La Pli – A Week of Community Theatre in South Tyrol
From June 30 to July 7, 2024, 40 non-professional and professional community theatre enthusiasts, aged between 10 and 74, gathered from across Europe to collaborate under the guidance of experienced British director Andrew Siddall in South Tyrol.
Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Dolomites, the Ladin-speaking village of La Pli became the stage for their creativity. Together with the community theatre directors from eight different minority languages and countries, a play titled Together was crafted, inspired by the themes of language and communication.
With all participants speaking eight regional and minority languages, the project explored fundamental questions: How do we move with our languages? What do we have in common that we experienced through our culture, our language and our view on creation and how do we want to make theatre?
Collaboration was at the heart of this week. Participants engaged in workshops, discussions, and practical theatre exercises. They experimented in different groups with various storytelling techniques, mythological stories, movement, puppetry and singing songs that reflected their rituals and cultures. Improvisation was also used to explore themes relevant to their communities. An important aspect was the shape of the landscapes each participant came from, as well as the distinctive features of each regional and minority language area. They also created small performances reflecting on social and cultural topics and built miniature landscapes to share with the audience. The process was highly interactive, allowing everyone to contribute their unique perspectives and skills.
