The Luca Ronconi School of Theatre - Piccolo Teatro di Milano, Italy

Address:
Scuola di Teatro “Luca Ronconi”
Piccolo Teatro di Milano – Teatro d’Europa
Via Giorgio Strehler 3
20121 Milan
Italy

Director Carmelo Rifici
Email: scuola(at)piccoloteatromilano.it , zanolir(at)piccoloteatromilano.it
Website: www.piccoloteatro.org
Phone: +39 02.72.333.414
Fax: +39 02.72.333.421

International relations Ph.: +39 02.72.333.279-258-357

The Luca Ronconi School of Theatre

Founded in 1987 by Giorgio Strehler and directed by Luca Ronconi until his death, the School of Theatre is now directed by Carmelo Rifici. The School carries out its activities in symbiosis with the Piccolo Teatro di Milano - Teatro d’Europa, the first example of a repertory theatre in Italy, founded in 1947 by Paolo Grassi and Giorgio Strehler and, as of today, one of the most important theatrical institutions in Europe.

The Decree dated 27 July 2017 issued by the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activity and Tourism recognises the autonomy and the international role of the Piccolo Teatro, which - in a position that is unique - has the obligation to run a specialist School of Theatre that is closely linked to the Theatre and identified as an integral part of the theatre’s activities.

Recognised as an international excellence in the field of actor training, the Piccolo School of Theatre is particular in that during the training period it involves the students in the Piccolo’s productions, guaranteeing an on-going and profitable exchange between the classroom and the stage.

The Luca Ronconi School is a school for actors offering three-year courses for a total of approximately 4500 hours of lessons. In order to gain a place on the course, it is necessary to take part in a competition that is organised every three years. October 2017 saw the beginning of lessons for the eleventh course, which has been named after Giorgio Strehler (2017/2020).

As on 23 February 2020 the crisis surrounding COVID-19 interrupted all possibilities of providing continuous training to the students, depriving them of the possibility to achieve their goal, in agreement with the Lombardy Region the School decided to extend the Giorgo Strehler course, which between May and July of 2021 will prepare the final show under the guidance of the director Carmelo Rifici. The call for applicants for the new three-year training course will therefore be published in January 2021.

In order to access the Course, prospective students have to pass an entrance exam. Each course has between 20 and 30 students.

The school is completely free of charge. A contribution for registrar fees is requested in order to take the entrance exam. Attendance is obligatory. The missing of 25% or more of the total number of annual hours will lead to expulsion from the school. The students are obliged to respect the rules in an extract of the stage regulations signed by them on enrolment.

The Luca Ronconi school for actors is accredited by the Lombardy Region, listed in the Lombardy Region register for operators of professional training and instruction, and currently receives funding for the course From the classroom to the stage (March 2017 - November 2021), part of the “Lombardia Plus - Linea Cultura” initiative that forms part of the policies put into place in order to support activities aimed at the objectives and purposes of section I - POR FSE Lombardy 2014/2020, and in particular of Action 8.1.1 -