Vision, history and mission

CSS Teatro stabile di innovazione del Friuli Venezia Giulia

CSS, Udine was founded in 1978 and in 1984 it was awarded recognition by the Ministry of Culture. In January 2000 it became the Teatro stabile di innovazione del Friuli Venezia Giulia, a cultural and occupational cooperative of significant importance.  It has a total of 20 working members and employees.  An additional team of over 200 people comprising actors, directors, stage designers, costume designers, contracted artists and technicians joins the company at every season. 
Since 2015, CSS has been recognised by the Ministry of Culture as a Theatre Production Centre.

The artistic direction is collettive: Fabrizio Arcuri, Rita Maffei, Fabrizia Maggi.

CSS's work is funded by the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Regional Council of Friuli Venezia Giulia, and by the Udine City Council. Its activities take place at a regional, national and for some projects, at an international level through a variety of house productions, venue programming, theatre training and through hosting visiting productions.

VISION

We dream of a world where art and culture are constituent elements of being a citizen and where theatre continues to fulfil its social function. Necessary, vital, irreplaceable.

MISSION

We work to develop and promote creativity and contemporary production among the artists and audiences of the New Millennium. Our vocation drives us to intercept the new and to take part in the processes of change and transformation in culture and the arts, particularly the performing arts.

We were born convinced of the powerful contribution that culture can bring to the progress of society and we invented an original model of work and relations that we continue to develop. We have pursued the experience of research theatre, discovered, stimulated and accompanied our own and subsequent generations of artists and companies, dialogued and enthusiastically planned together with other theatres, organisers and institutional partners.

Today, as a stable theatre of innovation, we are an incubator of production projects, advanced training, programming and events. We are proud to have become a professional and competent reference for communities, artistic networks and Italian and international partnerships.  We feel fully part of a multicultural Europe of differences, responsible and sustainable, dynamic, welcoming, creative and constantly evolving, thanks to the irreplaceable contribution of culture and art.

TEATRO CONTATTO SEASON

At the core of CSS's activities is Teatro Contatto's season of work, now in its forty-second edition.  Since its 1982-83 season it has been hosting Italian and international productions of contemporary theatre, often including emerging artists and theatre companies, who have later achieved success on the international theatre scene:  Carmelo Bene, Dario Fo, Anne Therese de Keersmaker, Maguy Marin, Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio, Stomp, Jan Fabre, Tadashi Suzuki, Luca Ronconi, Robert Lepage, Samuel Beckett, David Warrilow, Eimuntas Nekrosius, Mechtild Grossmann, Jan Lauwers, Constanza Macras, Fabrice Murgia, Emma Dante, Antonio Latella, Rimini Protokoll, Pippo Delbono, Virgilio Sieni, ricci/forte, Agrupación Señor Serrano, Tiago Rodrigues…

Teatro Contatto doesn't simply hosts visiting companies and artists but it also sets up and realises themed projects: Viva Pasolini! del 2015, a project of productions created by Luigi Lo Cascio, Giuseppe Battiston, Fabrizio Arcuri, Rita Maffei, Virgilio Sieni, ricci/forte, Harold Pinter's Living Things, in 2009, a tribute articulated in productions, performances and in-depth side events, in 1995 the Pier Paolo Pasolini Un viaggio lungo un anno project, the thematic edition Contatto Beckett in the 1980s, and in 2015 Viva Pasolini! In 2020, during the lockdown it created and promoted the online initiative #iosonoMecenate in support of artists and, as soon as it was possible, programmed the season Blossoms/Fioriture of artistic devices in non-theatre spaces for a few spectators at a time.

CONTATTOTIG THEATRE FOR THE NEW GENERATIONS

Since 1997 CSS has been promoting the Season CONTATTO TIG Teatro per le nuove generazioni, an articulated matinee activity dedicated to pupils of nursery, primary and secondary schools. Realised in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research - Regional School Office for FVG, ContattoTIG involves ten municipalities of the Bassa Friulana and every year accompanies thousands of students and their teachers to the experience of theatre, on the stages of Udine and of the Pasolini Theatre of Cervignano, but also with performances inside the classrooms.  Part of the project is the Fare Teatro workshop cycle, dedicated to teachers, parents and cultural mediators for children and youth, and La meglio gioventù, the youth aggregation and basic theatrical training workshop for young people aged 11 to 17, directed by Manuel Buttus. Also in Udine is the ContattoTIG family season in the afternoons of holidays and pre-holidays, in which we host the best of Italian children's theatre productions. The season is promoted in collaboration with the Teatro Bambino of the Fondazione Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine with the Udine Città teatro per i bambini e le bambine programme.

TEATRO PASOLINI SEASON AT CERVIGNANO DEL FRIULI

CSS takes part in the running of the theatre Teatro Pasolini in Cervignano, which re-opened 1997.  In 2003 the cultural association Associazione Culturale Teatro Pasolini was set up as a partnership between CSS for the artistic and organisational side (responsible for the theatre and dance season and ContattoTIG Teatro per le nuove generazioni),  the Associazione Euritmica (responsible for the music season) and the Cooperativa Bonawentura (as curators of the film programme), partners together with the Municipality of Cervignano del Friuli and the Department of Culture, while the entire project is made possible thanks to the contribution of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Municipality of Cervignano and the participation of the Friuli Foundation.

