Intervista a Tatò Carla

The genesis of Uscite and the context of its development between Amsterdam and Genazzano.

C.T. Carla Tatò situates Uscite within a constellation of scenic actions (Didone, Platea, Il fuoco che genera fumo. Il fumo che genera ballerina. La ballerina che genera galli), emphasizing its processual nature.

The title is interpreted as encapsulating the theatrical gesture in its entirety: the movement between backstage and stage, and vice versa. Uscite is thus described as a device encompassing the entire act of “making theatre”.

Tatò recalls Jannis Kounellis’s intervention in the Sala Martino V, which vertically divided the space and introduced the curtain made of drinking glasses, first created in November 1981 at the Mickery Theatre in Amsterdam for a performance with Valeria Magli (presented by Nanni Balestrini). During that occasion, an initial attempt was also made to project the film Robinson Crusoe onto a frame-like curtain designed by Kounellis. 

In Genazzano, the scenic device was further developed through the incorporation of wine bottles donated by local farmers, made possible by reinforcing the stage structure. Tatò emphasizes the strong presence of the farming community and its cultural traditions. 

Following the experience of Vinaliae (featuring the participation of Gigi Proietti) and a subsequent stay at the Avignon Festival, Carla Tatò and Carlo Quartucci came into contact with forms of artistic aggregation characterized by a strong popular and participatory dimension. 

Returning to Genazzano in 1982, they brought with them experiences acquired in Amsterdam and Avignon, which merged with the stories and memories of the local community. Tatò describes this process as a form of “cultural grafting”. Uscite is remembered as a moment of intense collective engagement, in which spectators as inhabitants expressed an active desire to participate. 

The scenic configuration of Uscite and performative roles.

C.T. Tatò refers to a photograph taken at the Mickery Theatre, highlighted by Rudi Fuchs in relation to Édouard Manet’s painting A Bar at the Folies-Bergère. 

The image portrays Carla Tatò blindfolded, configuring her presence as a cognitive enigma. The figure is associated with Edvard Munch’s “silent scream”, underscoring the absence of spoken language on stage.

The scenic action unfolds through the entrances and exits of Willy Colombaioni, Piero Brega, Luigi Cinque, and Eugenio Colombo, whose movements physically break some of the glasses composing the curtain. 

The only vocal element is Piero Brega’s singing, while Carla Tatò and Willy Colombaioni perform in silence. Colombaioni is described as developing a performative practice based on simulated failure (staged falls and deliberately dysfunctional actions). 

Tatò emphasizes that this scenic configuration marked a significant departure from the working methods previously developed within Genazzano Project.

The creative process behind Funerale.

C.T. Tatò describes the work as emerging from an ongoing dialogue between Carlo Quartucci, Carla Tatò, and Jannis Kounellis. While Kounellis primarily worked through sketches and visual studies, Quartucci and Tatò developed an intense verbal and imaginative exchange, described as a “river” of images and associations. 

The starting point is identified in the imagery of the Cabaret of the Eleven Executioners, subsequently expanded to encompass other early twentieth-century cabaret traditions, understood as spaces of artistic freedom and non-institutional encounter.Tatò also recalls their participation in the municipal assemblies of Genazzano as a crucial moment of immersion in the local social context.She further mentions Luciano Fabro’s Genealogia, based on the reading aloud of the names of the town’s inhabitants, accompanied by Paolo Pellion’s photographs. The event is interpreted as a moment of collective anticipation and the construction of a shared temporality, consistent with Fabro’s reflection on the relationship between time and theatre.

Early imaginary configurations of Funerale.

Scenic transformation of Funerale and the concept of the “Dramaturgy of the Arts”.

C.T. Tatò refers to the production presented in Berlin and to the historical context marked by the existence of the Berlin Wall. 

She defines the “Dramaturgy of the Arts” as a practice grounded in dialogue with space, understood as an active and generative element. The initial visual concepts acquire concrete form through their interaction with specific sites.

In Kassel, the chosen venue was a disused factory characterized by a large glass façade overlooking the city.

D.O. Donatella Orecchia asks for clarification regarding the relationship between artistic conception and spatial adaptation. 

C.T. Tatò describes Castello Colonna as a site marked by profound historical stratification, which decisively shaped the creative process. Space itself is conceived as an “author” with whom the artists establish an ongoing dialogue. 

D.O. Donatella Orecchia offers an interpretative synthesis of the process. 

C.T. Tatò explains that the urgency behind Funerale emerged from the sedimentation of the Genazzano experience and from the challenges of working within the ruined state of Castello Colonna. As a result, the scenic action developed horizontally rather than vertically. 

During the initial phase of conception, no dramatic text existed; it was only later that Roberto Lerici introduced the textual dimension.

The relationship with Edoardo Fadini during Genazzano Project.

C.T. Carla Tatò recalls the cabaret experience and refers to the Cabaret Voltaire founded by Edoardo Fadini in the 1970s. 

At Genazzano, Fadini embraced the concept of the Cabaret of the Eleven Hangmen, in continuity with the path initiated during Camion. Their relationship is described as a form of “brotherhood at a distance”, grounded in a longstanding sharing of artistic practices and critical reflection.

The role of Rudi Fuchs and Germano Celant within Genazzano Project.

C.T. Carla Tatò describes Rudi Fuchs as responsible for the project’s artistic and institutional relationships, emphasizing what she characterizes as his “revolutionary” approach. His contribution is also recalled in relation to subsequent experiences, including the project at Erice.

Tatò further recalls her relationship with Germano Celant, which had begun during the Camion experience and focused on the development of an international artistic network, particularly involving artists from the United States working primarily in the fields of performance and experimental cinema.

The fragment as an aesthetic and operative principle.

C.T. Carla Tatò connects the notion of the fragment to the experiences developed in the Roman suburbs and to her work with the Canzoniere del Lazio. The fragment is understood as part of a broader spatial whole – whether a suburb or a town -capable of containing and articulating multiple artistic and social elements.

At Genazzano, this larger whole is represented by the town itself; in Rome, by the suburb of Romanina. In both contexts, artistic practice is characterized by the simultaneous engagement with heterogeneous materials, including classical texts (Henrik Ibsen), modern literature (Robinson Crusoe), and contemporary productions such as Scene di periferia (1978).

D.O. Donatella Orecchia asks about the relationship between the concept of the fragment and the practice of cabaret. 

C.T. Carla Tatò associates the experience at Castello Colonna with a profound sense of artistic freedom and a revolutionary dimension comparable to that of the historical cabarets, understood as spaces operating outside the conventions of bourgeois cultural institutions.

End of interview.