Opening hours: Tue/Wed/Fri 11:00–18:00 Thu 11:00–20:00 Sat/Sun 10:00–18:00 Mon Closed
Opening hours: Tue/Wed/Fri 11:00–18:00 Thu 11:00–20:00 Sat/Sun 10:00–18:00 Mon Closed
Laterale – as in lateral thinking. As in critique. As in an investigation that explores different forms of expression and disciplines.
We are seeking new ways to interpret and try to understand not just the contemporary performing arts scene, but much more as well. It was this need that gave rise to Laterale, a critical working group that continues the tradition of theoretical studies supported by the LAC in Lugano and the FIT Festival. An ongoing project analysing theatre and the performing arts, in close dialogue with artists, colleagues, and curators. A journey that will take different forms and unfold at different times with the changing of the seasons. Each year, we’ll choose a specific topic and produce a series of podcasts and video interviews around it. We’ll then get together face-to-face again to discuss the ideas that have emerged from our explorations, sharing questions and suggestions, and maybe even a few answers. Laterale is intended to be a safe haven for critical thinking, fuelled by encounters with leading figures of the contemporary performing arts scene: a brief but valuable opportunity for discussion, where rigorous research is intertwined with the desire to break down lazy thinking and clichés. And always in great company.
She teaches History of Theatre at the University of Lugano. She founded the magazine and association Stratagemmi. Prospettive teatrali and writes about theatre for various publications, including Doppiozero and La Domenica (published by Il Sole 24 Ore). She has been part of the editorial committee of the magazine La Falena since 2020, and co-edits the series Teatro classico in scena for the Carocci publishing house. Since 2016, she has been working with the FIT and the LAC, editing I quaderni del FIT and Sguardi sul contemporaneo.
She teaches Literature and Philosophy of Theatre at the Brera Academy. She collaborates with numerous institutions on projects that promote the performing arts, as well as with various magazines and newspapers, including La Lettura, the Corriere della Sera cultural supplement, and Doppiozero. She is the author of Qualcosa di sé. Daria Deflorian e il suo teatro (Luca Sossella Editore, 2023) and co-author of two books written with Armando Punzo: Breviario di etica artistica (Luca Sossella Editore, 2026) and Un’idea più grande di me (LSE, 2019). She is a member of the Stratagemmi editorial committee, the Ubu Association for Franco Quadri board of directors, and the panel of judges for the Riccione Prize for Dramaturgical Innovation.
A graduate in Literature, he qualified at the Scuola dello Stabile in Turin and worked as an assistant director to Luca Ronconi on Progetto Domani (Turin 2006 Winter Olympics) and on the staging of several productions. He has directed dozens of plays and operas, earning him prestigious awards. From 2015 to 2024, he directed the ‘Luca Ronconi’ Theatre School at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan. From 2014 to 2019, he was artistic director of LuganoInScena; since 2020, he has been artistic director of LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura; and since 2024, he has been director of the performing arts. For LAC, he has developed an artistic programme characterised by a strong focus on production and a commitment to contemporary art. Together with Paola Tripoli, he is the creator of Lingua Madre. *Capsule per il futuro*, a digital project with which he won the Hystrio Digital Stage Award and the Ubu Award in the special projects category (2021); the project was selected for the 2022 edition of the Schweizer Theatertreffen held in Chur. His *Le relazioni pericolose* is among the works in the 2023 Selection for the tenth edition of the Giornate del Teatro Svizzero. In 2024, she won the Hystrio Award for directing.
With a PhD in Architecture, she is a researcher at the Polytechnic University of Milan and a theatre, dance, and architecture critic. She writes, teaches, and conducts research at the intersection of these disciplines. She founded the magazine Stratagemmi, a biannual publication on theatre studies, and the cultural association Prospettive Teatrali. She is a member of the editorial team at Casabella and contributes to other magazines, including Hystrio and La Domenica (published by Il Sole 24 Ore). Her publications include Architetture in scena. Esporre in assenza, esporre in presenza (2015), Il pubblico in danza (with L. Conti and M. Giovannelli, 2019), and Elementarismo moderno (2022); she also edited the series Inspiration and Process in Architecture (ed. Moleskine). She has collaborated with publishing houses, museums, and cultural institutions such as the FAI – Fondo Ambiente Italiano, the Venice Biennale, and the Milan Triennale. Since 2016, she has been working with the FIT and the LAC, editing I quaderni del FIT and the Sguardi sul contemporaneo series.
She graduated with a degree in Arts and Philosophy, specialising in Theatre History. During her university years, she was a member of the CUT (University Theatre Centre); she studied theatre theory under Fabrizio Cruciani and Ferdinando Taviani, and during her training she came into contact with masters such as Eugenio Barba and Leo De Bernardinis. During the same period, she contributed to the editorial team of the quarterly magazine *L’altro Teatro*. She subsequently undertook further studies at the DAMS in Bologna. Among her early experiences, she took part in numerous projects at juvenile detention centres. During the same period, she was an editor at *Libero Cantiere*, a magazine focusing on poetry, music and theatre. In 1987, she played an active role in the ISTA section led by Eugenio Barba.
In 2001, she moved to Switzerland. As a journalist, she has contributed to various publications in Italy and Ticino, worked with the Culture Department of Chiasso Town Council, and collaborated with the GDSC (Swiss Contemporary Dance Days), held in Ticino.
In 2005, she was co-artistic director of the FIT International Festival of Theatre and Contemporary Performance and the Festival Incontri Teatrali.
She has served on various juries and, together with Rubidori Manshaft, founded Officina Orsi in Lugano in 2012, an artistic research project exploring the intersection between theatre, the performing arts and installation art. She curates TRE60Arti, a project exploring artistic languages in depth. Since 2016, she has been the sole director of the FIT.
She is a member of national and international networks.
Together with Carmelo Rifici, director of performing arts at LAC, she conceived the publishing project *I Quaderni del FIT* and created *Lingua Madre, Capsule per il futuro*, which won the Hystrio Digital Stage Award and, in the same year, the Ubu Special Award. In 2024, she received the Stiftung Erbprozent Kultur prize for the festival she directs, and in 2025, she was awarded Switzerland’s highest honour, the Swiss Performing Arts Awards. In 2025, she served on the committee of Laterale.
A theatre critic for Il Giorno, he has previously written for various publications, including Epolis, La Rinascita, and Linus, in which he published a column dedicated to the independent theatre scene for years. He contributes to the quarterly magazine Hystrio and has long been a member of the panel of judges for Scritture di Scena. He holds a degree in Literature from the University of Milan and a degree in Sociology from Bicocca University, where he studied the works of Michel Foucault and Stuart Hall. In 2016, he won the Nico Garrone Prize. In 2020, he oversaw the launch of Il Giorno’s new newsletter, for which he writes the opening editorial every morning. The monograph Promiscua. Conversazioni con Phoebe Zeitgeist was published by Spring Edizioni in 2022. The following year, he launched a critical journal devoted to the Teatro della Contraddizione. He has also published other articles with Cuepress, Kurumuny, Caracò, La Falena, and Alfabeta2. He curates the series of talks entitled LUCY. Dialoghi oltre i confini at the Teatro Fontana. Since January, he has been writing the literary review column ControCritica, published every Sunday in Il Giorno.
