Teatro dell'Elce
associazione culturale
via della Pergola, 25
50121 Florence - Italy
tel. +39 333 1759390
[email protected]
www.teatrodellelce.it
IL SALONE DI Z
***
A SE NSO RIA L PER FORM ANC E
"The difference between a male and a female haircut is
that a male haircut is for men and a female haircut is for
women"
Taken from an interview with a Florence barber
WINNING PROJECT OF THE EMERGENZE CREATIVE COMPETITION 2010
FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE TEATRO POR LA PAZ 2012 (Barrancabermeja, Colombia)
INEQUILIBRIO FESTIVAL 2011 (at Massimo's Barber Shop)
ZOOMTEATRO FESTIVAL 2010 (at Alì’s Barber Shop)
STORIE DI LAVORO FESTIVAL 2010 (at Pontani Hair Stylist's Shop)
The barber shop is a universe of scents and nebulisations,
floating white capes, horse-shaped children seats, graced with the sound of trimming scissors:
trimming with teeth, a thread, an electric razor - just a little finishing touch.
Shaving creams, products, perfumes…who’s next for shaving?
And here we go again with shampoo-trimming-lotion – shaving beards, using brushes and soap.
Barbers speak and remain silent, they can remember and listen,
but they can also remember and forget, confessing and absolving.
People go by while they never change.
Barbers know you and pretend not to notice you, they rub your face with a warm cloth,
caressing your skin and your throat with a brush and a sharp blade.
Barbers are sophisticated and skilled, as well as scurrilous and despicable.
A barber is a world reflecting in a mirror.
Teatro dell'Elce associazione culturale - via della Pergola 25 - 50121 Florence Italy - tel. +39 333 1759390 - [email protected] - www.teatrodellelce.it
PERFORMANCE & DOCUMENTARY
“Il salone di Z***” combines the screening of a
documentary featuring interviews with Florence
barbers with a continuous sensorial performance to
be experienced only by two spectators at a time.
While the documentary is continuously shown in the
waiting hall, the two watchers are welcomed inside
the barber shop, where they will fnd two big black
revolving chairs at the centre. The spectators are
invited to sit down and be blindfolded. Out of
nowhere, a full immersion in a barber shop
atmosphere begins, with its sounds, smells and tactile
elements. This sensorial journey lasts the time of a
shaving. Men and women experience these
increasingly rare emotions - razor, perfumes, brush
with soap, a warm cloth - while life inside the shop
goes by around them like every day, trimming hair,
listening to music, watching clients coming and going
and reading newspapers.
“Those who go to the park, die.”
Taken from an interview with a Florence barber
SEVERAL OPPORTUNITIES TO SET UP THE SHOW: EMPTY SPACE, THEATRE OR BARBER SHOP
“Il salone di Z***” takes place in two separate areas – the waiting room, where the documentary is screened, and
the “salon”, where the sensorial performance takes place. It is possible to set up “Il salone di Z***” inside a barber
shop, taking advantage of the natural setting, the only condition being that this area shall be visually and
acoustically isolated. In this case, the waiting room with the documentary shall be set up in a separate area and the
watchers shall be taken in turns to the shop.
Alternatively, “Il Salone di Z***” might be set up in a theatre (using the empty hall and stage as barber shop and
the foyer as waiting hall), or in any place consisting in two separate areas and bearing the necessary characteristics
(please, see technical specifcations) - for instance, a medium-sized museum, art gallery, or warehouse, and so on.
BARBIERI
[
DOCUMENTARY FEATURING INTERVIEWS
Between January and April 2010, our theatre
company collected a series of interviews with
barbers in Florence, flmed inside their shops
during an ordinary working day. The interviews
became part of a documentary called Barbieri
(Barbers), directed by video-maker Jean François
Fardulli. The various interviews depict a universe
which is slowly fading away – the rush and the
dynamics of our contemporary society are no
longer compatible with the working rhythm of a
barber. Melancholy, linked with this idea of a lost
world, combines with a declaration of love for
their own job – something they love doing in
details, savouring every single day, hoping they
will never have to quit it.
A summary of the documentary is available on
the webpage of “Il salone di Z***”, to be found
on the website www.teatrodellelce.it. You might
also request a password to watch the whole
documentary online.
[…] From the Pasquini amphitheatre we reach Pineta
Marradi, where we find the barber shop called Massimo
Coiffeur. Here the Teatro dell'Elce set up a sensorial
performance - "Il salone di Z***" - to be experienced
only by two watchers at a time. When the door closes, it
is the beginning of a private journey inside the art of an
ancient job – the barber. A quest for rituals, gestures,
scents and perfumes that have accompanied entire
generations of men. Closing your eyes, you can hear the
sound of scissors trimming, feel the soap, a massage and
a warm cloth on your skin, accompanied by love songs
from the past. A sensorial performance to pamper your
heart and soul."
Federica Lessi, “Il Tirreno” newspaper, 6 July 2011
Teatro dell'Elce associazione culturale - via della Pergola 25 - 50121 Florence Italy - tel. +39 333 1759390 - [email protected] - www.teatrodellelce.it
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
THE PERFORMANCE REQUIRES TWO SEPARATE AREAS:
1. a waiting room, where the documentary will be continuously screened. In case the performance takes place
inside a theatre hall, the waiting room might be the foyer. Should the performance take place inside a barber shop
(or anyway inside an area without an anteroom), the documentary might be screened in a separate area – the
watchers shall be taken from the waiting room to the performance area by an assigned person (as specifed
below), guiding them.
Projection equipment for the documentary is required – DVD player + loudspeakers + projector with screen or,
alternatively, a television equipment appropriate for the area.
2. A performance area at least 5 metres wide and 4 metres deep, allowing two performers not to be seen when
the spectators enter (in case of a theatre, wings, or an adjacent hall should be available) and allowing the same
performers to easily enter the actual performance area.
The performance area shall not be visible from outside and shall be as sound proof as possible.
There are no specifc light-technical requirements. A jack connected amplifed speaker (min. power - 200 W), a CD
player and cables to connect the player and the speaker are required.
We also need a person taking care of the audience entering (two people usually exit and two others enter every
eight minutes).
We suggest you take reservations from the audience, assigning a specifc time to each group of two people. Turns
should be organised over a ten-minute span.
Credits:
headline
Il salone di Z***
sub-headline
a sensorial performance
with
Roberto Caccavo, Marco Di Costanzo, Stefano Parigi
video by
Jean François Fardulli
a Teatro dell'Elce production
supported by Regione Toscana
Length: 8 minutes every two spectators (max. number of repetitions: 25).
Video subtitles: English, Spanish, Italian.
Set-up and dismantling time: 2 hours.
SIAE (Italian Authors & Publishers’ Association) – the show is not subject to SIAE rights and it does not make use
of any music protected by copyright.
Technical executive: Marco Di Costanzo, tel. +39 333 3932129.
CONTACTS AND INFORMATION
To request any material concerning the show or the theatre company, please visit:
www.teatrodellelce.it/salonez.php
For further information, please contact Teatro dell'Elce at the following number: +39 333 1759390, or email us at:
[email protected].
Teatro dell'Elce associazione culturale - via della Pergola 25 - 50121 Florence Italy - tel. +39 333 1759390 - [email protected] - www.teatrodellelce.it