LUCE estratti LUCE 323 _ Calafiore _ Max Mugnai | Page 7

Cecchetti
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I worked in some of the best theatres in Italy.
Furthermore, working with Sistemi Dinamici
Altamente Instabili dance company gave me
a different point of view when using lights.
A very important experience for me. They led
me towards the explosion of light in all its
possibilities, and I led them towards darkness
and a body that pulses with light.
What do you think of the training of theatre
lighting designers in Italy? Do you know
of important training experiences? Or must
one still follow the classic tradition of training
on site as the only valid way to learn?
I have always found it difficult to define
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myself a light designer.
My work begins designing the lights for
the show, it continues with their assembly
and finds it final form in the performance.
Light is like an actor on stage, its part is
written, but every night is unique and
unrepeatable. I never went to a special school,
not because I am contrary to them in general,
but I believe that some things can be learnt
only through experience.
For me, the three years I spent working with
Maurizio Viani were fundamental. I was often
fascinated watching him move the light.
He always used to say to me, “I cannot teach
you anything except patience, but take in
everything you can with your eyes.” Maybe
he could not teach me anything, but I learnt
a lot from him.
It is important for me to understand that also
light breathes, and each one of us must find
his way of breathing.
What experiences do you consider
fundamental in your vision of work,
as a creator of stage lighting?
The secret is never to lose your curiosity,
to know that there is always something new
that I can learn, letting myself be surprised,
and appreciating the beauty of what I am
doing fully. It is not what to do, but how
to do it: to succeed in being present. It may
seem quite ordinary, but when it does happen,
you realize how very often we are elsewhere.
It is not the number of light fixtures, but how
you use them. It is not the intensity that you
need to obtain, but how you obtain it, how
light is born from the darkness and how it
grows up to where it is necessary in that
precise moment. Light can transform a space,
but can also create a space from nothing.
When I design lighting for a show, and I am
not present at the performance, it is most
important for me to make the person in charge
understand my idea.
You cannot go wrong if you have the sense
of light clear in mind and you let yourself be
moved and entertained. Lighting is a mix
of mathematics and poetry.
How did you deal with the direction and
scenography of the play Assassina (Assassin)
by Randisi and Vetrano?
The scenes by Mela Dell’Erba were very
stimulating. Even though they were very well
defined, precise and full of details, they
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