Support for Teatro Franco Parenti’s production “Chi come me”
Objectives and activities carried out, in summary
“HAPPY diventare capaci” is a prevention and support intervention project aimed at enhancing the psychological well-being of adolescents in the Milan metropolitan area and the province of Monza and Brianza. Launched in 2023 out of a desire to help the youngest and most disadvantaged members of the community—especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to increasing distress—the project calls for new integrated intervention approaches and sustainable growth initiatives.
The Guido Venosta Foundation decided to participate in this project alongside Il Minotauro of Milan, CDS – Le Comunità della Salute of Monza, and the CSV – Service Centers for Volunteering of Milan and Monza Lecco Sondrio, initially focusing on a few experimental areas. The project’s objective is to prevent the emergence of issues related to self-harm (suicide attempts and eating disorders) as well as social and academic withdrawal, by engaging young people in educational activities. It also emphasizes the importance of raising awareness and involving the broader community, parents, and educators. Among the various engagement initiatives, cultural and participatory events play a significant role.
In particular, we involved the adolescents in both creating and watching theatrical performances: the therapeutic value of theater is well known, and a performance like “Chi come me”—written by playwright Roy Chen and staged in April 2024 at Teatro Parenti in Milan by Andrée Ruth Shammah, which narrates the growth of five young individuals undergoing treatment at a mental health center in Tel Aviv—can convey more effectively than many words that our youth are not alone in facing the trauma of the future and their overwhelming anxieties.
In this perspective, the Foundation supported the performances and subsequent revivals of “Chi come me,” which took place from October 1 to December 22, 2024:
“Here comes the latest great success of Andrée Shammah, who enchanted the audience by involving them in a moving and profound human experience. A performance in which we are protagonists from the first minute to the last. Perfect direction, brilliant adult and minor actors, in a new venue that already carries the legacy of theater. Five young people whose voices will continue to be heard.“ – Maurizio Porro
Synopsis
In the youth ward of a psychiatric hospital, the “kids” participate in theater classes led by Dorit, the teacher appointed by Dr. Bauman, the director of the Institute, to help them express their emotions. Through the collaborative process of creating a performance, they will discover a way to look within themselves, communicate with others, and improve their well-being.
With delicacy and poetry, “Chi come me” finds its intensity in lightness, despite being a painful true story born from the intimate experience of writer Roy Chen at a mental health center for young people. A translator and resident playwright at Teatro Gesher in Tel Aviv—and already the author of Anime, the most-read book in Israel in 2020—Chen describes the work as an exploration of the healing power of theater.
On stage, portraying the adolescents, five very young actors perform alongside Sara Bertelà, Paolo Briguglia, Elena Lietti, and Pietro Micci.
