the wilson project

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project

The Wilson Project is a project realised by La Piccionaia between September 2022 and November 2023, culminating with the production and debut of the first Italian production of a work by August Wilson, Jitney. The play, Jitney by August Wilson, is based on a translation by Angela Soldà, directed by Renzo Carbonera and a cast composed entirely of Afro-Italian actors. To explore the themes of the project, a rich programme of side activities was also realised: in-depth events with artists and experts, film screenings, workshops, artistic residencies and open rehearsals.

The project was realised with the support of the US Consulate General in Milan, by La Piccionaia Centro di Produzione Teatrale in collaboration with partners August Wilson Legacy LLC, University of Padua – DiSLL Dipartimento di Studi Linguistici e Letterari, University of Pittsburgh – European Studies Center.

Called ‘the theatre’s poet of Black America’ for giving a voice to the voiceless, August Wilson is the most important African-American playwright of the 20th century: a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, he is a gigantic figure on the American theatre scene. Disappeared in 2005, he left an extraordinary legacy, especially with his American Century Cycle: a series of 10 plays that offer a comprehensive look, decade by decade, at the legacy and experience of African Americans throughout the 20th century, including exploitation, race relations, identity, migration, and discrimination. A milestone in the history of Black culture, the Century Cycle lives on and its works continue to be embraced by new generations of viewers. Despite his extraordinary relevance within African American and American literature, theatre and culture, August Wilson is still too little known to the general public in Italy. Before The Wilson Project, none of his plays had ever been staged in Italy; indeed, none had ever been translated into Italian, with the exception of a few university theses (on Fences and The piano lesson).

THE WILSON PROJECT promoted, among Italian citizens, organisations and institutions, the knowledge and understanding of the figure and work of August Wilson (Pittsburgh, 27 April 1945 – Seattle, 2 October 2005) as well as the social and cultural context in which he lived and worked, relating them to the challenges of contemporary society.

The project culminated with the production and theatre debut, for the first time ever, of the Italian version of one of August Wilson’s works: Jitney. The production was called Jitney by August Wilson and was directed by Renzo Carbonera and performed by a cast composed entirely of Italian actors of African origin: Alessandra Arcangeli, Yonas Aregay, Maurizio Bousso, Germano Gentile and Aron Tewelde. Accompanying the production process of the show is a programme of activities to deepen and involve the public, linked to August Wilson and the themes of the project:

  • a launch event entitled Black History Month Vicenza. The Wilson Project
  • a series of four webinars with national and international experts from Italy and the United States, streamed live on La Piccionaia’s YouTube channel and available in Italian and English
  • a series of four film screenings organised by the Circolo del Cinema di Verona, at the Cinema Araceli in Vicenza. A programme that investigated the theme of Afro-American identity through different cinematic approaches
  • a workshop for high school
  • the performance Mbira by Aldes / Roberto Castello
  • workshops with the audience members at the Astra Theatre

Start date: 01.09.2022
End date: 30.11.2023

program

🎭 Friday, 31 March | 9 pm
Astra Theatre, Vicenza
ALDES/ROBERTO CASTELLO  MBIRA
choreography and direction Roberto Castello musics Marco Zanotti, Zam Moustapha Dembélé with Ilenia Romano,  Susannah Iheme, Marco Zanotti, Zam Moustapha Dembélé, Roberto Castello
tickets: full price 15 € | reduced 13 €

🌐  Tuesday, 4 April | 6 pm
Online on YouTube

THE DISCOURSE ON RACE IN THE UNITED STATES AND ITALY
with Anna Scacchi, Mackda Ghebremariam Tesfaù, Ngofeen Mputubwele moderation by Susanna O. Twumwah
free attendance

🌐 Saturday. 29 April | 6 pm
Online on YouTube
AFRO-DESCENT ITALIAN VOICES IN THE CONTEMPORARY ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL ITALIAN LANDSCAPE
with Igiaba Scego, Ngofeen Mputubwele, Valentina Rapetti
free attendance

🎭 Friday, 24 February | 6.30 pm
Astra Theatre, Vicenza
BLACK HISTORY MONTH VICENZA words and music between August Wilson and Nina Simone
with Alessandra Arcangeli e Aron Tewelde directed by Renzo Carbonera with the special participation of Riccardo Brazzale
free attendance

🌐 Tuesday, 7 March | 6 pm
Online on YouTube
AUGUST WILSON: THE THEATRE’S POET OF BLACK AMERICA
with Constanza Romero-Wilson, Chris Rawson, Renzo Carbonera moderation by Ada Ugo Abara
free attendance

🌐 Tuesday, 21 March | 6 pm
Online on YouTube
THE LANGUAGE OF BLACK AMERICA
Jitney by August Wilson e the Italian translation

with Lina Insana, Fiona Claire Dalziel, Angela Soldà moderation by Ada Ugo Abara
free attendance

