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Earthbound
or The Camille Stories

Marta Cuscunà

CREDITS
year
2021
text
freely inspired by “Staying with the trouble” by Donna Haraway 
(© 2016, Duke University Press)
by and with Marta Cuscunà
set & lighting design
scenery Paola Villani
lighting design Claudio “Poldo” Parrino
additional details
assistant director Marco Rogante
animatronic design Paola Villani
animatronic construction Paola Villani e Marco Rogante
sculpture and creature modelling João Rapaz, Janaína Drummond, Francisco Tomàs, Catarina Santiago, Rodrigo Pereira (Oldskull FX-Lisbona)
dramaturg Giacomo Raffaelli
sound design Michele Braga

direttore tecnico Massimo Gianaroli;
direttore di scena, capo elettricista e fonico Marco Rogante
macchinista Simone Spangaro / Jurgen Koci

scene costruite nel laboratorio di Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione
Sponsor tecnico igus® innovazione con i tecnopolimeri
Pulegge Marta s.r.l. forniture per l’industria
Costruzioni metalliche Righi Franco Srl
Fili d’acciaio e guaine per freni di biciclette Franza Giuseppe

foto di scena Guido Mencari

Un ringraziamento speciale a Giusi Merli che ha gentilmente concesso le sue sembianze per realizzare Camille 1
e a
Guqin Wu per aver condiviso con tanta generosità un pezzo della nostra strada
production
production Emilia Tomagna Teatro Fondazione, CSS Teatro Stabile di Innovazione del FVG, São Luiz Teatro Municipal, Etnorama Associazione Culturale
with the support of Italian Institute of Culture of Lisbon, i-Portunus, A Tarumba – Teatro de Marionetas, the citizens who have joined the project #iosonoMecenate


EARTHBOUND or the The Camille Stories, is a work of science fiction that explores a near future in which the manipulation of the human genome brings life back to areas of the planet that have been damaged by mankind.
Being on the verge of extinction is no longer a metaphor.
The philosopher Donna Haraway wrote Staying with the trouble to break with the destructive “Game Over” mentality that could overcome us. This is a speculative essay about eco-feminism that contains science fiction stories: examples of possible futures where humanity joins forces with other species to save our planet, take care of it again and treat it better this time.

Inspired by these ideas, the play follows a small colony of individuals who have migrated to areas damaged by human exploitation in order to restore them in collaboration with non-human partners. They are the Earthbound: humans who have been implanted with the genes of endangered creatures. This has a dual purpose: conserving the species and promoting a new perspective for helping mankind adapt to the natural environment through the symbiosis with their animal part.
The Earthbound know that no species acts alone, not even humanity, and that it is not possible to separate organism from environment. In order to tackle the consumption of natural resources that are now almost entirely exhausted, they are aiming at the drastic reduction of the human presence on Earth.
"Make kin, not babies" is the first commandment of a birth control policy based on partially replacing blood ties with bonds of care.
For the Earthbound, the birth of a child is a collective, rare and precious choice, and something the whole community is responsible for. As such, at least three parents are assigned to each child.
On stage, the Earthbound are brought to life through the animatronic creatures designed by Paola Villani and inspired by the works of the Australian artist Patricia Piccinini. The performance is a science fiction monologue for actress and puppets that transforms contemporary eco-feminist thinking into a play, hybridizing the tradition of object theatre with techniques of innovative animation.
And if, as Donna Haraway says, "it matters what stories make worlds, what worlds make stories", Earthbound is one of the possible tales of the new world where we may find ourselves living tomorrow.

Running time: 70 minutes

Images

Tour

debut
25, 26, 27, 28, 29 May 2021 h 19
30 May 2021 h 16
Modena, Teatro Storchi

tour
24 August 2021 h 21
OperaEstate Festival
Bassano del Grappa, Teatro Remondini
1-2 October 2021
Teatro Contatto 39
Udine, Teatro Palamostre
24, 25, 26 February 2022 h 21
27 February 2022 h 15.30
Cesena, Teatro Bonci
1 March 2022 h 21
Vignola (MO), Teatro Fabbri
4 March 2022 h 20
Bolzano, Teatro Cristallo
3 May 2022 h 20
Venice, Teatro Goldoni
20-21 May 2022 h 20
Lisbon, Sala Luís Miguel Cintra, FIMFA LX22
24-25 March 2023 h 20.30
Festival MARTO
Sceaux, Théâtre Les Gémeaux Scène nationale
27 - 30 April 2023
Milan, Piccolo Teatro Strehler
9 June 2023 h 21.00
Festival Collega-menti
Udine, Teatro, Palamostre
21 April 2024 h 20.45
La Spezia, Teatro Civico