Coop. Centro R.A.T. Teatro dell'Acquario

The R.A.T. Centre is a cooperative recognized by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities from 1976. In 1986 became an experimental theatre company of Calabria Region, in 2005 a small enterprise of theater production.
Furthermore, it’s recognized by the Region of Calabria, Cultural Heritage Department, with the law n. 27 of 1995 and n.3 of 2004.
In 1981 the R.A.T. Centre set up the “Teatro dell’Acquario” which keeps on doing cultural activities in Calabria.
The Teatro dell’Acquario deals with three sectors in particular:
1. Theater production;
2. Theater planning;
3. Theater training.

1. The theater performances producted by Teatro dell’Acquario (more or less 80 performances) had been released in Italy within festivals, theatre seasons. The strength of the Teatro is the international work: it realized tours and projects in Armenia, Poland, England, Denmark, Sweden, USA, Switzerland, Malesia, Spain, Tunisia, Canada, Israel, Latvia.
The main aspect of the production sector of the Teatro is the involvement of schools and youth. Starting from the awareness of a lack of a theater culture, the strategy to collaborate with schools has been efficient, in fact in the past years the results were important: the average is about 120 performances per year of which 40% out of the Calabria Region.

2. The planning rappresents a strenght in the whole activity. In 1981 the Centre R.A.T. started from a shed and established the Teatro dell’Acquario. It was afterwards rebuild in 1984 according to the regulation in the field of security.
The Theatre welcomed very important Italian and international companies and actors like Dario Fo, Paolo Rossi, Julian Beck, Judith Malina, Eugenio Barba e l’Odin Teatret, Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, Mario Martone, Toni Servillo, Sabina Guzzanti, Alessandro Bergonzoni, Pippo del Bono, Leo De Berardiniis, Carlo Quartucci, Carla Tatò, Remondi e Caporossi, Raffaello Sanzio, Emma Dante ecc.

3. In 1999 the R.A.T. Centre establishes an agreement with the municipality of Cosenza to rebuild and start up the International Training Centre of Performing Arts (CIFA). It is a Theater school in the heart of historical centre of Cosenza. A suggestive convent of 1400.

In 2003 the Teatro dell’Acquario got a Italian certification of quality named UNI EN ISO 9001:2000 for all activities of professional training in the field of performing arts.
Classes and workshops of great teachers of contemporary theatre were planned in the school of CIFA: personalities like Judith Malina e Hanon Reznikov (Living Theatre - New York), Eugenio Barba, Julia Varley, Franz Winter, Augusto Omolù, Roberta Carreri, Iben Nagel Rassmussen (Odin Teatret - Danimarca), Pippo Delbono, Aldo Nicolaj, Pedrac Matvejevic, Mimmo Cuticchio, Vincenzo Pirrotta, ecc.
The CIFA had collaborated with different institutions like “Biennale di Venezia” in order to realize the project “Dance, Music, Theatre in movie”, ETI (Italian Theatre Union), Calabria Region, Municipality of Cosenza, Opera house “A. Rendano”.
During years theatre classes had given the opportunity to form new theater compagnie like “Scena Verticale” and Teatro della Ginestra. This is the proof that Teatro dell’Acquario has been influencing for years the survey of culture in Calabria giving chances to its pupils to work in the field of culture industries.