Catania – Dreams want him Stable, reality makes him unstable. Fragile and precious, a breath is enough to shatter it. Hardly emerged from the crisis that led to its closure and the commissioner, the Teatro Stabile di Catania is burdened by 14 million “holes”, spread in 350 thousand euros to be paid every year. “A fearful debt with respect to our budget, which occupies a large part of our energies: a somersault every time”, says Carlo Saggio, notary and former president of the Compagnia delle works of eastern Sicily, designated by the Metropolitan City to the presidency of the Council of administration, the governing body of the Catania body, expiring this month, also composed of the vice president Lina Scalisi (appointed by the Municipality), Fabio Roccuzzo and Loredana Lauretta (appointed by the Region) and Raffaele Marcoccio (representative of the Theater of Sicily). A Board of Directors that has ferried the Stable to safety.
“Commissioner Peace had started the reorganization process, but the Theater was in a very difficult situation. In good faith and with many errors we have done something », niche Saggio. «We have put in order by bringing a bit of healthy business culture: don’t spend more than what you have and keep in mind all the factors of production. We have rebuilt the credibility of the theater in debt to workers, actors, companies. It was not taken for granted that the recovery plan was approved. Thanks to the participation of civil society we were able to restructure it ». An example? «The works of the foyer and the facade. The companies worked at minimal cost, we found internal resources, the city proved to be sensitive ». And the public? «It was enough to reawaken their attention and love to have the Theater full. More or less acceptable choices were made, but the result of the resources we had. Among the first steps was the appointment of the director, Laura Sicignano who had the best profile for us, we wanted someone who came from the border ».
There was no lack of controversy over the titles of the season and the actors. «There was a good involvement of local workers, interpreters, directors. It can be done better? Always. But certainly no actors from Trento were called. There was attention to local workers ». The biggest difficulty? “Make it clear that change was possible.” Politics? “Never received pressure or requests. The institutions have supported us, they have been close in the most difficult moments ». The board will expire in this month. What will happen? «We would like to present an assessment of what we have done and what remains to be done. I am an advocate of replacement, those who arrive bring new ideas and enthusiasm ».
It is a Stable that is still “unstable”. «To be consolidated. To get out of this fragility, the 350 thousand euros to be paid every year are a huge burden. Funds from the Ministry and the Region are disbursed for workers and shows. The municipality and the metropolitan city, with great efforts, have paid the backlog. It is not enough. We cannot get money from the banks in advance. Debts have to be paid and we have shown that it is possible to do so, but if this burden is lightened, perhaps by doubling the number of installments over time, we could find resources more easily. There are still many structural problems: we do not have a warehouse, it was not possible to restart the school, we do not have a second room… ». «When we took office the seats in the theater were foreclosed – says the vice president Lina Scalisi, professor of Modern History at the University of Catania – It was a very strong impact. The internal and external restructuring was the first concern », he continues. «It was necessary to re-establish a climate of trust among the workers and mend cultural relations. The Stabile has always had a very strong influence on the city but the last few years had disaffected the public, stiffened the networks. We wanted to remove the opacity, the negativity that had been created around the Theater. From my point of view, I have tried to restore links with the world of education, to inaugurate new relationships, with the schools of the city and the province, we have made an agreement with the university. Creating a hard core of young audiences. We have built a focus on social media, accompanied the initiatives with theater tutors, launched workshops for teachers. Intense work with the departments of Economics, Education, Political Sciences and Humanities has led to studies, doctoral theses, many cultural projects. The Stable has begun to “network” – explains the vice president – The pandemic has unfortunately stopped many initiatives, in particular one on disability that would have led Catania to be the capital of education for a different citizenship. Although Covid has pushed to create new languages, to experiment with new techniques alongside traditional programming ».
Among the initiatives carried out, “Totalitarianism. The words of Power “, a series of meetings – including videoconferences – on Hitler, Stalin and Mao with historians Anna Foa, Peppino Ortoleva and the professor of History of the show, Fernando Gioviale, accompanied by readings by actors. “A Public History” resumes Scalisi. Which underlines the work «at the service of the community»: «We tried to recover memory, not to celebrate the past but to rediscover identity. This enormous wealth of sources, sketches, photos, costumes whose recovery is not so obvious and the loss is irreparable ». The Stable, which needs a “certain and defined stage also for the summer”, “has become a multiform space where exhibitions, meetings, readings and workshops alternate. A place where the request of different generations can be satisfied, so that the Catania Theater is increasingly the symbol of the city ».