Thanks for being with us
Dear friends,
We have ended this scholastic year. Regardless of the uncertainties, disruptions and all the inconveniences caused by the pandemic, we nevertheless stayed the course. We maneuvered in ways that I never thought possible to keep the boat afloat, and through the fog, we begin to see land!
This can be attributed mostly to the will of everybody not to acquiesce to those hardships and difficulties that we had to confront. Each person, whether students, teachers, staff or our fans, adjusted in such a way to help us overcome the challenges confronted. To them I am immensely grateful.
However, it also must not go unsaid and unrecognized that the contributions from the Ministero dei Beni Culturali enabled us to keep the activities from totally closing down, which otherwise would have undoubtedly guaranteed a definitive closure. It has not resolved the many obstacles that are ahead of us to assure we stay lucrative, but at least we managed to maintain a continuity.
So now what? Reflecting on all that has happened, the question is; “After 25 years of existence, do we battle on for what we had, or do we redefine what we were into something else?” I have come to the conclusion that if one has to struggle to survive to just become what we were, or to continue with something less, it is just as valid at this point to dream to become something even greater! No? How much more effort does one have to put forth to evolve into something perhaps better? Yes, a rhetorical question if you’re in doubt.
Nevertheless, ATF is faced with overcoming the organizational and financial burdens as a result of the closures and decline in attendance. I suppose the art of survival for humans is finding ways to turn that which seems catastrophic into a positive. The Chinese word for “crisis” is weiji which means both danger and changing point. Nice correlation. However, perhaps a bit of serendipity added wouldn’t be so bad either!
One thing for sure is not to presume there is an ideal situation before taking action. Undoubtedly we’ll have to restructure in ways that assure our survival. We’ll try to get back to some form of normality as quickly as possible. We have restored the Performing Party, and hopefully will recover our Festival Potpourri. We moved forward with the production of a new show, TARTUFO SUPERDRAMA (director Jon Kellam), with the fourth year students in the Masters Program.
But now is also a moment to think seriously where, what and how we may be able to improve and grow. Certainly this means reinforcing our commitments to the theater and performing arts. Above all it is to restate that live performing and direct expressive creativity before a live audience has an invaluable role in the human experience! We have seen what the alternative “virtual” reality proposes, advantages and disadvantages. It can be a medicine in the right doses, but too much might just kill the patient!
Something that I hope you will agree, and thus, continue your generous support by participating in our programs and productions, whether as a spectator or a generous donor. We are looking forward to live performances with and an audience of flesh and bones!
So please pass the word to anyone looking for a place to study theater in a marvelously beautiful country (Italy) and a city (Turin). Here are all the cultural and political elements of contradiction and paradox in varying doses to perhaps make you a little crazy. ATF is a place, just as unique, than can actually prepare you to “endure the realities” facing a performing artist!
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