Theaters contain shows, but they can be a show. This is what the Fai spring day of the Asti delegation with travel in “Present and disappeared theaters of Asti”. At the weekend, Asti residents and tourists will be able to visit the Alfieri Theater and Scenic Tower, Stage 19, or Politeama, Spazio Kor and Casa del Teatro 3, accompanied by the Fai volunteers with the “Ciceroni Apprentices” of the Alfieri classical high school.
In Asti, the head of the Fai delegation is Anna Lidia Goria with the deputy Roberta Bellesini Faletti: «The idea of the theaters was born last October when the Casa del Teatro 3 was inaugurated – says Bellesini – we imagined that the Fai Days could be an opportunity to open it to visitors and make it known. Laura Becchio, member of the delegation, proposed to broaden the “journey” by imagining a journey through the theaters of the city and their history ». From the shared idea to the journey: on Saturday and Sunday the Fai Days will open curtains and scenes, audiences and stages.
The visit to Alfieri (only on Sunday 27 March) provides a path in front of the proscenium and behind the curtain, to discover the complex mechanism behind the scenes, normally hidden from the gaze of visitors. Also at Alfieri, a visit to the scenic tower will show what the public does not see but that the insiders know well: the scenes, the harlequin and the wings, the positioning of the lights and the trusses, the maneuvering ropes, accessing the galleries up to the grid (only on Sundays, visit reserved for Fai members).
In via Ospedale, the entrance to the Politeama Theater, now Stage 19 (Saturday only) is an opportunity to learn about the history of a place “which has now lost much of its past, but which also deserves to be understood in its historical aspect and in relation to the complex, rich and important panorama of the theaters of Asti, of today and yesterday “.
The visit to Spazio Korin addition to the evolution of the building, it will lead to the discovery of interactive maquettes that invite the visitor to interact with the techniques and technologies actually used in the theater, contained in the museum «The machine of illusions», dedicated to Eugenio Guglielminetti.
The journey to the Casa del Teatro 3in via Scarampi, in addition to accompanying you to an unusual and suggestive place, it is an opportunity to tell the actor’s profession, the history of the theater and theaters of Asti from the Roman period to today: “Precisely because this is the last, the youngest – explains the delegation – completes the path we have chosen for the Fai Spring Days ».
An opportunity to discover that in the Casa del Teatro 3 the stage space is ecological, made with recycled material, fruit boxes, mannequins abandoned after the closure of a shop, many pieces of sets from old shows. That the Politeama was inaugurated in 1908 by a show by the transformer Leopoldo Fregoli, that the opening of the Alfieri dates back to 1860 with the representation of Rossini’s “Moses”, that the Spazio Kor is a former church with a long and complex.
A two-day event that the Fai delegation created thanks to the availability of the Municipality, Culture Department, theater directions involved and with the help of Salvatore Leto, Ottavio Coffano, Ileana Spalla, Fabiana Sacco and Matteo Bosia: «Each of them – continues Bellesini – has told about these theaters, as they are today and as they were in the past».
Stories that can be read in the files published on the Fondo Ambiente Italiano website and heard from the voice of the Aspiring Ciceroni of the Alfieri high school: “There are 32, all three-year students – explains the manager Stella Perrone – they will be engaged for the event after 20 hours of preparation, lessons in the classroom and in theaters ». The initiative is part of the PCTO projects (alternation between school and work) with coordinating tutor Andrea Bertelli.
The visits will take place in compliance with the anti Covid regulations (with reinforced Green Pass and Ffp2 mask). Opening hours 10-12.30 and 14.30-18 (it is necessary to book on www.giornatefai.it). Who decides to participate in the Fai Days will be able to offer a contribution to support the Foundation starting from 3 euros. Those who wish can further support the FAI with higher contributions or with the annual registration (online or during the event). –