On-Off

La Baracca Testoni Ragazzi, Italy

On-Off, Andrea Buzzetti, Carlotta Zini, Valeria Frabetti

directed by: Valeria Frabetti

actor: Andrea Buzzetti

duration: 40 min

target group: 1-4

About the production

When I was a baby, a little baby, I never wanted to go to sleep with the light on… I closed my eyes and waited for the lights of my dreams to switch on”.

The show developed from an “experiment” carried out in the crèches, where we could observe the children’s relationship with light and darkness. On stage there is an actor but the real protagonist is the light. Music and movements create a dance by following the rhythms of the switches. The light can be everything.

Lamps, bulbs and cables become a flower, a spoon, a dancer, a candle, a carrousel… They become a mother, a father, and a child.

“On-off” is a tribute to the children’s amazement at the behavior of light and to their interest towards controlling it and its intensity through the use of switches. It is a game and a way to help them not be afraid of the darkness.

About the company

La Baracca – Testoni Ragazzi Founded in 1976, La Baracca has been working in the field of theatre for children and early years for the past 30 years.
The company’s productions are addressed exclusively to children and young people, and they are centred on actors theatre and on an original theatrical style.
Over the years, they have developed a poetics aimed at generating amazement, trying to pursue simplicity intended as essentiality, always paying special attention to the relationship with the audience.
To date, La Baracca has produced over 140 shows for children and young people, with more than 9.000 performances.
Every year, new productions for all age groups are realised, for children attending crèches to secondary school students, as well as for those attending primary schools and kindergarten children.
Since their first project “A place for kids”, which started in 1980, La Baracca has strengthened its relationship with the territory. In 1983, La Baracca started to administer the Sanleonardo Theatre, in agreement with the Municipality of Bologna. It was the first agreement between a public body and a theatre company for children and young people. Since 1995, the theatre has moved to the Teatro Testoni Ragazzi and it has become a Stable Theatre of Innovation for Children and Young People.
In addition to the activities of the Teatro Testoni Ragazzi in Bologna, they manage two small Theatre halls in Medicina (district of Bologna). This was the starting point for the project “Medicinateatro”. Moreover, over the years, they have been collaborating with other municipalities of the district.
To date, 31 theatrical seasons have been programmed in Bologna, and 9 in Medicina. Over 1.200.000 amongst children, youngsters and adults have taken part in them. The performances have been more than 5.000, for over 700 titles, presented by 450 Italian, European and extra-European companies.
Since its foundation, the company presented its shows not only in Italy, but also in many international festivals in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Japan, Ireland, Mexico, Nicaragua, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, United States, Switzerland, Hungary and Uzbekistan.
Many of the scripts written by La Baracca – Testoni Ragazzi’s authors have been translated and staged by other companies in Austria, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland.

www.testoniragazzi.it

Festival Program 2012