an overview on the Italian independent scene

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The Italian independent scene: a systemic chaos

It is necessary to imagine the Italian independent performing arts scene not as an archipelago in itself but as a closely related component that sometimes clashes sometimes perfectly matches with the whole system. The only way to represent this system is to refer to the concept of modern physics of complexity, that is, a multi-component dynamic structure made up of different subsets that interact with each other, following the rules of chaos and probability. Without this specific point of view, we certainly cannot speak of a coherent and stratified system but of a chaotic jumble of events and productions full of paradoxes.

The first systemic element that we must mention is that the production of performing art is very relevant - 132,000 shows in 20191 - also as a result of major investments by the public institutions, but the average Italian is not a big consumer by comparison to other European countries, attending just one performance per year. This results in a higher production than demand. The second is that the Italian territory is scattered with large and small theaters, even in the farthest suburbs or provinces; this is a unique wealth in Europe which, however, is not valued because many of the theaters are currently closed or largely underutilized.

The complexity of Italian theater also passes through its system of funding that is developed on different levels in relation to the institutions that provide resources: municipalities, provinces, regions, and finally the state. Institutions hardly communicate with each other, causing, therefore, the multiplication of projects and overlapping of fundings. This on one side determines the need for applicants to equip themselves with an abnormal bureaucratic machine, and on the other contributes to accentuate the difference between virtuous regions and less efficient ones, but also gives the possibility to create almost uncontrolled areas where innovative ferments can develop freely and then spread throughout the country. Suffice it to say that in Italy there is no national law regulating theatrical activity, despite the fact that there are several laws currently under discussion in the political debate. Until 2014, the distribution of state contributions was guaranteed by a commission that chose subjects arbitrarily on a purely qualitative basis. Since 2014, the fund for entertainment (FUS) and a quantitative and qualitative evaluation mechanism have been instituted. The economic endowment of the FUS came in 2019 up to 345,966,856.00 euros, a considerable amount - but not enough to meet Italian needs. It has certainly been an important act that has made the system more stable and transparent, but it has also highlighted some critical issues: the lack of difference in functions between the funded subjects - those who deal with production often also deal with hospitality and distribution -, the very little generational turnover, an unhealthy mixture between private and public, a territorial imbalance of the provision of resources not only between the north and south of Italy but also between cities and rural areas. In face of a gradual contraction of public funding, we must also note the growing importance of private foundations that in some regions, particularly in the north of the country, provide more resources than the same region.

In this marasmus of funding, independent artists must be distracted. In Italy, they are generally unable to sustain themselves with their own funding, but rely on institutional resources for at least 40% of their annual budget. They often manage to access municipal, regional and European funding and hardly any state funding, even if in greater proportion than independent companies in other European countries2. There is no doubt that independent artists are able to diversify their resources in such a way as to be more resilient and flexible than public institutions, probably also thanks to their ability to intercept the needs of the territories in which they operate. In this way, independent companies have had the very important function of feeding the cultural and social fabric in Italy and have even become cultural outposts of legality where the state has been absent. They are the independent artists who have had the courage to experiment with new models of relationship with the audience, modifying the production and staging system in order to respond to the challenges of our times. It is not surprising, so, that the major theatrical institutions have drawn heavily from this basin both the artists and the most innovative artistic methods. Unfortunately, this is not a normal generational resurgence because often the sons have had to kill their fathers or wait for their slow decline, in a tragic game with an Hamletic flavor. This is the case, for example, of the Italian artistic residences (almost 66 all over Italy) that started a courageous work of rejuvenation more than 15 years ago and have been recognized by the Ministry only 5 years ago3.

It is equally complex to outline an aesthetic trend of Italian artistic production because the independent production is very fragmented and looks little to the European market: we move seamlessly from the stage drama to the extreme "reworking" of classical texts, the theater of objects, the physical theater, the documentary theater. Making an improper synthesis, we can say that to the decline of the Italian directorial theater, independent artists have first responded with the production of monologues and then with experiments in collective choral dramaturgy, as well as with the production of multimedia works which strives to make the diaphragm separating the audience from the actor become thinner and thinner. An Italian unicum is the "social theater of art" (theater in prisons, theater with mentally fragile people, with handicapped people, etc..) that, born from the ability to provide the territory a social service as well as cultural one, has then been transformed into a true artistic act giving rise to mixed companies.

We can mention, without any pretension of exhaustiveness, the artists Roberto Latini and Licia Lanera, who condense in their figure a unique way of writing for the stage; Deflorian/Tagliarini, Babilonia teatri, Teatro sotterraneo as an example of strong authorship and ability to elaborate dramaturgy not only of the words; teatrino giullare, Marta Cuscunà. and Anagor who, in different forms, have been able to make a synthesis between visual and theatrical arts, as well as a host of creators with a dance background such as Alessandro Sciarroni, Silvia Gribaudi and Collettivo Cinetico. Italian playwrights like Mimmo Borelli, Davide Carnevali, Fausto Paravidino are certainly less well known abroad, although they have produced some outstanding works because they find very few opportunities to be supported such as in OUTIS – the only Itlian festival dedicated to new drammaturgy- and special project such NdN (https://www.networkdrammaturgianuova.it/). For all the independent creators Kilowatt Festival (https://www.kilowattfestival.it/) remains the place of reference, able as it has been to innovate the languages, together with the Inbox Prize (https://www.inboxproject.it/index.php?v=1&apri=1) that has developed an innovative way to link the Italian production with the programming.

But how many independent professional companies are there in Italy? We always thought there were many, many more than those that the FUS brought out (about 150). We had to wait for the pandemic in order to have a more precise picture because, even though we missed the opportunity to carry out a complete mapping, thanks to the special calls for proposals from the Ministry, it was verified that there could be about 2000 independent companies. Of course, we wouldn't have wanted to have such a devastating pandemic that cut ticket revenue by 78 percent in 20204 to obtain this data, also because the pandemic has hit independent artists harder, since they were less protected by the state both in terms of direct support and welfare state. In fact, despite the extraordinary resources, the Italian Ministry of Culture has clearly financed more the organizations supported through the FUS and, paradoxically, the commercial organisms, leaving independent artists and organizations closer to them, such as festivals and residencies, to the margins. Perhaps in reaction to this unfair treatment, it's possible to notice another side effect of the pandemic: the reawakening of a collective consciousness of the sector with an intense growth of all the networks and umbrella associations who have worked with alacrity together, managing to approve recently the first step of a welfare reform in favor of atypical workers in performing art, unfortunately many years behind most European countries.

This pandemic has violently highlighted all the weaknesses of the complex Italian system and everyone's hope is that it will be possible to respond with structural reforms, such as the one just mentioned, also in view of the PNRR - even though a first reading of the Italian one seems to indicate that independent artists should not sleep peacefully5

1 SIAE "annuario dello spettacolo 2019"

2 EUROSTAT 2016

3 more info on the the Italian residence on the ufficial site https://www.residenzeartistiche.it/

4 Siae "Annuario dello spettacolo 2020"

5 for more details: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/davide-d-antonio-8706454b_change-economics-culture-activity-6795734420574879744-4rQZ).