MY-MA
EUROPEAN COOPERATION PROJECT
ABOUT
In the first years of the second post-war period, at Teatro dell’Università of Padua, Amleto Sartori modeled on the face of pedagogue and actor Jacques Lecoq the first Neutral Mask that revolutionized the western theatre. According to the ideas of J. Copeau and E. Decroux the Neutral Mask was created to help the actor to recover the archetypal dimension of theatre, save him from hyper-realistic acting, valorise the body and the gesture rather than the speech. Continuing the family tradition, Donato Sartori, son of Amleto, will develop in a broader sense the role of the mask in contemporary theatre, through the creation of "gestural structures" and "urban masking". This enormous theoretical and theatrical practice heritage, today represented by the Sartori Centre of Masks and Gestural Structures, is the basis of a cooperation project that aims to promote an innovative approach using mask in the European theatre, rediscovering its anthropological origins and relaunching its use in the popular performing arts, in order to restore the collective ritual dimension of theatre in which the community can find a new strong relationship with the myth. A program of scientific research, seminars, creative residences, festivals and showcases, developed over three years, which intends to direct contemporary theatrical creation on the trail of new myths, to strengthen its European dimension, allowing it to make its contribution to some of the most important challenges of our time, like social inclusion and sustainability. Issues that discount sometimes controversial narratives on which our society urgently needs to find authentic spaces for reflection and awareness. So the mask and the physical actor’s training become instruments of social action in the experimentation of inclusion paths for physical and mental disabilities, as well as urban environment perturbed by archetypal forms become a way of suburbs revitalization and to imagine a new balance between humans and environment.
Contact
ACTIVITIES
NEWS
My-Ma Research Book
This book recounts the three years of activity of the MyMa project. During this period, professional organisations from four European countries developed a working plan aimed to relaunch the use of the mask in contemporary performing arts production, while also reflecting on the nature of the – ancient or modern – myths that inspire today’s creative processes in theatre, circus, dance, and figure theatre.
MyMa Festival & Showcase – Ascoli (IT) 2025
2° MYMA International Showcase Ascoli Piceno (Italy) – 26-27-28 september 2025 The My-Ma Festival is a traveling event dedicated to the dramaturgy of myth and the mask, which, after being…
Mythomorpho (Italy)
In a world that has already faced its own collapse, a new humanity moves through the ruins searching for fragments of meaning. In Mythomorpho, the Compagnia dei Folli imagines a post-apocalyptic society attempting to rebuild itself through the rediscovery of ancient myths – not as distant stories, but as living tools to understand existence, community, and survival.
Canticle Of Creatures (Poland)
The structure for the performance is based on the Canticle of the Sun, also called the Praise of the Creatures, written by St. Francis of Assisi. For the creators/artists, it becomes a prayer, a starting point for deepened ecological retreats; through their own bodies and relationships with other actors on stage they attempt to enter into that mystery, which for St. Francis, on his deathbed, lifted the veil…
Mirage (France)
Mirage is a multidisciplinary show that invites the audience to immerse themselves in a universe that is both dreamlike and deeply human. Through a fusion of circus, physical theater, dance, music, and acrobatics, the story highlights the inner transformations and invisible bonds that unite individuals.
Ascoli International Simposium
The My-Ma project is reaching its culmination. After three years of networking, workshops, festivals, and research activities, the time has come to assess the success of the programme and reflect…
THE THEATRE OF THE BODY
5th-6th July 2025, Abano Terme (IT). A workshop consisting of two three-hour sessions, based on the original work by Małgorzata Grund-Bismor “Niewiasta matka” (“The Mother Woman”), which offers an original pedagogical and narrative experience to explore movement and emotions through physical expression.
International Survey
The Scientific Committee of My-Ma has decided to launch an international survey to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between the performing arts, the use of the mask, and the dramaturgy of myth. You too can contribute to scientific research and innovation in the sector!
Art of the Mask
Training for plastic artists, costume designers, performers on the techniques of the construction of a theatrical mask. The history of mask undergoes an important evolution becoming an amplifier of the expressiveness of the body. 25.02.2025 – 2.03.2025 Ruda Śląska (Poland).
Portolan for Actors
The International Scientific Committee of the project Myths & Masks of the Future, established in 2023 following the approval of the project by the European Community’s EACEA Agency, met again…
Architecture Of Physical Theatre
Małgorzata Grund-Bismor from Teatr A (Poland), new member of My-Ma International Scientific Committee, reflects on a long artistic journey shaped by movement, symbolism, and spiritual inquiry. Drawing inspiration from Eastern theatre and martial arts, the author explores the expressive power of the body and the timeless emotional intensity of the mask.
Miths & Masks Network
A new members-only area is now active on my-ma.eu. Do you have productions in the field of performing arts that make use of mask-making or the dramaturgy of myth? Join the My-Ma Network free of charge to discover resources and ongoing projects across Europe in this field.
