About us
Where dreams come to life
The growing prestige of “Nico Pepe” as one of the most prominent public theatre training facilities in Italy is justified by recognition from MIBAC (Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali — the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities) as a facility for professional development, support from the Friuli Venezia Giulia region and the comune of Udine, support from Fondazione Friuli and collaborations with the region’s cultural institutions (CSS — Teatro Stabile di innovazione del Friuli Venezia Giulia, Teatro Rossetti — Teatro Stabile del Friuli Venezia Giulia, Mittelfest, Ente Regionale Teatrale del Friuli Venezia Giulia [ERT], Vicino/Lontano, Fondazione Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine). We welcome pupils from all over Italy, as well as abroad, as part of cultural exchanges with different European training situations, in particular from Russia and Eastern Europe.
Overview
In the new Europe of ’27, the consolidation and extension of work on languages in the theatre, which had occurred at “Nico Pepe” for several years, was noticed, with the progression of the theatre segment in the Friulian language and the inclusion of German, Spanish and French writers alongside English writers — a gamble of prestige and increased cultural interest. One of this academy’s distinguishing features is the chance for linguistic exploration, which also represents a further opportunity for educational growth, an effective exercise for the actors of tomorrow: creative, adaptable and cultured. Students from the region and from all over Italy are given the opportunity to understand the culture of where they live, enriched by continuous discussions and connections with other theoretical disciplines and practices. Civica Accademia “Nico Pepe” offers young students the chance to experience their own tools of expression.
Teaching
For an actor, the creative process is the starting point for recognition and for the subsequent awareness of your own potential. There can be no one technique, there isn’t a single way to do things; the work method is therefore open and is adjusted from time to time, adapted together with the school’s teachers to the different needs of the student actors, who from year to year make up a human fabric that is always new and diverse. Therefore, teaching an actor cannot be reduced to a pre-established curriculum, instead following a fundamental methodological criteria for sparking continuous self-renewal, which is vital for this profession.
The objective is to develop flexible, sensitive, antidogmatic actors who are ready to take on a challenge and work on themselves in order to hone their communication skills. In the three-year training period, once the educational plans and schedules and have been identified for each course and each pupil, students take part in more complex staging projects entrusted to directors and teachers whose working methods make the specific chosen way of learning both visual and accessible.
So, if there are many roads to take, the goal is always to be organic, body and mind, the life of an actor on the scene. A gift that keeps on giving, after extensive work. Travelling new roads but also receiving significant returns, and it is therefore this school’s never-ending challenge, searching for the subtle link between potential theatres and actual theatres.
Teachers
A considerable amount of time is given to international guests who offer students a starting point for expressive research that is capable of providing a cross-section of the most exciting trends on the European stage. Civica Accademia “Nico Pepe”, directed by Claudio de Maglio, is now a known and respected reality, thanks to the high quality of teaching it provides, offering students collaborations with prestigious teachers, sets and guests from Italy and abroad. The following are teachers at “Nico Pepe”:
Training
The training received over the three-year course aims to fully prepare students professionally for a career in a wide range of activities and disciplines in show business as well as theatre and performing arts in general. This includes disciplines relating to voice, movement, dance and acting: from basic acting training to elocution and vocal training, from contemporary dance to miming, from recitation techniques to theatrical improvisation, from history of theatre to music and singing, from tai chi chuan and wushu to yoga, from commedia dell'arte techniques to techniques for using masks. Lessons take place Monday to Friday and course attendance is compulsory.
Promotions/productions
Promoting a show production activity is an integral part of the “Nico Pepe” teaching design, as encountering the stage, and in particular the public, is fundamental for completing an actor’s training. In fact, thanks to the support offered by Fondazione CRUP and the collaboration with Fondazione Teatro Nuovo "Giovanni da Udine", the recitals and shows have appeared on prestigious regional stages. Similarly, the event with the Commedia dell’Arte show, performed as part of the city’s cultural initiatives in the region’s theatres, is significant. “Nico Pepe” productions are also hosted in major festivals and shows across Europe (France, Poland, Austria, Serbia, Russia etc.). Civica Accademia “Nico Pepe” also follows its graduates into the professional world with dedicated support and coaching. Finally, we recall the launch of a theatre and media library that aims to boost funds and acquire donations to make it possible for university students and the area’s many theatre workers to provide consultations.
