CREATIVE CULTURAL RESIDENCY (RCC) • RAME FESTIVAL 2024

RaMe • The Roots of the Mediterranean | International Festival of Theater and Performing Arts is a project held since 2020 in Melissa, in the province of Crotone (Calabria).

The project is divided into two main branches: the Creative Cultural Residency - CCR (active since 2015) and the International Festival of Theater and Performing Arts (active since 2020).

❁ The CCR is a project based on the idea of "re-inhabiting" a disadvantaged territory: 16 participants will actively engage with the village of Melissa, interacting with the local population, attending creative workshops, guided tours, symposia, conferences, and performances, while discussing contemporary art with artists, scholars, residents, and visitors.

❁ The Festival aims to promote art in all its forms, hosting artists from around the world in Melissa. The idea is to enhance the historic center of the village through spectacular events, revitalizing abandoned places and buildings, and creating unusual or surprising situations within old streets and ancient houses.

Participation fees:

- REGISTRATIONS BY MAY 31, 2024: €375 (€350 for single payment!)
- REGISTRATIONS BY JUNE 30, 2024: €425 (€400 for single payment!)
- REGISTRATIONS BY JULY 14, 2024: €475 (€450 for single payment!)

Additionally, there is a €10 ARCI membership fee for Teatro Ebasko (if not already a member).
A minimum deposit of €190 is required by the deadlines.

The full participation fee includes:

❁ Full board for 7 days

❁ Accommodation in a refurbished facility for 8 nights during peak season on the Ionian coast

❁ Creative Cultural Residency with Teatro Ebasko and festival artists/operators (workshops, symposiums, meetings, etc.)

❁ Guided tours of historical/monumental sites in the Crotone province and relaxation moments by the sea

❁ Access to all shows, performances, and events of the RaMe24 Festival and debate meetings with artists, operators, critics, and scholars led by YIAS • Young International Art Symposium, including the national conference on Third Theater and Independent Theater

❁ Internal transportation for those without a car

❁ Festival gadgets (bag)

❁ MEALS | Participants will be served 3 main meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner + 2 snacks. The food products are mostly seasonal and locally sourced, of high nutritional quality. The dining hall is in a shared space at the school in Melissa, and local staff and cooks will handle the kitchen, integrating traditional recipes with ecological and sustainability needs.

❁ ACCOMMODATION | Renovated ancient buildings serve as guesthouses with modern dormitories and multiple bathrooms with water-saving showers. In Calabria and southern Italy, drought is an increasingly severe issue. The RaMe staff will do their best to minimize discomfort. Participants must bring their own towels and single bed sheets (including pillowcases).

RaMe 2024 PROGRAM (CCR + FESTIVAL)

Sunday, July 21, by 10:00 PM • arrivals, check-in + accommodation
Monday, July 22 • guided tour of Melissa’s historic center + introductory circle + Teatro Ebasko workshop with Simone Bevilacqua [self-direction visions + basic theater exercises, ice-breaking and acquaintance]
Tuesday, July 23 • morning exercise + Teatro Ebasko workshop with Marzia D'Angeli [focus on the actress as a world creator] + workshop by L4R [designing a digital scenario with Tiago Branc and Clara Román]
Wednesday, July 24 • morning exercise + Teatro Ebasko workshop [focus on the director-actor relationship in the creative process] + workshop by L4R [designing a digital scenario with Tiago Branc and Clara Román]
Thursday, July 25 • morning exercise + Teatro Dell'Albero workshop [focus on rhythm and scene rhythm with Mario Barzaghi] + YIAS meeting with Antonio Di Castri and festival artists + festival opening night [evening shows]
Friday, July 26 • morning exercise + Teatro Dell'Albero workshop [focus on actress dramaturgy with Maria Rita Simone] + YIAS meeting with Antonio Di Castri and festival artists + evening shows
Saturday, July 27 • morning exercise + Teatro A Canone workshop [focus on actor training with Luca Vonella] + NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THIRD THEATER AND INDEPENDENT THEATER + shows and concerts
Sunday, July 28 • excursion + YIAS meeting + festival closing night [shows and concerts]
Monday, July 29, from 7:00 AM • check-out and departures

❁ MAXIMUM LIMIT OF 16 PARTICIPANTS

❁ REGISTRATION DEADLINE BY JULY 14, 2024, at 11:59 PM

HOW TO GET THERE?

Two main bus lines connect Melissa (KR) with major Italian cities:

Romano bus lines - FLIXBUS
ITABUS bus lines

From Milan, Bologna and Rome there is a direct flight to Crotone (25 min from Melissa) opered by Rayanair. A public bus will take participants to Crotone Station and then with trains to Cirò and/or Torre Melissa (by the sea).

ADDITIONAL CULTURAL ACTIVITIES DURING FREE TIME

❁ Visits to museums (Wine Museum, Old Olive Press, Aragonese Tower, Research Center of Peasant Struggles, etc.)

❁ Visits to rock caves, hiding places for witches during the Inquisition and brigands during the unification of Italy

❁ Visits to historical sites such as the Fragalà fief with its monument to the fallen of 1949 [see Fragalà massacre]

❁ Excursions to the ruins of the Count's Castle at the top of the village

❁ Trips to the Temple of Hera Lacinia (4th century BC) in the Capo Colonna archaeological area (30 minutes by car)

❁ Visits to wineries and fieldwork activities with local farmers

❁ Relaxation at the beach, on free and/or equipped beaches, awarded Blue Flag and Green Flag of Italy for years (including 2024)

HISTORICAL NOTES ON MELISSA

"[...] <<The rocky roads are all twisted,
They look like branches of thorny brambles,
Yet man, defying fate,
Has turned them into welcoming paths.
The icon of the name, going back in time,
Recalls Demeter, the creator of honey,
From the village was born a hardworking town,
Changed in appearance but always faithful.>>"

Melissa has ancient origins, dating back to Greek colonizations mentioned by Ovid in "Metamorphoses"; its alleys and the remains of the Castle preserve memories of Aragonese domination and the medieval feudal system. But above all, these places tell the story of the rebellion of peasants against landowners: it was in the countryside of Melissa that the Fragalà massacre occurred in 1949. The monument to the fallen of Fragalà, dedicated to the community of Melissa by Ernesto Treccani, is still visitable today.

Learn more about Melissa tourism