🎬 Wednesday, 19 April | 9 pm
Araceli Cinema, Vicenza
KILLER OF SHEEP
(1977)
a film by Charles Burnett
an LA Rebellion classic by one of the greatest exponents of early African-American cinema
free attendance

🎬 Wednesday, 26 April | 9 pm
Araceli Cinema, Vicenza
FENCES (2016)
a film by Denzel Washington

based on the play of the same name by August Wilson
free attendance

🎬 Wednesday, 3 May | 9 pm
Araceli Cinema, Vicenza
SCAPPA GET OUT (2017)
un film di di Jordan Peele

the horror-political gaze
free attendance

🎬 Wednesday, 10 May | 9 pm
Araceli Cinema, Vicenza
SORRY TO BOTHER YOU (2018)
un film di Boots Riley

the comic-political gaze
free attendance

🎭  Friday, 12 May | 9 pm
Astra Theatre, Vicenza
JITNEY DI AUGUST WILSON
directed by Renzo Carbonera

translation by Angela Soldà
with Alessandra Arcangeli, Yonas Aregay, Maurizio Bousso, Germano Gentile, Aron Tewelde
production la piccionaia
full price 15 € | reduced 13 €

🎭  Friday, 7 July | 8.45 pm
Municipal Theatre, Pergine Valsugana
JITNEY DI AUGUST WILSON
directed by Renzo Carbonera

translation by Angela Soldà
with Alessandra Arcangeli, Yonas Aregay, Maurizio Bousso, Germano Gentile, Aron Tewelde
production la piccionaia
full price 12 € | reduced 9 €

🎭  Saturday, 18 November | 6 pm
Villa dei Leoni Theatre, Mira
DEDICATO AD AUGUST WILSON
directed by Renzo Carbonera

translation by Angela Soldà
with Alessandra Arcangeli and Aron Tewelde
production la piccionaia
free entrance

🎭  dom 19 nov | 7 pm
Groggia Theatre, Venice
DEDICATO AD AUGUST WILSON
directed by Renzo Carbonera

translation by Angela Soldà
with Alessandra Arcangeli and Aron Tewelde
production la piccionaia
ticket 5 €

high school

The project included an in-depth, experiential and creative path, in the form of a PCTO, dedicated to a group of students of the multimedia address of the I.I.S. ‘B. Montagna’ in Vicenza. The workshop developed with:

  • Italian Colonialism. From Adua (1896) to Gondar (1941), with Sergio Lavardasessions with experts to deepen the themes of the project:

August Wilson, the poet of the theatre of Black America, with Angela Soldà, translator of Jitney
Italian colonialism, from Adua (1968) to Gondar (1941), with Sergio Lavarda, historian
The Origin of the Problem. Colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, globalisation, with Vichy Kalev, anti-racist activist, CHAMPS project
The making of Jitney by August Wilson, with Renzo Carbonera, director

  • practical filming sessions by students during rehearsals of Jitney by August Wilson at Teatro Astra in Vicenza, and video interviews with the cast
  • participation in the debut of Jitney di August Wilson at Teatro Astra
  • creative workshop with theatre and film director Filippo Quezel, to engage in an active and creative elaboration of the themes addressed, in particular through the use of audiovisual languages, and in dialogue with the creative phases of Jitney di August Wilson

residencies

In the course of the project, three different theatre residencies took place, realised in collaboration with important national research theatre realities.

Research residency About Wilson | 16 February – 3 March 2023 and from 2 to 4 May 2023 | Villa Manin – Udine

The residency took place within the project Dialoghi Residenze delle arti performative a Villa Manin, conceived and curated by CSS Teatro stabile di innovazione del FVG thanks to the support of MiC – Ministry of Culture, Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia, Fondazione Friuli, in collaboration with ERPAC – Ente Regionale Patrimonio Culturale. The team in residence was composed of Renzo Carbonera (director), Alessandra Arcangeli (musician and actress), Tindaro Granata (actor), Aaron Tewlende (actor), Yonas Aregay (actor), Maurizio Bousso (actor), Germano Gentile (actor), Fabrizio Arcuri (tutor), who tackled a number of texts from August Wilson’s repertoire, with the aim of studying both the work and the social and cultural context in which he lived and worked: a universe populated by stories and characters, problems and values, which still closely concerns us today and calls us to reflect and act in our present, both culturally and socially.

