Skip to content ↓

Italian director talks about theater technology

Sergio Escobar of Milan's Piccolo Teatro, founded in 1947 as Italy's first folk theater, will give a lecture in Italian with English translation on "Science and the Theater" on Tuesday, March 12 at 6 p.m. in Room 4-270 (note: lecture was originally scheduled for Kresge Little Theater).

The Piccolo Teatro helped the world discover Goldoni and the commedia del'arte and has staged inspired productions of Shakespeare, Brecht and a string of Mozart operas. Escobar, the administrative director of the Piccolo Teatro, uses technology in architecture, sound and set movement to make live theater more attractive to today's sophisticated audiences, according to Stefano Falconi, the associate director of the MIT-Italy Program, one of the sponsors of Escobar's talk.

"Sergio challenges the idea that certain theatrical components should be taken for granted," said Falconi. "He makes stage and space more consistent with the needs of a new and younger public."

"Sergio Escobar's visit to MIT is an example of the ways in which the arts are following the lead of science, engineering and the Sloan School in opening our horizons to international cultures," said Alan Brody, associate provost for the arts, who said that many different departments and disciplines are participating in Escobar's residency, including Italian faculty from around the Institute.

Escobar's talk is part of a brief residency organized by Brody and the MIT Italy Program, part of the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives program (MISTI). A reception will follow the talk.

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on March 6, 2002.

Related Topics

More MIT News

Headshot of Catherine Wolfram

A delicate dance

Professor of applied economics Catherine Wolfram balances global energy demands and the pressing need for decarbonization.

Read full story