front page news Idris and Rhodessa Go Digital! Holiday Gift Ideas From San Francisco to South Africa Idris' Italian Diary - Collegno, Italy November 2005 Photo Gallery Sitting here in my apartment at the Villa 5 residence, a former insane asylum. It might sound like a crazy place to be, but it is indeed crazy in a wonderful way! The asylum has been renovated into a cultural Mecca for Italian artists. There are many buildings surrounded by a beautiful park. There are arts organizations that have offices in the building that we are staying in. Upstairs there are small studio and one-bedroom apartments that many of the people who work on the premises have. Rhodessa and myself each have our own apartment. They are very comfortable. Also located in the building are a restaurant and a Turkish bath. This is the third day of being on the road. There was one travel day on Monday October 31. We arrived in the late afternoon on Tuesday November 2. The first workday was Wednesday. Wednesday went very good. However, arriving at the jail I almost did not make it in. I forgot my passport! However, the prison officials allowed me to enter as long as I would make sure to bring my passport tomorrow. Seven female inmates entered a large room that we had been given for the workshops. The women are getting chairs. They are all Italian . . . some different kinds . . .brown hair . . . blond. There are also jail guards here in blue suits with silver buttons. We are sitting in a circle. Rhodessa has everyone go around and introduce themselves. After the introductions the first exercise begins. They begin by just moving around in the room changing directions . . . change directions . . .change directions . . .stop . . .. lead with your chest . . . the breastbone . . .change directions with a jump. I just finished with rhythm exercises splitting them into three groups as they stomped and clapped and sang in rhythm. Rhodessa is now doing the rock and roll circle where she starts with a sound and she passes her sound around. They really jam with this exercise! I am getting accustomed to being here quite well. Eating in Italy is a lot of fun. The food is excellent. There is always wine at dinner and a lot of conversation about art and politics. It seems the Italian artists really have it hard. The government just cut the cultural budget by 30 percent. They also do not usually give grants for production expenses or staff. The government funds festivals and large-scale events that create a lot of visibility. Today is Sunday the day after the big show in the prison. Saturday was a trip! We started going to the prison at 12:30. As usual it was time consuming getting in the prison. First you give them your passport and wait. Then they give you a badge that says Visitore. Then you go through another gate and wait for everybody else to pass in the courtyard. Then when everybody has their badge you go through another gate. Then you walk about 50 feet and wait for the guards to open the iron door. The door opens when you here this big clang! You go through and then give the guard your pass to scan and then you go to the other guard and he searches your bags and attempts to take out anything that is not on the approved list. Then they scan your body. Once this is done you put anything that is not approved in the locker and take the key so you can get in the locker on the way out and retrieve your stuff. Now we go through the final gate and are officially in the prison. We never see any of the inmates except a few trustees and the 7 women we are doing the workshop with. Apparently the women had a meeting and the first thing we are confronted with is the fact that several women who thought that the rape scene in our piece "Streets of Baghdad" was too heavy. Rhodessa challenged them to replace it with a scene that they found more palatable but equally as effective. I went to the theater with the tech crew. When I walked in I did not recognize the place! They had basically built a theater from the ground up. They took what was a dingy prison auditorium and turned it into a first class theater equipped with four light trees with 24 lights as well as a screen complete with rear projection. They also had a great sound system and a mike for tap. We were ready to go about 7:30 PM. By 9:30 the show started. Change to: We did "Deep in the Night" first, followed by "They Speak Through Us", and culminating with "Red, White and Blues Suite". What a fantastic night! I learned a lot about performing for an audience that does not speak English. There was a part in my tap sax routine where it brought down the house with cheers of BRAVO and clapping actually basically stopping me before I finished! At the end of the show we received several curtain calls. Italian television filmed the show and interviewed us. The time is going fast! The main event is over!!!!! Hurray!!!!! Tomorrow begins a three-day workshop that should be fun and fill in the remaining time. I love the feeling of Italy and Europe in general. There is great possibility here! donate today! forward to a friend join our email list let us know what you think of our newsletter! talk back