This evening, Dave and I went to the Florence International Theatre Company (FITC)'s first production, "Net Worth" written and performed by Bari Hochwald at the Be Bop Music Club. Bari is a professional actress who moved to Florence a little over a year ago and is the co-artistic director of FITC along with Aaron Craig.
The Be Bop Music Club has been known as an underground bar where musicians perform live. But, with a new management team, things are going to be changing, and they already have.
I had never attended a one-woman show before and was impressed with Bari's performance, her rich characters, and, of course, her script. She touched on many of the issues expats and artists have dealt with when it comes to following their dreams, such as what it means to be happy doing something you love in a world that focuses on money and security.
I heard about the Florence International Theatre Company earlier this year and wondered what they'd be doing in Florence. I was excited and curious to find out how productions performed in English would be accepted in Florence. We have a large population of English-speakers who would like to have more than original sound movies to go to.
I love the Italian language and I love seeing movies in Italian, but I also would love to feel not so disconnected from my English-speaking culture just because I'm living abroad. The FITC seems to be filling that gap for us expats and I welcome them with open arms!
They have a few more productions lined up before the end of this year that I can't wait to see. I'm sure they will be fantastic as was tonight's production.
Share your comments for this blog post on the Living in Florence's Facebook page. Grazie!