2020 • IF Prana
ABRACADABRA #4
2020 • IF Prana
ABRACADABRA #4
TECHNIQUE Frame-by-frame animation.
PROJECT BY Irene Serini
ANIMATION Anna Resmini
PHOTOGRAPHY Luca Del Pia
PRODUCTION IF Prana
IN COLLABORATION WITH Olinda – Artistic Residency
Abracadabra – Incantesimi di Mario Mieli is a theatre project structured as a series of stages, called Studies, conceived and designed by Irene Serini with the intention of exploring the thought of Mario Mieli — a unique figure in the Italian cultural landscape, yet one soon removed from the mainstream narrative.
The five studies that make up the theatrical work touch on different realms of thought and intimacy, each in its own way. Every stage is independent and autonomous from the previous ones, and treats Mieli’s visionary and lucid thinking as a lens through which to investigate the present.
The fourth study, Abracadabra – Incantesimi di Mario Mieli [study #4] Il Regno della Libertà, premiered on October 6th, 2020 at Teatro Litta in Milan.
In this study, the piece transitions from monologue to dialogue — there are now two performers instead of one — and it introduces another art form on stage: illustration and animation. Significant symbolic transformations also take place at the scenographic level: the circular shape that characterizes the previous studies gives way to a triangular structure. On stage, two large triangles mirror each other like mountains reflected in a lake. One on the ground defines a portion of the scenic space, while the other, suspended at the back of the stage, becomes the white sheet on which the animated images come to life.
The perpetual motion of the triangular animations is meant to transport the audience into an illusory yet illuminating dimension in relation to Mieli’s thought — a space existing beyond the physical and spoken dimension of the stage.
