Student Journals: AIFS in Florence, Italy

William Anderson
Columbia College
Richmond in Florence, Italy

From the Florence Newspaper:

American student designs set for local production of Love Letters
by Dominica Tarica

Directed by Aaron Craig and starring Bari Hochwald and Ben Medley, Love Letters will be performed Friday, October 5 at 9 p.m. at the Teatro di Castello in the Piazza Castello. Tickets are 5 Euros and, while they are available at the door, the house is small so reserving tickets in advance is suggested. This can be done either by calling 055 239 9949 or by writing to info@florencetheatre.com. For more information about the company itself, go to www.florencetheatre.com.

As a theater design major at Columbia College back home in Chicago, William Anderson decided to study abroad here for three months fully intending to get involved in the Florence theater scene. Lucky for him, Anderson was quickly able to take part in the citywide festival of Teatri Aperti, where theater companies of the city open their doors for one-night productions used to showcase their talents.

Anderson is acting as set designer for Florence International Theatre Company’s (FITC) production of A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters, no mean feat given the short window of preparation that will culminate with Friday night’s performance. Love Letters chronicles the relationship between its two main characters through the correspondence they exchange throughout their lives.

While an international byline would be a plus on anyone’s resume, this job came about almost as an accident for Anderson. Students participating in the study-abroad program through Richmond, the American International University in London’s satellite campus here in Florence, are given the opportunity to volunteer in the community. Many of the students choose either to teach English in the local schools or to act as English-speaking tour guides in one of the city’s cathedrals, but Anderson wanted something more based in his field.

Richmond’s volunteer coordinator was able to direct Anderson towards FITC, whose two artistic directors, Aaron Craig and Bari Hochwald, are both American. Their resident designer, Trui Malten, was going out of town, but looked at Anderson’s work and passed his name on to the artistic directors who then gave him the job.

When all is said and done, Anderson will have worked with the company for only two and a half weeks, from the initial meeting and hiring until the rise of the curtain on the show’s only performance. Most small-house productions span a rehearsal and design period of at least five to six weeks and a run time of four. When asked about the differences between working in Chicago and working here, Anderson mentions the limited time frame first, with an almost bewildered look on his face, though he seems to have grown comfortable with his situation.

And while Anderson is no stranger to small budgets, another limitation for this production, he is used to having more resources at his disposal, or at least being more aware of what resources are available in the surrounding area. In discussing the various challenges he’s faced in this production, however, Anderson is slow to speak of his experience in any but the best light.

The one mildly negative comment he makes in regards to theater in Florence is that, because there is so little of it, it is hard to find places that will either rent props or sell them cheaply, referring again to the rather drastic difference in resources that seems to be the hardest part of working in Florence.

Of course, there is the difference in resources and then also the obvious language barrier as, though the theater company itself is run in English, the theater hosting the show is managed by Italians and the audience will consist of both Italian- and English-speakers. The show is produced in English, but there will be subtitles onstage that must be visible at all times, another aspect Anderson had to keep in mind while creating his design.

Anderson is confident in his eventual ability to overcome these obstacles and appears more than willing to stay in Florence as long as that could take but checks himself as he allows that there simply is not enough theater of this kind in Florence to sustain him financially. Neither will he have much opportunity to for a repeat experience with FITC as, while they do offer a full season, it revolves more around the new year than do typical performing arts seasons back in the States, meaning that the next performance is a Christmas show that will not be going up until near the end of Anderson’s scheduled stay in Florence.

Working in a more permanent capacity in Europe, however, does appeal to Anderson as he prefers the European approach to theater. After having designed some eight or nine shows himself as well as having worked on 30 or more additional shows in various capacities, Anderson has come to appreciate more the European willingness to stretch the imagination and look at a script more for its conceptual possibilities rather than the American propensity to look at it realistically. In describing his designs, Anderson says, “I never want to do the minimum… I never like doing what’s expected in a show,” sentiments he sees as much more appreciated on this side of the Atlantic.

In response to the suggestion that the set for Love Letters traditionally consists of two writing desks and two chairs from which the two characters read their letters to each other, he comments, “the desks’ll be there and the chairs will be there, but there will also be a river of letters – the show is constantly moving and has a fluid [feel] much like a river.” Anderson is enthusiastic about the production as well as the company, especially given how young it is.

Richmond in Florence

Richmond Florence Internship Program