10 April 2021
“SRC OpenAir”, the new training offer of the Calabria Acting School, officially kicked off today. The presentation took place yesterday, during a press conference held in the splendid setting of the Uliveto Principessa Resort, where, completely immersed in nature, between the green lawn and the centuries-old olive trees, the creator and director of the SRC Walter Cordopatri broke the deadlock and revealed what this new way of conceiving the study of acting consists of.
«We chose to present “SRC OpenAir” right in the middle of nature – began director Cordopatri – because this is precisely what it is about, that is, training outdoors. We have had such an innovative and original type of training in mind for some time, unique throughout the country, and finally what was just an idea has come to fruition. For five years, we have worked with "artificial" scenarios, closed within the four walls of the classrooms, but we have realized that the natural beauty of this extraordinary territory can be a new stimulus for our students, offering us spectacular and certainly unprecedented scenography.
We thought about how beautiful it could be, studying the various disciplines with the grass or sand under your feet, or listening to the sound of the waves or the flow of a river. Ours aims to be an alternative training to the comfort that a classroom offers, and to make our students enjoy the taste of freedom of being themselves in a natural environment. We want to bring out our students not only physically, but also their emotions, making them develop identity and character. We will work on a psychological, social, educational and pedagogical level, in an important and minimal setting at the same time, without the need for artfully constructed scenography, but immersed in wild, free nature. The students will learn to listen by listening to each other, get to know each other, being next to each other but in freedom, outdoors. As a national exclusive, we are launching a purely educational outdoor training program."
Also present at the meeting was the mayor of Cittanova Francesco Cosentino, who said he was proud to have immediately embraced, five years ago, offering the patronage of the Municipality, what he defined as «an extraordinary idea for what it represents and for what, thanks to the SRC, there has been in terms of cultural initiatives in our territory. The partnership with the Calabria Acting School makes me proud – underlined the mayor – and pushes me to think about how much more can be done in the future. In fact, this project can be strengthened and strengthened, making it a further educational element of this community which already hosts many prestigious schools. The SRC is certainly a qualifying reality not only for our Municipality, but also for the entire district."
The word then passed to Adriano Raso, general manager of Uliveto Principessa, with whom an important collaboration is underway. «Not all evils have a silver lining – stated Raso – because perhaps, without the pandemic we would never have activated this collaboration. In fact, it was here that we started the partnership in recent weeks, when the Calabria Acting School chose this location to shoot a short film. And I, who have always loved cinema, welcomed this opportunity with enthusiasm. From here we therefore officially consolidate this synergy, which will continue over time, given that there is no shortage of ideas. Together, we will start a journey to give an image different from the one with which our territory has always been represented and described."
«We are lucky enough to live in a wonderful land – explained Eurema Pentimalli, organizational manager of the SRC – full of natural wonders, just a step away from the sea or the mountains. So why not make the most of them, enhance them and enjoy them at 360 degrees, going beyond traditional training, which leaves the comfort zone and pushes us further. Of course, this will require more effort from an organizational point of view, but we are sure that this effort will pay off. We will set off to discover the most evocative places in our region. Considering that the SRC has always been very careful to sink its roots into our history and our culture to draw inspiration from it, this is certainly the most favorable opportunity to continue doing so."
Giuseppe Lombardo, Yoga teacher at the SRC and coordinator of the "SRC OpenAir" project, then explained the benefits that this type of disciplinary approach can bring to students and teachers. «Getting out of the comfort zone, from all those things that make us feel safe – argued Lombardo – helps us grow and enrich ourselves internally. The external elements will help us improve our performance, since we will learn to manage what can be disturbing conditions, such as the climate. Furthermore, going out will help us expose our emotions, because when we lose our certainties, our true nature comes out. And this helps us develop not only from a professional point of view, but also from a human and personal point of view."
Some representatives of the "Philene" association also took part in the meeting, which will start a close collaboration with the Calabria Acting School. «We were struck by the SRC – said the coordinator Carmelo Milicia – and for this reason we will contribute to making this School even more a central point of our community. We want to create a bridge that from the SRC crosses the streets, the people, the places, the faces, the situations of the entire territory, to convey what is its true essence."
And so, from words to deeds, from next week the "SRC OpenAir" project will start and the students will have the opportunity to begin lessons outdoors, taking advantage of this union that the Calabria Acting School wanted to forge with nature. As chance would have it, the presentation of the project fell on the birthday of the actor Gian Maria Volontè, who has always been a source of inspiration for Walter Cordopatri, to whom he wanted to dedicate the birth of this new training path.