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Residency theatrical experiences

Inspired by the example of other European countries and certain Italian regions, the initiative was launched in 2007 with the aim of ‘giving space’ to young theatre production companies in Lombardy, according to the ‘residency’ model, based on a multi-year agreement between a company and a public body, generally an administration or a municipal theatre: the owning entity entrusts the company with a space under total or partial management, at advantageous conditions and with a financial endowment, linking it to the commitment to promote certain activities, primarily theatrical production, which thus ensure the leverage of the space provided.

The project was structured into three stages:

• 22 residency projects were selected (nine Lombardy provinces directly engaged with theatrical and non-theatrical spaces for production and performance), led by emerging theatre companies, through a call for proposals repeated for three years (2007-2009)
• starting from the selected projects, a structure was set up to represent and co-ordinate the residencies’ networking activities (the ETRE Association, the members of which continue to include the Lombardy companies that manage the residency projects);
• A network has been created that promotes and protects the artistic work of emerging Lombardy companies.

The launch of a system of Lombardy residencies, unbound by rigid models, has made it possible to normalise the situation of various emerging theatre companies, by providing them with the tools to develop a coherent policy of settlement in the local area and professional growth on an artistic and organisational level.