Without the Arno, Florence would be like Romolo - The Florentine

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Life in Italy
Making connections through theater
Day of memory takes center stage at FITC event
by P.M. Louis
is a powerful and
unique art form because
‘Theatre
its essential nature is based
on gathering people together to tell
stories, hear them, see them and
feel them. The stories we feel most
deeply are the ones that explore our
collective history. They question
and expose the human condition
and often celebrate the connecting
points between us’, says the Florence
International Theatre Company’s
co-artistic director Bari Hochwald,
in reference to FITC’s newest
project. A unique mix of drama
and history, the project foresees
an annual program that recognizes
theatre as a vital way to keep the
conversation of Holocaust events
alive for all members of the community
and spark their participation in
Il Giorno della Memoria.
FITC begins this journey in association
with the Jewish community
of Florence and will be creating an
entire afternoon dedicated to creativity,
education and community
on February 11th. ‘We cannot forget
the Holocaust because it was both
beyond imagination and within
the depth of human capacity’, says
Hochwald. ‘That is why my coartistic
director, Aaron Craig, and I
are committed to fi nding a way to
develop this project. We are looking
forward to Dominique Cieri’s assistance
in creating the event in the
most comprehensive way possible’.
Dominique Cieri, New Jersey
Playwright Fellow and educational
consultant for FITC, has been a key
player in making the company’s
goals a reality. Co-author of the
book From the Attic, to the Classroom
to the Stage—The Holocaust,
Cieri has spent the last 10 years
using her love of theatre and her
passion for telling deep human
Synagogue of Florence
truths to enhance the program of
Holocaust Studies at Yavneh Academy
in New Jersey. Each year she
works with 13-year-old students
to adapt a non-fi ction work into
drama and present the play to the
community. And each year, Cieri
begins the journey of reacquainting
herself with the horrors of
the Shoah, the power of faith and
human beings’ capacity to become
villains, survivors or heroes in the
face of unimaginable odds.
‘There are many ways to learn’,
Cieri says. ‘I believe that Yavneh’s
Holocaust Studies program is one
of the best available because it goes
beyond academia, enhancing learning
through the arts. The Holocaust
play is a vital aspect of the synthesis
of knowledge and a kinetic
experience which translates into a
performance by very real people.
Each year, my eighth grade class
steps into the shoes of men and
women like Krystyna Chiger, who
as a child went into the sewers of
L’vov with her family, where they
sought refuge for 14 months. This is
the unique and meaningful process
of history coming to life through
drama’.
At 3pm on February 11, audiences
can witness the experience
of Krystyna Chiger in Sewers of
L’vov. The play was written by the
students at Yavneh, under the guidance
of Cieri and will be performed
by community members and FITC
artists here in Florence. Involving
over 40 people, 10–70 years of
age, expatriate and Italian, as well
as international students, the play
will be performed in both English
and Italian. The drama with be followed
by a reception, and the event
will conclude with a panel of leading
educators discussing the impor-
tance of studying the Holocaust
today. In this way, the artistic directors
of FITC hope that this event
will be a launching pad for creating
original plays throughout the years,
utilizing Cieri’s model, with the
children of Florence in order to tell
the stories that unfolded in Tuscany
during that historical period.
‘This use of theatre as a tool for
education helps it become a shared
community event which examines
the very human intricacies of choice
and action that occurred during
the Holocaust. It is an opportunity
for everyone—performers and
audience members alike—to confront
their own feelings, opinions
and beliefs about this particular
human tragedy not only as a history
but also as a continual cycle
that occurs and reoccurs each day
on this planet’.
21
Thursday 8 February 2007
The ARTS
Sala Sadun,
Synagogue of Florence
via L.C. Farini, 4
3pm – staged reading;
5pm – reception;
5:30pm – panel discussion
Entry is free, but seating is ex -
tremely limited and reservations
are strongly recommended. For
reservations and further information:
info@fl orencetheatre.com or
055 239 9949.