“With Les Lectures a la Fresca we take theatre out of the temples of culture.”

the Fresh lectures They pray this year in their kingdom 20th Editionand they do so with a markedly commemorative character. The truth is that the three readings that will be held They celebrate some anniversary..Lecture directors, Ignacio Rodríguez and Dolores Villarasaoreviewing twenty years of the initiative, which annually brings together hundreds of people in different places in Sant Cugat. This year, there will be three plays on Thursdays 4, 11 and 18 July respectively.

How do you expect your Fresca readings to be this year?

DV:It’s the twentieth edition, and oddly enough, it’s a commemorative reading. We will… sea ​​girlwhich commemorates the centenary of the death of Angel Guimera. We will do it too. State of alert In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the International University for Peace and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Frederick Rhoda, who was one of the promoters and founders of the institution. The third action we will undertake is a fitting celebration of 20 years of open-air lectures, which is Nevarezwritten by Ignacy Roda, is a musical and allows us to have a very large cast of 35-40 people.

Ignacy Ruda: “Theatre is an exercise in resistance, and management pours a lot into the industry, but not into the creation.”

Will there be anything new?

Dr.F: We are holding an exhibition of the lantern of these twenty years which can be seen in the Athenaeum with the originals. On the other hand, we are hanging 20 large-format photographs on the balconies, squares and public places where some of the readings we have held over the years have taken place.

Last year they were only able to do two readings.

Dr.F: This year it will be possible to hold it as usual because there is a great will to do so. The fact that this year marks the twentieth anniversary of this event means that it has a weight on the part of the City Council that may not have had on another occasion. However, we have suffered a lot from the cuts. We suffer as usual, but we do it because this is a great city cycle, with the La Fresca lectures we remove the stage from the great temples of culture. We do it in the street that belongs to everyone. And we have performed works from the international and Catalan repertoire. We have done Molière, Shakespeare, Hegel, Rodoreda, Rusiñol… The people who go to the Auditorium or who live in the street deserve the same.

Ignacy Ruda: “20 years of a theatre project in this country is very commendable”

How do you bring great authors closer to people?

I’m r: 20 years of a theatre project in this country is very commendable. Lectures are part of the cultural landscape of Sant Cugat. We have to see how to highlight them in some way and have their consequences throughout the year. Some readings can be presented on stage and become part of the city theatre programme. For example, this year I took advantage of a reading from last year’s Mercè Rodoreda and reworked the text so that a theatre company from Sant Feliu de Codines could stage the work.

But readings are a genre in themselves.

I’m r: The kind of play reading is the kind that exists. In theater school, they don’t teach how to read plays, and that should be part of an actor’s training. An actor should be able to take a script and read it easily, and he should be able to read the play and act it. In fact, the first thing even great writers do is gather a group of friends and read the work. That’s the first step.

Dr.F: I think that with the La Fresca lectures, we have invented a genre within a genre. They are semi-theatrical performances, which is not common. The readings are usually in small groups, and we gather 500 people in different places in the city.

Where will the readings be held?

Dr.F: Daughter of the sea I Nevarez They will be held in the Vallis Gardens and State of alert In Plaça de l’Om, a space that enjoys the required silence. It is a very beautiful place. However, it is increasingly difficult to access places. They are full of bars, and many of the places where we did readings are no longer possible.

Dolors Vilarasau: “With Les Lectures, we invented a genre within a genre, semi-theatrical productions.”

Are readings an exercise in endurance?

I’m r: Theatre is an exercise in resistance. Unfortunately, the administration puts a lot into theatre making, but not into theatrical creation. This is the big problem. There are many theatre groups that present plays, but they cannot sell them. Our position is one of resistance because we come from an independent theatre.

Dr.F: If you look at the program of Sant Cugat, Sabadell or El Prat, you will see that the plays that are presented are the same. Politicians only see the final product and think that a local production will not give them the performance that a show like this that goes around the world gives them.

In Sant Cugat you have municipal facilities such as the Theatre-Auditori and the Unió.

Dr.F: When we were offered the Auditorium, the City Council didn’t ask anyone what we needed. Everyone wanted a theater and that was a hall. In the end they made this combination called Theater-Auditori. Now, with the Union, they didn’t ask me anything either. If we go like this, everything works with bureaucracy and in offices, but it doesn’t focus on the artist, on creativity, on people.

I’m r: A somewhat perverse situation occurs because politicians tell us that people of the theatre always complain. We complain because we believe we have the right to do so, to demand that theatre and culture be studied differently. When we talk about theatre we are not complaining, when we talk about theatre we are life, creative people capable of transforming Shakespeare into a dramatic reading.

Dolores Villarasao: “We need to find continuity for both actors and directors, who will surpass us”

What is it like working with amateurs?

First R: The amateur director is treated just like a professional, and the only thing the director has to do is know who he is dealing with. The amateur benefits from seeing the professional grow in his interpretive scope, and the professional benefits from seeing the enthusiasm the amateur puts into the project. It’s a shared school.

Dr.F: I hate plays where the main actors do well and the rest of the cast sucks. The director’s job is to strike a balance and know who you’re dealing with at any given time.

How long does it take to prepare Fresca lectures?

I’m r: First I take the play and edit it, then I have to prepare all the booklets, gather the people and do the first reading. Then the work of finding the equipment and the scenography begins and this continues until we start the rehearsals. The number of specific articles is about four, but they have to be well prepared.

Dr.F: Ignacy is square-headed, but he’s great. Everything is so structured, I need to see what each actor brings to me. People have a soul, not just a technique.

What future awaits La Fresca readings?

I’m rThe City Council must sign a global cooperation agreement that has no expiration date. We guarantee that this course will continue because it is part of the cultural landscape of Sant Cugat.

Dr.F: We have to find a structure that can accommodate more people. We need to find continuity for both the actors and the directors. I hope that the readings will go beyond me and Ignace. The city council needs to commit to a culture that is not of Sant Cugat, but of Sant Cugat.

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