Theatre meets robotics, telepresence, and digital animation in a European cooperation project.
Thursday, the 9th of June, at 20:00 (Romania time) / 19:00 (Italy time), “George Ciprian” Theatre in Buzău (Romania) and Industria Scenica in Vimodrone (Milan, Italy) invite you to the preview performance of “2032 SMART-FAMILY”, produced under the banner of “Tele-Encounters: Beyond the Human”, a cultural project co-funded by The Creative Europe programme of the European Union. The telematic performance will take place simultaneously in Romania and Italy, with actors and audiences in both countries. The actors in the two spaces interact in real time via video-conferencing on big projection screens. One of the characters in Romania is a custom-built robot, which increases the degree of innovation and risk of this international co-production.
In 2032, robots will be everywhere. You will find them in offices, shops, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and at the theatre. They will entertain you. They will help you. They will take care of you. They will be there for you whenever you need them. In 2032, you may even have Ogmios Z42 at home. The telematic theatre performance “2032 SMART-FAMILY” tells a story about parents, children, and the technology between them in the near and probable future. Laura Mihalcea, a retired philology teacher, lives alone in Romania. Her only daughter, Virginia, has emigrated to Italy, where she has formed a family. After Laura has a heart attack, Virginia buys her a social robot and connects their two dwellings, located thousands of miles away, via an intelligent video-conferencing system. Ogmios Z42 and the video cameras thus enter the life of the geographically dispersed family. The ethical and relational implications of technology gradually come to the surface.
The play explores the theme of migration and is based on interviews with Romanian migrants and elderly parents left behind in Romania. The research phase for building the robot included robot-character creation workshops for adults and children in Romania, Spain, and Italy.
The Romanian cast is formed by Aura Călărașu (the elderly mother, Laura Mihalcea) and Smaranda Găbudeanu (the actress controlling Ogmios Z42 in real time), while the Italian cast brings together Monica Buzoianu (Virginia Visconti, Laura’s daughter), Francesca Fatichenti (Amalia Visconti, Virginia and Lorenzo’s daughter), and Giovanni Longhin (Lorenzo Visconti, Virginia’s husband).
There will be 10 performances in total. After the preview, the performance will be revived in the autumn of 2022. Admission is free in both countries but only based on prior reservations. One of the autumn performances will also be live-streamed for an international audience.
2032 SMART-FAMILY
Play written by Marina Hanganu and Bianca Trifan
Italian translation: Camilla Brison, Monica Buzoianu and Ioana Rufu
Cast (Romania):
Aura Călărașu – Laura Mihalcea
Smaranda Găbudeanu – Ogmios Z42
Cast (Italy):
Monica Buzoianu – Virginia Visconti
Francesca Fatichenti – Amalia Visconti
Giovanni Longhin – Lorenzo Visconti
Directed by Marina Hanganu (RO) and Camilla Brison (IT)
Assistant director: Bianca Trifan
Video director (live montage and video creation): Armine Vosganian (RO)
Assistant video director: Davide Nocera (live montage) (IT)
Video Assistant: Stefano Cozzi (IT)
Scenography: Andreea Diana Nistor (RO) and Greta Gasparini (IT)
Assistant scenographer: Viola Aprile (IT)
Costumes: Marilena Montini (IT) and Andreea Diana Nistor (RO)
Technical direction: Ygreq Interactive (RO)
Multimedia and communication platform: Ygreq Interactive (RO) – Cristian Iordache and Alexandru Andrei
Robot design and mechanics: Ygreq Interactive (RO) – Mihai Toma and Cristian Iordache
Robot programming, mechanical refinement and maintenance: Bucharest Robots (RO) – Ana-Maria Stancu (CEO), prof. Marius Dumitrescu (engineer)
Robot exterior and props: Lucian Păun (RO)
Robot face 3D modeling: Iulia Petronela Ioniță
Robot face real-time 3D animation: Ygreq Interactive (RO) – Cristian Iordache
Music and sound design: Andrei Petrache (RO)
Sound setup: Alexandru Andrei
Light design: Costel Baciu (RO) and Marco Grisa (IT)
Game cards illustrations: Alex Rusu (RO)
Video cameras and multimedia app live control: Filippo Di Dio (IT) Adrian Dragoman (RO) and Davide Nocera (IT)
Sound control: Gabriel Ilie (RO) and Filippo Di Dio (IT)
Lights and subtitles control: Andrea Centonza (IT), Gheorghe Ilie (RO) and Agnese Manzella (IT)
Audio recordings: Federico Mammana (IT) and Stripe Studio Milano (IT), Heartbeat Studio (RO)
Performance concept: Marina Hanganu (artistic director of “Tele-Encounters”)
Producers: Teatrul “George Ciprian” (Buzău, RO) and Industria Scenica (Vimodrone, Milan, IT)
Project management (RO): Gina Chivulescu, Marina Hanganu, Cristiana Ilea, Iuliana Pleșoianu
Project management (IT): Paola Cagna, Isnaba Miranda, Ermanno Nardi
In-kind sponsor for the Italian set: Perego Arredamenti
Thanks to Giacomo Bernardi and Ilaria Calia!
Poster by Daniela Dughiană.
