THE PROJECT: La Polveriera is the result of an integrated theater training program aimed also at minors and young adults (aged 17–25) under the care, in various capacities, of the C.G.M. (Center for Juvenile Justice for Lazio, Abruzzo, and Molise) and the U.S.S.M. (Social Service Office for Minors). Considering the disadvantaged backgrounds of the participants, a symbolic framework was chosen—that of sports—as an opportunity for redemption and immediate recognition for the young students involved, capable of triggering processes of identification and collective creation. Starting from improvisations and suggestions by the young actors, the narrative developed around the story of a ragtag soccer team made up of children ("pulcini" or youth players, chronologically much younger than the performers on stage) attempting to emancipate themselves from their unfortunate starting conditions in search of a possible victory on the field and in life. Within this dramaturgical framework and the athletic context (so close to theater), the autobiographical contributions of the participating actors were embedded; they can be glimpsed behind the characters through the open mesh of the text, with their dreams, their guilt, and their fears. The choice of childhood as the poetic dimension of the story—a mythical realm where everything is still possible—reconnects them to themselves and simultaneously to the audience, in a perspective of mutual recognition and inclusion. The use of dialects and native languages (Roman, Neapolitan, Brazilian), necessary to make theatrical language accessible to young actors in their first stage experience, becomes functional in painting a portrait of a suburban context where those "born under a bad sign"—both Italians and immigrants—gather together, bound by the same destiny of failure and resignation from which they seek to break free. Athletic training translates on stage into a spiritual exercise of identity rewriting, which embodies itself in the finale: the characters shed the nicknames that defined them throughout the entire play and reveal themselves as real people, pronouncing their actual names out loud as they break onto the "field" of the theater while scoring the winning goal.

With the extraordinary participation of Giancarlo Porcacchia.

SYNOPSIS: A ragtag soccer team made up of children ("pulcini" players, chronologically much younger than the performers on stage) trains on the margins of "La Polveriera," the legendary field overlooking the Colosseum that has always been occupied by their more fortunate peers—those who were "born under a good sign." The invisible gate separating them from the field becomes a symbol of social division and a resigned sense of predestination to defeat, from which the young protagonists struggle to emancipate themselves. Crossing that threshold becomes the prize for whoever wins the final match; athletic training translates on stage into a spiritual exercise in search of a possible redemption on the field and in life.

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cast: Adele Campagna, Luca Carrieri, Lavinia Di Genova, Eleonora Durisotti, Roberto Fiorentino, Cristina Golotta, Sofia Iacuitto, Francesco Leti, Sam Lombardi, Ilaria Malatesta, Emanuele Moreno Rodriguez Da Veiga, Rachele Poggetti, Antonio Suppa, Camila Urbano.

And with the extraordinary participation of Giancarlo Porcacchia

 

directed by Bruno Mello Castanho e Roberto Fiorentino

dramaturgy Adele Campagna 

artistic supervision Valentina Esposito

workshop facilitators Roberto Fiorentino e Gabriella Indolfi

assistent facilitator Viola Centi

lighting design Alessio Pascale 

sound design Simone Colaiacomo

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A Fort Apache Cinema Teatro Production.

With the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Waldensian Church Eight per Thousand Funds, and Sapienza University of Rome - Third Mission Project 2023-2024.

In collaboration with the C.G.M. (Center for Juvenile Justice for Lazio, Abruzzo, and Molise) and U.S.S.M. (Social Service Office for Minors of Rome).