The My-Ma Network offers an opportunity to give your theatre projects international visibility, to share your commitment to the language of myth with other artists, and to receive feedback from leading researchers in this area. Don’t miss this opportunity!
Sartori Theatrical Masks
A new opportunity to learn and experiment the Sartori technique of mask construction.
The new dates of the Workshop organized by the Amleto and Donato Sartori International Mask Museum are coming the 28th-29th in the “Palafolli”, Ascoli (Italy).
MyMa Festival 2024
On the first weekend of August – August 3 and 4, the sixth edition of the OpenOPOLE Artistic Events Festival will take place. This colorful and diverse event host this year the MyMa European Festival. Over the two festival days, we will see street performances, shows, and interesting artistic installations linked to the dramaturgy of the myths and the use of masking.
Workshop on Dramaturgy
Wisdom and Poetic Word of the Ancients 29.07.2024 – 1.08.2024 – Gliwice (PL).
Led by the Italian teacher Walter Valeri. Born in 1949 in Forlì, Italy, Master ART/MAXT Institute at Harvard University together with a group of peers, he founded and edited in 1975 the literary magazine “Sul Porto” which received contributions from leading Italian poets.
Workshop on Commedia Dell’Arte
Led by the Italian teacher Andrea Brugnera, actor, director and playwright, the Montreuil Sur Mer workshop is a unique opportunity for a professional training addressed to those who want to deepen their knowledge of the techniques of Commedia dell’Arte with an innovative approach that transposes them into contemporary languages.
MASKS AND MYTHS IN A LIVING MUSEUM
Lucia Picaro, member of the My-Ma Scientific Committee representing Belgium, talks about her experience as a mask creator and performer, exploring the living relationship between mask, myth, body and landscape. “For me, the clay mask represents museum memory, cultural heritage and the trace of human civilizations. The bark mask represents natural forces, organic cycles and living ecosystems. Together, these two masks form a contemporary myth: the urgent need to restore balance between culture and nature, human history and ecological consciousness”.
8 Countries involved in a Research Committee
The My-Ma board of partners has appointed 13 members to the project’s scientific committee. Thirteen members from eight different countries will participate in the research activities. The committee’s director is Professor Walter Valeri of the Sartori Mask Center (Italy). The new appointments are as follows…
Mask, Gesture and Storytelling
The new dates of the Workshop organized by the Amleto and Donato Sartori International Mask Museum aims to tell the experience and the history of masks creation by the Sartori family. The workshop initially scheduled for October and postponed for health reasons of the staff of the Centro Maschere Sartori, will be proposed again from 8th to 10th December.
MyMa Festival 2023
As part of the European MyMa project, Cirq’O Vent presents the MyMa Festival 2023 titled “Les Irresistibles”. The Festival will take place from 15 to 17 September 2023 in Montrejil-Sur-Mer (France) and will welcome artistes français, hollandais, polonais, italiens, suisses et belges graye to the cooperation focused on the world of the mask and supported by Creative Europe European programme.
First Workshop in Italy
MASK, GESTURE AND STORYTELLING: Theoretical/practical workshop on the Sartori theatrical mask, 6th / 7th / 8th october 2023, by Paola Piizzi, Sarah Sartori, Walter Valeri (Amleto and Donato Sartori International Mask Museum).
Symposium in Orvieto 29 April 2023
International Symposium Myths and Masks of the Future.
“The mask and the myth in the third millennium”.
29th April 2023, 10h00 am.
Digipass hall, Biblioteca L. Fumi (Orvieto, Italy)
MYMA is starting !
The project financed by the European Union opens with an international meeting between partners in Brussels, the 1st-2nd-3rd March 2023. EACEA tutor Silvia D’Elia joined the delegations of the cooperating bodies.
OUR TEAM
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CARLO LANCIOTTI
Compagnia dei Folli (IT)
Chiara Lanciotti
Compagnia dei Folli (IT)
Mauro Orsini
Compagnia dei Folli (IT)
Walter Valeri
Centro Maschere Sartori (IT)
Paola Piizzi
Centro Maschere Sartori (IT)
Sarah Sartori
Centro Maschere Sartori (IT)
Alessio Michelotti
Open Street aisbl (BE)
Isabella Belcari
Open Street aisbl (BE)
Andrea Brugnera
Open Street aisbl (BE)
Liliana Grasso
Centro Studi Orvietani (IT)
Leszek Styś
Proscenium - Teatr A (PL)
Adam Bismor
Proscenium - Teatr A (PL)
Magdalena Kocur
Proscenium - Teatr A (PL)
Christine Campion
Cirq'O Vent (FR)
Marlene Ghier
Cirq'O Vent (FR)
Laurent Brizzi
Cirq'O Vent (FR)
CONTACT
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