RAMPANTE !

How I climbed the trees and never came down again

A group of scientists discovers a tiny tree. Tucked among its branches is a forgotten book. Its pages tell a timeless story: that of a boy who climbs a tree and chooses never to come down again. RAMPANTE! is a performance inspired by the literary imagination of Italo Calvino and the wondrous settings that inhabit his worlds.

On stage, a miniature island: at its center stands the rediscovered tree, surrounded by forests, villages, rivers, trails, and seaside towns. These micro-sets, created and animated in full view by the actors, give shape to a fragile and detailed world. The action is filmed in real-time by one or more cameras; the video footage is edited live and projected onto a large screen in the background.

The audience simultaneously witnesses the construction and the representation: they see the mechanism, the "trick," and the manipulation, while at the same time watching the film that emerges from it all.