Resté – PoEM Theatre Residency

Theatre meeting the community

In Rodello, a small town in the Province of Cuneo set amidst the rolling hills of the Langhe (Piedmont), the theatre residency of the PoEM – Potenziali Evocati Multimediali collective transforms the village into a living theatre laboratory. For a week, the actors live in the village, rehearsing, studying, and—most importantly—opening their creative process to the public. This is not a polished, finished production, but theatre in the making, shared with those who choose to be part of the journey.

The PoEM collective and Gabriele Vacis

Active since December 2021, PoEM was founded by young graduates of the School for Actors of the Teatro Stabile di Torino and works under the guidance of directors Gabriele Vacis and Roberto Tarasco. The company offers relational and inclusive theatre, capable of blending artistic research, pedagogy, and community care. Vacis, one of the most respected voices in Italian theatre, brings to Rodello a reflection that intertwines current events, sacred texts, contemporary art, architecture, and literature, inviting us to "shift our perspective to understand the present."

The Resté project

The residency is the first building block of the Resté project, a word that means "to stay" in the Piedmontese dialect. It is a call to "restanza"—the choice to remain in a place to live, transform, and care for it. Promoted by the Parish of San Lorenzo in Rodello together with the Fondazione Santi Lorenzo e Teobaldo and UnTerritorio ETS, the project involves a network of Langhe municipalities—Rodello, Diano d'Alba, and Montelupo Albese—and engages in a dialogue with the Teatro Stabile di Torino and the "Orma. Tracce d'artista in Langhe Monferrato Roero" project by the local Tourism Board.

What to expect

• Theatrical meditations and meetings open to everyone at the evocative Teatro della Chiesa dell'Annunziata.
• Open rehearsals by the collective, offering a close-up look at how a show is born.
• Activities dedicated to young people and local schools.
• A free cultural experience that uses art as a bridge between the community and the landscape.

Resté thus confirms Rodello's role as a small but vibrant cultural laboratory in the Langhe, where contemporary art and theatre become tools to question the present and imagine the future of the territory.