Joan Negrié (30) has dedicated fifteen years of his life to professional theatre, and more than twenty actually getting on stage. It’s in his blood. I recall him at La marató de Nova York, one of the latest plays he has taken part in, running non-stop up and down for the one and a bit hours it lasted. Running and performing. You can tell he’s in good shape.
Joan, together with Oriol, Maria, Octavi, Paloma, Yolanda and Ramon, are the current essence of the Sala Trono. Actors, but also promoters. ‘In 2011, after a decade bringing first-class theatre to the Sala Trono, we decided to go one step further. Why not also bringing other kinds of shows that, due to their characteristics or dimensions, would run out of space at the Sala Trono? We then choose to create new dramatic proposals on larger spaces and open them up to the city. This is how the Festival Internacional de Teatre de Tarragona (FITT) was born.”
Firstly, the FITT took the Avignon Festival as an example. ‘When we went to Avinyó for the first time we thought: this is exactly what we want for Tarragona”. In addition to this, everything was on our side: two sister cities; two mayors being friends; a history and heritage with loads of parallelisms; similar cultural spots… And the first edition started. ‘On the first year of the FITT –recalls Joan Negrié– people got wowed by this proposal. They were amazed, for example, by a nighttime performance at the Roman Circus’.
The second edition of the Festival Internacional de Teatre de Tarragona lands in Tarragona from the 26 till the 30 of June with a high-class offer. ‘People will appreciate, above all, an increase in the quality of the shows, and will discover new theatre spots, such as the Col·legi d’Arquitectes, the Voltes del Pallol or Casa Canals. They will get a more festival-like dynamic’, says Negrié, who highlights that ‘in order to achieve this atmosphere, we’ll organise a dinner previous to some of the plays, and invite people to actually comment about it with the actors, once finished, while having a drink’. A sort of rugby’s third time, but between actors and public this time. ‘We want everyone to really feel they’re in a festival; to feel part of the community while experiencing it personally’.
The FITT has a biennial nature and a structure essentially human. ‘It is the result of adding effort, time and money dedication, and the fact of counting on the complicity of companies putting down their prices aware that the festival can become an incredibly attractive display for them’, says Negrié. Given the current recession atmosphere, one must split hairs.
A good example is the Verkami project at the Sala Trono, during the FITT. It is not just a kind of micro-sponsorship so much as an advance tickets sale. From a certain amount of money, you are guaranteeing your ticket, and its lowest possible price. Therefore, it is well worth it. Festival’s organization is actually helping these people have a more thorough control in the ticket’s sale, would it be necessary to rearrange a certain show or to increase its capacity. The Verkami project has gone beyond initial expectations; first victory.
FITT on the social media:
Programació del FITTCAT
Facebook del FITTCAT
Twitter del FITTCAT
Text: Ivan Rodon (@irodon)
Translated: Artur Santos (@artur_1983)
Spot del FITTCAT 2013
