The impasto defines itself as Comunità Teatrale Nomade (Nomadic Theatre Community) as it does not have a permanent seat. It was founded in Bologna in 1995 by Alessandro Berti, playwright, actor and director, and Michela Lucenti, choreographer, actress and dancer. Currently, after a stable start in Emilia, this young company carries out its activities between Milan and Salento. What mainly characterises it is the methodology used in structuring the creations, based on the fusion of the different scenic languages of dance, singing and acting, aimed at a poetic-aesthetic synthesis of the performances. It is precisely for this reason that the name L'Impasto derives from the amalgamation of two different working methods: the physical one linked to dance and singing curated by Michela Lucenti, and the theatrical and collectively dramaturgical one curated by Alessandro Berti. The practice on the body and voice currently explores areas of recurrent inspiration for Lucenti such as myth, sexuality and the sacred, but also touches on themes that are discussed by the entire company. This physical material, developed by a small group of dancers, constitutes the 'theatrical' part of the project, which interacts with the dramaturgy and the rest of the choral work. In this, the present reality and the different experiences of the performers in the group currently constitute Berti's poetic nomadism, which gathers and translates this material into the dimension of the 'tale' that recreates 'fragments of vital complexity'. The members of the company alternate moments of common work with separate paths, which enrich the active participation and critical vision within the group. The creative path saw an initial phase centred on shows of 'Padana' cultural derivation, flashes of a peasant-bourgeois saga in the form of song, dialect dramaturgy and narrative dance-theatre. The shows in question are Skanankrer ('96), Home Balom ('96) and Terra di Burro ('97). The Company's second production phase saw the transition from a sedentary type of work to a nomadic one involving L'Impasto in theoretical and practical research laboratories and in theatrical workshops showing parts of the work done in the various stages. This gave rise to Il mondo dei figli - Materiali per una commedia fantascientifica (the result of three months of activity in the Marche region in '98/'99), Critica lirica - 21 giornate di lavoro su teatro e felicità (Pontedera '99), Poema delle moltitudini - Opera per 30 attori (Santarcangelo '99). The last phase of the group's work sees a more structured nomadism, aimed at the performance of a final choral show, realised in several stages by ten young actor-dancers. Trionfo Anonimo is the title of the creation co-produced by Oriente Occidente last year, which began in Curarsi in Lecce and ended in Milan in January. This year, L'Impasto is staging in Rovereto L'Agenda di Seattle - Intrusione teatrale nello spazio pubblico, the second part of an articulated study begun in Lodi and which, after the Oriente Occidente stage, will take its final form next November in Ferrara. Its creators specify that this project can be compared to "a great politically incorrect artistic caravan, a local-global raid at the service of territories". A dialogic confrontation therefore with the micro - territorial realities, in community moments of confrontation on conflictual themes, concerning the present reality and which become an integral part of the staging. During the period of residence in Rovereto prior to the performance, the company engages in "census" work and organises a "permanent open assembly". The aim is the identification of one or more local problems, through the involvement of social and cultural energies, youth forces and local artists. The reworking of this moment of provocation of L'Impasto on the territory and the collection of the necessary information completes the second part of the show. Finally, the Berti-Lucenti duo explains that L'Agenda di Seattle 'is a reflection on the relationship between art and life, between poetic reasons, political reasons and biographical reasons'.
