Florence is the city of flower. Like the name itself, the renaissance culture and art blossoms in their brilliance and the fragrance of olive trees and lemons cover the city. Also, there is a small town called Sesto Fiorentino. The “Teatro della Limonaia” (hereinafter, “Lemon Theater”) at this place is a theater converted from an old lemon storehouse, and it is drawing attention with its unique programs as well as its special space.

Since Lemon Theater opened under the direction of the artistic director Barbara Nativi in 1987, it has often discovered and nurtured young and novel playwrights and actors, and has been positioning itself as the center for theater in the Tuscany region. Every year, it demonstrates new performing art works from the cities around the world in Italy through the Intercity Festival. The theme city of next year''s Intercity Festival is “Seoul.” I met Mechele Panella, the Arts Advisory of the Intercity Festival, at the Namsan Arts Center who was visiting Seoul to do some prior research for the Festival.

The Bridge Connecting the World and Italy

Q: I would like to know your background and opportunity in getting involved in the Intercity Festival.

A: I majored in international politics, and when I was active as an actor, I met the director, Barbara Nativi. She was the Artistic Director of the Intercity Festival, and was a true mentor of mine. I did many works with her, and we toured quite a lot as well. It was a great shock to all of us when Barbara passed away suddenly on the day after the opening day of the 2005 Intercity Festival. Since then, Dimitri Miopulos took her place as the Artistic Director, and along with him, I am in charge of the winter program of the Intercity Festival and the Theater. Because I like to share information and introduce new things to people, I tend to prefer traveling to many different places rather than stationary. This is why I also have worked at places like the Italian National Theater, but since Barbara''s passing, I''ve been focusing on the Intercity Festival.

Q: Please tell me about the Intercity Festival. I am particularly interested that your main program ''City to City'' focuses on specific cities.

A: The Intercity Festival started in 1988, and it has been playing an important role as a window for introducing new trends in performing arts to Italy such as new playwriting, artists, and methods. So far, the world''s leading artists and groups have been introduced in Italy through the Festival such as Sarah Kane, Derevo, Robert Lepage, Jon Fosse, and Marius von Mayenburg. Centering on contemporary theater, there is dance, visual art, and interdisciplinary art, where the film section is being opened separately; and an exhibition is also held during the festival period. ''City to City'' is the main program of the Intercity Festival. Our aim is to introduce the arts of a city every year and eventually allow for a full view of the arts in that country. I hope the Intercity Festival can become a media that bridges Florence to cities around the world, and further, connect Italy to the rest of the world.

Q: What were some of the cities introduced through the Intercity Festival? And is there a special reason for choosing Seoul as the first Asian city for next year’s ''City to City'' program?

A: Since New York was first selected in 1987, there have been Moscow, Stockholm, Budapest, Montreal, Madrid, Lisbon, London, Paris, Berlin, and Athens, and we are preparing for the city of Helsinki as the theme this year. Korea is going to be the first country in Asia for the next year. Although there were proposals from China and Japan, I personally wanted Korea to be the first in Asia. The several Korean films that I''ve seen at the film festivals in Florence were very impressive, and my interest in Korean performing arts grew as I was introduced to them by the people at the Korea Arts Management Service in Stockholm recently. And because Seoul is not a well-known city as Paris and Berlin, I think it’s going to be refreshing to the audiences as well.

Q: What is mainly introduced about the cities that are selected as the Festival''s theme? And in what ways do you exchange and proceed programs with the cities and countries?

A: First, I am planning to introduce 6 to 8 works focusing on contemporary theater. I plan to select works that can grab our audiences'' attention by getting help from various theaters and festivals in Korea and the Korean Cultural Services in Europe. Up until now, we have been inviting works from the corresponding cities through the Festival, and sometimes did productions at the Lemon Theater by inviting the artists. If the opportunity serves right, we plan to produce a new Korean play or promote collaborative projects with Italian actors by inviting a Korean director. In addition, we plan to hold an exhibition and Korean film festival during the Festival.

Q:Although the Lemon Theater is the main organizing theater, it seems difficult to accommodate the entire program. How is it conducted and where do you get the funding to operate the Festival?

A:The Festival is held mainly at the Lemon Theater and about three other nearby theaters in Florence and the outskirts during the festival period. The funding for the Festival is provided by cities of Sesto Fiorentina, Florence, and Tuscany Ministry of Culture.

Active Network with European Theaters

Q:What is the most important program at the Lemon Theater during the period other than the Intercity Festival (Oct. ~ Nov.)?

A: I have been managing the winter season program since 1995. This program is primarily focused on producing and performing Italian contemporary theater by inviting up-and-coming Italian playwrights and directors. In addition, we are separately running a resident theater company program, and around twice a year, we are regularly conducting acting and narrative workshops as well.

Q: I heard that the Theater was converted from an old lemon storehouse. What are some unique spatial features of the Theater?

A:The Lemon Theater is one of the most unique and beautiful theater in Tuscany. The Theater space was converted from a historic antique villa, the Villa Corsi Salviati. And because the entire Theater is surrounded by lemon groves, it is very beautiful. The stage has quite a depth as it is 12m long and 8m wide, and the theater is adjustable as the total number of seats can change from 90 to 120, depending on the nature of the performances. The seats are placed very high so it provides an appropriate viewing angle that overlooks the long stage. Because the stage is highly mobile and adjustable, and the seats are all spaces for contemporary performances, they are a great help in specializing the Lemon Theater. A script library that houses over 12 thousand scripts is also being managed within the Theater.

Q: I am aware that the Theater is active in exchange with other European theaters so as to create the ''New European Writing (N.E.W) Theater Network'' with production theaters in Western Europe such as Schaubühne in Germany, Royal Court Theater in Britain, and Collins National Theater in France.

A: The ''New European Writing (N.E.W) Theater Network'' was the main window for exchange in the past. In the recent years, we are aiming for the entire Europe by sharing various information and making exchanges beyond the theaters of the network. Over the past few years, we have been trying to exchange with the theaters in North Europe. Exchanges with new theaters are particularly of interest to us. For this purpose, we have been promoting the ''Intercity Connections'' program with the National Theater in Britain since 1997. This program is a project for young artists that invites young writers from the National Theater in Britain and allows them to write works aimed at teenagers, and around three such works are created and performed with young artists every year. Among the children who have participated in this program, there are some that are already active as directors and debuted as actors.

Currently, along with theaters in London such as the National Theater and Royal Court Theater, we are planning a new project for writing new works that is aimed at second-generation immigrant writers. There are countless immigrants living in Europe, and each generation shows slightly different characteristics. While the first-generation are still strongly attached to their roots, the third-generation are completely separated from their roots. We are focused on the second-generation as they indirectly learn their mother tongue and culture through their parents, but show separation from their roots at the same time. Through this project, we wish to shed light on these second-generation immigrant writers in Europe.