“Capinera”, the final performance of the first artistic residency of Playing Memories, took place in Milan on Monday, 16 December 2024 at 4:00 PM at the cultural centre Base Milano.
The Playing Memories project had finally come to life: after weeks of intense work, experimentation, and dialogue between artistic languages, the participants were ready to present to the public the result of their journey. “Capinera” was an artistic exploration inspired by Giovanni Verga’s novel “Storia di una capinera”, incorporating elements of dance, theatre, music, and visual arts.
The artistic residency, which took place over two weeks at the Saint Louis campus in Milan on Viale Bodio 37, served as a vibrant laboratory of creativity. It brought together talents from various artistic disciplines to create a collective work, where the encounter of diverse perspectives gave rise to a piece blending tradition and innovation, technique and improvisation.
This event was not just a performance, but a celebration of collaboration and the transformative power of art. The theatrical project was in fact inspired by – and reimagined – Verga’s epistolary novel “Storia di una capinera”.
However, the central character was not Maria – the nineteen-year-old girl confined to a convent in Catania since the age of seven and forced to become a cloistered nun – but ‘Capinera’, Maria’s alter ego, the artistic name of a woman, artist, and singer-songwriter who had taken refuge in a shelter for victims of violence.
During her sessions, she retraced the four key events of her life and, through this journey, tried to rediscover herself and free herself from guilt by narrating and expressing who she was. The story began at a point where almost everything had already happened.
The events the author/singer-songwriter revisited were flashbacks, linked by a common thread of images, music, dance, and sound.
The inspiration behind the project, born from an idea by Beatrice Goracci, a third-year student in the Pop-Rock Singing academic course at Saint Louis, revolved around creating a female-centred story with a protagonist who did not passively suffer (like Maria) but, with the help of her tutor, took action (as Capinera) to reclaim herself through catharsis, thanks to the strength and power of art.
Maria had been forced into the convent by her family. Then she fell in love with Nino. And died of love. Capinera had been forced by her husband to give up her passion for music, to stop seeing her friends, to stay indoors, not to make phone calls. She still loved him. And almost died. Almost…
At the heart of the project was the idea that, through art, ‘Capinera’ recognised her trauma (physical and psychological abuse, guilt, and feelings of inadequacy), embraced it, and confronted it—eventually feeling the stirrings of a new life.
The performance “Capinera” was premiered at the cultural centre “Base Milano”, located at Via Ambrogio Bergognone da Fossano, 34, on 16 December at 4:00 PM, featuring the following performers:
PERFORMERS
Beatrice Goracci – Voice and Concept
Maria Vittoria Benigni – Electric Bass
Sabrina La Macchia – Direction
Penelope Massa – Actress
Rachele Amore – Piano/Keyboards/Voice
Stefano Corradini – Drums
Michele Gualano – Sound Designer
Francesco Freschet – Guitars
Chiara Scaglianti – Piano/Keyboards/Voice
Kart Laidmale – Visual Artist
Eva Lotta Kliimask – Choreographer
Reti Ann Niimann – Choreographer
Aoi Fujiwara – Dancer
Noa Hirasawa – Dancer
Helena Frias Ollero – Dancer
Carolina Cecilia Marchi – Dancer
The second performance of Capinera was held on 19 December at Tallinn University-BFM (Baltic Film, Media and Arts School).
The PM – Playing Memories project, led by Saint Louis, was among the winners of the PNRR call for funding aimed at the internationalisation of AFAM institutions.
Project partners included RUFA – Rome University of Fine Arts, Conservatorio Alfredo Casella in L’Aquila, Fondazione Accademia d’Arti e Mestieri dello Spettacolo Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and ISIA of Rome.
PLAYING MEMORIES aimed to create and stage multidisciplinary artistic performances in various cities around the world. The goal was to conceive, compose, set up, and perform a multidisciplinary piece (totalling 8 performances) in just 15 days, with the creative and collaborative contribution of each artist and performer in residence, under the supervision of coaches and tutors.
As the lead institution, Saint Louis selected the 8 projects and the various performers involved. The goal of each residency was the final performance. Each residency featured two performances: the first in a theatre or festival in the host city, the second at an institution in another European city.
All residencies and related performances were fully recorded by a television crew, to create a docu-series to be released on a prestigious international streaming platform.