Thanks to a generous ROI micro grant, on October 13th – 15th 2017
I spent 3 days at the 22nd Else Lasker Schüler Forum in Monte Verità, Ascona (Switzerland). This was organised by the Else Lasker – Schüler Gesellschaft (Society) of Wuppertal.
This was extremely exciting as I was able to meet there academics, scholars and artists who share my interest and passion in this superb Jewish German woman poet who died in Jerusalem in 1945, in the very same hospital (Mount Scopus) in which I was born less than 40 years later!
I’ve written and staged a play about Else, her life and work: Il mare in valigia (the sea in suitcase). P
participating to the forum gave me the opportunity to watch another play based on her life and text produced by the Wuppertal Theatre in Germany. I personally met the producer, actress and director of the show and we established a relationship that I hope we’ll all be able to use for further collaboration. I also suggested that we bring my play to the next Forum: there are some good chances this will happen, provided that we find a way to overcome linguistic barriers (we might do supertitles to the show, which is in Italian). I also heard important lectures on the most recent findings about Lasker – Schüler and her literary world. On my way back to Milan I profited from the occasion to meet Giancarlo Cohen, the President of the Jewish – Christian association of Lugano, to whom I also proposed my play and a lecture on Lasker – Schüler.
The whole experience has been extremely inspiring and enriching in terms of both knowledge, inspiration as well as networking.
