the second week we discussed the work done in the first week online and which themes we liked most and how to link all the work. The group decided to work on an Irish song presented by the Irish group which fully represented Antigone’s themes and we decided to go deeper into the work on dirtying and cleaning Antigone’s body. Before starting with the creation we did a series of exercises proposed by mentor Fabio: space, mirroring and touching.The following day we decided on the performance schedule. The song “The Auld Triangle” ; Antigone’s monologue performed by Daphne; Creonts’ Monologue; The work on dirtying and cleaning Antigone’s body that I represented; sentences in different languages “Either we stop it or it will stop us”. Then we recorded the first study of our work to send to the trio.

The third day, we decided that we should focus on less material and we have to go deeper because the performance was supposed to last a maximum of 15 minutes. At the end we saw the work of the other countries that are part of our trio. We worked on Antigone’s monologue, played by Dafne, who became a Greta Tumberg who came from the past and said her opinion. The monologue was recorded and reproduced from a mobile phone. A group of politicians, including the prime minister, discussed what Antigone said and what to do about it. We also created a physical scene in which there is a confrontation between Creont and Antigone. The performance ends with a sort of rebirth for Antigone, her body covered in mud is cleaned and she finally starts breathing again. The last two days we tested our performance, perfecting it and adding materials that could better link the work done by the trio. In the first part we decided to use leaves to cover Antigone’s body. While the Irish group inserted a piece of our song “The Auld Triangle” Belgium worked with water. It was wonderful to see the works of all the groups, all different but valid at the same time. One of my favorites was “Plastigone”. I like the strong image they gave, although I believe that the works done live have an added value. I was so excited to take part in the theater in Palm, the first ever Creative Europe platform project for theater art. It was fantastic working together with 12 partners from all over Europe to collaborate and co-created a show on an international and intercultural platform. I hope I can have the chance to take part in another work like this. It was a great growth for me, working with people of different cultures, acquiring new methods and new awareness.

by Francesca Cabiddu (actress)