Reggio, “Cosmo & Comice” is back: the Kids MedFest for Calvino

John

By John

A theater designed for children that inspires contact with science, literature and art. It’s back, from today until next October 8th, distributed in various locations in Reggio Calabria, “Cosmo & Comice”, the Ragazzi MedFest for Italo Calvino: The Space Theater Festival which avails itself of the artistic direction of Gaetano Tramontana. The objective is to bring young people closer to dramaturgical languages ​​by creating cultural spaces designed to meet their needs and flows into a multidisciplinary path of artistic contamination as a stimulus to look at today’s world, bringing them closer to the great testimonies of the past. And this seventh edition, which celebrates the centenary of the birth of Italo Calvino, has the flavor of celebration, in the valorisation of innovative scenic expressions.

«In recent years we have become increasingly aware of the liveliness of children’s theatre, of the tendency towards experimentation and contamination with different disciplines such as history or science – comments the artistic director Gaetano Tramontana -. Already in previous editions, we have proposed shows that addressed these issues in a light and fun way, but which were also able to make the little ones reflect through the play of theatre. With “Cosmo & Comice” we complete this journey, starting from the concept “cosmos”, an important source of inspiration for Calvino’s work:

The programming is wide-ranging (theater, music, exhibitions, meetings) which today entrusts the opening to a team of artists: Compagnia Accademia Creativa, I Gatti Ostinati, Patuncha, Renata Falcone, Anna Calarco, Tekhla De Marco will meet on Corso Garibaldi while from tomorrow the exhibition of illustrations “Italian Excellences – Figures for Italo Calvino” curated by Bologna Children’s will be available. Book Fair, Drosselmeier Academy and Giannino Stoppani Foundation. At the Urban Center, the possibility is to immerse yourself in Calvino’s work through the visual, thanks to the works of important illustrators on the national and international scene (the inauguration of the exhibition will be preceded by a workshop on Calvino and his imagination, held by Grazia Gotti, curator of the exhibition, while Giulia Tomai, one of the illustrators present, will meet the school groups on 5 October).

Scrolling through the billboard dedicated to theatre, the arrival of Mario Perrotta, 2022 Ubu Award for the best new Italian text, is highly anticipated, on stage on 8 October at the Zanotti Bianco Auditorium with “Come una specie di vertigo. Calvino, freedom”, a work in which the actor and playwright conducts a new and very personal investigation into the works of Italo Calvino, starting from a fragile but fundamental word: freedom.

On September 29th at the De Gasperi Auditorium, the Sosta Palmizi Company will present “Costellazioni. Ready, set… space!” on the discovery of the universe with Francesco Ippolito, Olga Mascolo and Anna Moscatelli, while on October 6th at the Zanotti Bianco Auditorium SpazioTeatro will stage a Special Production designed for the Ragazzi MedFest: the performance reading “Tre Cosmicomiche” (also in matinee for the schools on 26 and 27 September). Sunday 1st October, an appointment between music and theater at the Zanotti Bianco Auditorium with “Marcovaldo – Peppe Servillo reads Calvino”, with live music by Cristiano Califano and the narrative voice of Peppe Servillo. And finally, there is no shortage of numerous moments dedicated to literature, to encourage the dimension of listening in the little ones: the presentation of the volume “Storia di un protone” by Filippo Bonaventura; the reading journey curated by Veronica Giuffrè (30 September at the Urban Center), the readings aloud by Nati per Leggere Reggio Calabria (2 October at the Libreria Libro Amico) and the meeting with the author Domenico Scarpa (October 3 at the Urban Center).