Approdi. Facing the next distances
Theatre, Society, Territory
The Approdi project identified as the main beneficiaries of the interventions the Veneto theatre production realities that have developed and consolidated professionally in search of a balance between the quality of the cultural proposal and the differentiation of services and activities, also with a view to economic sustainability. The project was conceived to support these strategies of innovation in theatrical work by exploiting the present situation of emergency and crisis as a vector for rethinking the very theme of ‘distancing’ in a creative key. The predisposition to ‘near distances’ has thus become a sort of oxymoron generating reflection on the dialectic between proximity and distancing.
APPRODI set out to intervene in the re-weaving of relations between theatre, audience and society: without denying the value of theatre production as a collective and social good, an attempt was made to organically address the issues of production for the market, differentiation of supply, audience segmentation and theatre production business models. Particular attention was paid to the possibilities of conceiving Veneto theatre production with a view to internationalisation and opening up to markets and audiences of different cultures and languages.
The project therefore also set itself important training goals, grafting on good theoretical and methodological training the ability to grasp the potential for innovation presented to theatre professionals in the post-pandemic era. Hence the need to develop transversal skills, which are always new and evolving, especially when looking at the field of digital technologies. The main training objective was therefore to increase digitisation in the Veneto theatre sector as a vector of new possibilities for the creation, expression, communication and dissemination of art and culture.
The aim was also to increase civic engagement by bringing theatre to new audiences and sectors through tools such as participatory theatre and new technologies capable of breaking down barriers, encouraging dialogue and helping the rich cultural tradition of the Veneto region to flourish. Another training objective was to develop a digital strategy for independent theatre spaces to help them integrate new technologies into long-term artistic productions, dissemination and international co-production models. Central, especially in connection with the acquisition of new equipment, was then the accompaniment of the creation of innovative works combining new technologies with the immediacy of theatre. Augmented reality, virtual reality, interactive tools and new audio technology were presented as largely unexplored ways to create more engaging and compelling theatrical experiences and to thrill audiences with the unexpected.
The training and action-research activity culminated in the ‘Theatre, Society, Territory’ review, which aimed to create a true culturally-based territorial development process, in which the different companies collaborated with each other to define common languages and practices, in dialogue with places and communities.