Teatro Popolare Europeo | Social Community Theatre Centre

Teatro Popolare Europeo (TPE) is a cultural organisation that operates within the cultural sector with a specific orientation towards methodological innovation, training, and participatory practices in the context of cultural welfare. TPE's activities are developed through educational, cultural and artistic projects involving communities and groups, development and implementation of new training formats, production of shows, programming and management of activities for the local community (Spazio BAC- Aurora/Turin), remote areas, and European communities. TPE collaborates with a dynamic network of national and international partners to conduct research and artistic projects focusing on cultural innovation and strong social impact, with an emphasis on health promotion, combating inequalities, inclusion, and education. SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY THEATRE METHODOLOGY TPE's strength lies on the quality of the work of a multi-skilled and intergenerational team and on the methodology it adopts: Social and Community Theatre (SCT), conceived by Alessandro Pontremoli and Alessandra Rossi Ghiglione. SCT is a multidisciplinary methodology that combines theatre, dance, music, singing and storytelling to enhance the skills of individuals and generate well-being through artistic practices. Starting in 2006, TPE began collaborating with the University of Turin (Department of Humanities) on projects related to training and capacity building (with teachers, educators, trainers), health, audience developement. These projects involved a wide network of public and private partners in the Piedmont region, in Italy and across Europe. Since 2014, TPE has operated in partnership with Corep - Consortium for Research and Continuing Education (administrative/managerial and training partner) and the Department of Humanities at the University of Turin (scientific partner). This collaboration led to the establishment of the Social Community Theatre Centre (SCT Centre), an independent research and action center focusing on performing arts, inclusion, and well-being. SCT Centre develops intervention and research methodologies to increase the social impact of the arts. TPE | SCT Centre conducts interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral scientific research, training and capacity building, cultural and social innovation projects, evaluation, and supervision using the SCT Methodology. AREAS OF EXPERTISE - YOUTH TRAINING IN DRAMA BASED ACTIVITIES. TPE organises every year “CREATIVA - The Social and Community Theatre School”, a training course addressed to young cultural operators and hybrid profiles (20-30 years old) from the field of culture, social work and education. The training course aims at developing a professional profile with specific cultural skills fostered by the theatrical training and the multidisciplinary approach. - LIFE SKILLS TRAINING AND EDUCATION. TPE delivers workshops based on the Social and Community Theatre methodology in training and education settings in order to promote the “life skills”, which are the cognitive, personal and interpersonal skills allowing an individual to effectively manage daily challenges, make informed decisions, and build healthy relationships. Life skills are: creative thinking, coping with emotions, problem solving, critical thinking, empathy, stress management, self awareness, effective communication, decision-making; studies show that theatrical training is particularly effective in reinforcing them. - AWARENESS RAISING THROUGH THEATRE. TPE develops workshops and activities to raise awareness on sensitive issues using the Social and Community Theatre methodology and applied theatre activities. One field in which it has been successfully tested is the awareness-raising on LGBTQIA+ issues, gender-based violence and toxic masculinity, with the projects “ONSTAGE” and “ONSTAGE+” and their training programmes addressed to teachers and educators