Go to the residency page

Production residency n. 1 | 30 March – 5 April 2023 | Carrozzerie n.o.t. – Rome

Carrozzerie | n.o.t is a cultural centre that sets the creation of new projects related to dance, theatre and performing arts as the cornerstone of its direction. It chooses, as its vocation, the welcoming within its spaces of artistic paths that can find a slow, courageous and far-sighted time to mature an idea even within a complex urban reality such as Rome. The Carrozzerie are also a place for permanent professional and non-professional artistic training and develop, with particular attention, creative and visionary projects aimed at the U_18. This space (since ‘63 a real body shop in Ponte Testaccio) was redeveloped and renovated in the summer of 2013 as a Cultural Association under the artistic direction of Maura Teofili and Francesco Montagna.

Production residency no. 2 | 3 May – 12 May 2023 | Teatro Astra – Vicenza

The last period of residency was in Vicenza, in the theatre that is the historical home of La Piccionaia, and culminated with the presentation, in national preview, of the play Jitney by August Wilson.

objectives

Over the years, three plays of the American Century Cycle have been adapted for the cinema: The Piano Lessons, Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, released in 1995, 2016 and 2020 respectively (only the last two are available with Italian subtitles). However, this did not yet allow Italian audiences to experience August Wilson’s work in its original, theatrical dimension. There are two main reasons for this: firstly, the difficulty of translating African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), the linguistic variety used by Wilson, which is closely linked to the history of displacement, oppression and marginality of African-Americans, and to the rich oral culture of the community (in addition to the lack, in our language, of words and nuances to express race); secondly, the extremely limited presence, in Italian theatre, of actors of African descent (the only ones who can interpret Wilson’s work and his African-American characters without falling into a form of cultural appropriation).

The aim of the project is to stage and present August Wilson’sJitney on Italian stages, combining the process of creation and performance with an audience education programme. The project addressed a wide range of audiences and focused on Wilson’s figure, work and language, as well as the cultural and social context in which he lived and worked, also in relation to the challenges of contemporary society. Furthermore, the project promoted the visibility of people with a migrant background who occupy a positive role in public life (in theatre, in this case), and the innovation and socio-cultural value of theatre and art.

The Wilson Project enabled Italian citizens, public and private institutions and organisations, universities and research centres to explore the universe of one of the main representatives of Black American culture, thus helping them to deepen their knowledge and understanding of American culture beyond the surface and stereotypes. This contributed to the recognition and promotion of shared democratic values such as inclusion, fairness, diversity, and to fostering commitment to the promotion of human rights through cooperation between the United States and Italy, in particular by drawing on the lessons and experience of the United States regarding a meaningful public debate on race, which in the United States has already been developing for decades while in Italy – with rare exceptions – has yet to begin.

The objectives of the project were

  • access for the Italian public to August Wilson’s work in its proper dimension (the theatre) and in Italian, for the first time ever;
  • accessibility and tools for an in-depth understanding of the figure, work and importance of August Wilson, as well as the historical and cultural context in which he lived and worked, also in relation to the contemporary Italian scenario;
  • to deepen the knowledge and understanding of African-American culture within the framework of American culture and society, thus providing a deeper knowledge and understanding of American culture, in all its richness and complexity, beyond stereotypes;
  • of particular importance will be the focus on the recognition of common characteristics between the United States and Italy, also aimed at recognising and understanding the multi-racial nature of the Italian people – which has been removed from the individual and collective consciousness of Italians – and addressing the issue of racism in Italy;
  • creation of the first Italian theatre company entirely composed of Italian or Italian-speakingactors of African origin.

The long-term objectives are:

  • to favour the increase of interest in black and migration studies in Italy among Italian publishers, researchers, universities, research centres, etc., thus favouring an increase of investments by public and private institutions
  • to contribute to raising awareness on racism in Italy, to improve the private and public life of black and migrant people in Italy and to support the commitment of local and national institutions to act for the integration of human rights
  • recognising the opportunity and benefits for Italy to learn from the experience and lessons of the United States on the development of the discourse on race within the public debate, institutions, art, academic studies, etc., thus contributing to initiate a meaningful public debate on racism in Italy as well, thus fostering awareness and social inclusion, and institutional commitment in the fight against racism and prejudice, promoting human rights in Italy, on the basis of the democratic values shared between the United States and Italy, on which cooperation between the United States and Italy should be strengthened at a cultural and social level
  • fostering the broadening of the Italian theatre scene to lesser-known but very important US authors in order to increase its cultural capacity;
  • fostering increased participation of black actors in Italian theatre, as well as of actors with a migrant background in general, with two results – to increase the participation and visibility of people of African descent, as well as of those with migrant backgrounds in general, in public life with positive and recognised roles, thus fostering social inclusion and equity as shared democratic values between the United States and Italy; – to promote an inclusive development of Italian theatre, opening up to new artists from different backgrounds who nurture its capacity for innovation, its artistic-cultural value, its relationship with the contemporary world and its challenges, thus also fostering advocacy between public and private institutions.

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