Underskog

Trasformatorio is about settling and developing an annual laboratory for performative arts in a remote community in Sicily: Montelbano Elicona (province Messina). This laboratory focuses on development of innovative site-specific performances and theatre installations, in close connection with the landscape, history and traditions of the people of Montalbano.

A group of international artists, from various disciplines is invited and selected to participate in workshops and initiate projects within the community and its surrounding landscape. Main challenge to the artists is to go back to the basic questions of performative arts in this specific place: “What can we be aware of here and transform into a vital work, a work that shares/communicates a pure reflection on what is present for us here?”

The topic of sustainability, both of natural landscape and cultural life, follows directly and organically on these basic questions. Awareness of the place and local culture is artistic starting point. The ‘transformations’ that we seek, are meant to enrich the cultural exchange of both the local people and the visiting artists. Artistically ‘reading‘ a place means in our project: taking care of the place. Therefore we explicitly connect research of sustainability in site-specific performative arts to the artistic research.

Trasformatorio is conceived by the consort of the University of Messina and the cultural administration of Montelbano Elicona in collaboration with dramaturg and artistic director Federico Bonelli.

Trasformatorio springs from the local necessity to create via artistic movement an enhanced cultural sharing, in a region, that is remote, but full of natural, historical and traditional resources.

Description of the project
The first edition of Trasformatorio (numbered ‘zero’), took place April 1-14, 2013.

Artists and students from various countries participated to one week of workshops and one week of laboratory. Participants were coming from Italy, Netherlands, UK, Austria, Bulgaria and Slovenia.

The activities in these two weeks contained:
1. Establishing the basics (gathering food and all other material necessities) on the locations where we were working and living. This very basic practical activity was considered and worked out as one of the means of ‘mapping’ the place and to be immediately involved with the local people.Therefore the participants set up their own kitchen and prepared two meals a day using mostly local food and seasonal regional products. Pans and food were offered by locals. Courtesy exchange with the neighbors became a habit. For example, a man named Antonio, offered carbon for the fire once and another day fishes he caught in the lake nearby, in exchange of stories and a glass of wine. This form of ‘mapping’ resulted in being quickly familiar within the community (instead of being seen as an isolated group of foreign people). It also brought us in good contact with other cultural associations, who are using the local theatre, the cinema and various spaces in the restored medieval castle of Montalbano. Hence, an invitation to cooperate came from both the artistic director of the summer theatre-program and from a local association organizing a summer school.

2. Workshops and laboratory that were focused on development of personal artistic skills for theatrical work that is essentially site-specific. This is a research of dramaturgy that expresses a truly specific exchange, responding to the specific environment (= people, history, space) of Montalbano Elicona. This dramaturgical research involves a technical research on sustainability; an exploration of technical tools that can be used for a site-specific performances, that help create a theatrical transformation with the most limited damages to the natural environment.

3. Presentation of the research in discussions, speeches, performances and installations.
The explorations of the artists were communicated to different audiences, in different ways, according to the content, character and state of development of ideas and performance material. 

The presentation is supported by PNEK.