PRODUCTIONS

Since 1978, CSS's work has focused on theatrical production, as a stable theatre of innovation, today as a Production Centre.
In the 1990's this approach developed decidedly towards producing with many Italian and international artists and companies, always dedicated to contemporary theatre and new dramaturgy:
with Rita Maffei (Tracce di un sacrificio / Traces of a Sacrifice, which toured throughout Italy from 1996 for seven years, Tutto per amore e Lachrymae, created with Fabiano Fantini, in 2000 La resurrezione rossa e bianca di Romeo e Giulietta by Sony Labou Tansi (with Sandra Toffolatti, Ken Ponzio and Giuliana Musso), Katzelmacher by Fassbinder in 2001 (con Renato Rinaldi, Maria Ariis e Giuliana Musso), in 2002 the project Actes-Revoltes / Actions-Revolts with Comédie de Caen - the Centre dramatique National de Normandie on tour in France, in 2003 Anima belli with L’impasto (Alessandro Berti and Michela Lucenti) and La cucina by A. Wesker with Sandra Toffolatti, Renato Rinaldi, Andrea Collavino and Gigi Dall’Aglio, in 2005 Western Woman with Mallika Sarabhai, which came out of the project Borderlines Premio UNESCO Aschberg 2003 on tour in India and in Italy, in 2006 Paradise Lost with HC - Capitale Umano, in 2008 Canto per Falluja  by Francesco Niccolini which received the Enriquez 2009 award for best production, nel 2009 The Basement (with Gabriele Benedetti, Angelica Leo and Alessandro Genovesi) from Living Things Harold Pinter, in 2010 The Syringa Tree  by Pamela Gien - Enriquez 2010 award for best direction and best actress and a special mention at the International Award Teresa Pomodoro, in 2012 Lady Europe, debut at Mittelfest, in 2016 The train by Pier Paolo Pasolini. Since 2016 she has been curating participatory theater projects with citizens and target groups: she directs N46°-E13, with 100 citizens of Udine; with the same collective she participated in the show EU Europa Utopia, co-produced by Mittelfest 17, she is on stage in 2018 with Lost memories office, curates Human Link workshop for refugees and asylum seekers in Basilicata with the City of Peace Foundation,  L'Assemblea with 80 women of all ages, in 2019 she debuts at Mittelfest with Sissignora! on female leadership and in Matera with Stories of people on a journey. In 2020, she staged Vanja in the city, while the Teatro Partecipato projects continued (2020-2024) in Udine, Bari and Lecce (Cantieri Teatrali Koreja), Thiene (La Piccionaia), Rome (Teatro Biblioteca Quarticciolo), L'Aquila (L'Aquila University), Cervignano (L'Assemblea, Città inquieta, Gli altri, Coraggio! the triptych iNFERNO_pURGATORIO_pARADISO for the National Committee for the Celebrations of 700 years since the death of Dante Alighieri of the MiC - Ministry of Culture, Comizi d'amore, Murmur and Voci), L'Assemblea Strordinaria in 2024.
with Fabrizio Arcuri, with Io Cinna (2013) for the project Io Shakespeare and in 2015/16 Materials for a German Tragedy by Antonio Tarantino theatrical sequel in 6 episodes, in 2017 for the two contemporary rewrites of Cinderella and Pinocchio, by Joël Pommerat, in 2019 with An intervention by Mike Bartlett, in 2021 Every brilliant thing by D. MacMillan with Filippo Nigro (Enriquez 2022 award for best direction and best actor) coproduced with Sardegna Teatro and in 2023 Black Star by F. Sinisi with Teatro Metastasio / Prato, TPE – Teatro Piemonte Europa,
with Fabrizio Arcuri e Rita Maffei, co-directors in Maçalizi - Il dio del massacro by Y. Reza in 2022 withMittelfest,
with Alessandro Marinuzzi , with Giuliano Scabia from 1992 per Fantastica visione / Amazing Vision, Commedia del poeta d'oro con bestie / Comedy of a Golden Poet with Beasts, Gloria del teatro immaginario / Glory of Imaginary Theatre , the latter having been commissioned for CSS' theatre company,  L’aumento / The Pay Rise at Asti Festival 1989 and in 2006 with L'arte e la maniera di abbordare il proprio capoufficio per chiedergli un aumento / The Art of How to Approach your Boss for a Pay Rise, which premiered at Montalcino Festival in tour for 7 years,
with Giuseppe Bevilacqua, Horcynus Orca in 1996 and 2000, La rosa dei teatri / The Rose of Theatres and Corsia degli incurabili / The Incurables' Ward, Victoria Station  for Living Things Harold Pinter 2009,
with Banda Osiris, until 1992,
with Andrea Taddei, for Le tentazioni di Toni /Toni's Temptations in 1993 and in 1994 for Pigmalion,
with Luigi Lo Cascio with Labirinto di Orfeo / Orpheus's Labyrinth in 1996, a one-to-one performance and Verso Tebe /Towards Thebes, in 2008 with La caccia / The Hunt, winner of Biglietto d’oro per il teatro AGIS 2008), in 2015 with The sun and the glance from Pier Paolo Pasolini’s work,
with Antonio Syxty, in 1997 with La famiglia Schroffenstein / Schroffenstein Family, La voce umana / The Human Voice and La guerra delle due rose / The War of the two Roses),
with Mauro Avogadro, who directed Copenhagen, with Umberto Orsini, Massimo Popolizio and Giuliana Lojodice, which premiered in Udine in 1999 and was presented at Teatro di Roma and at Piccolo di Milano and throughout Italy with great success),
with Robert Lepage, in 2000 Polygraphe with Stefania Rocca,
with Gigi Dall’Aglio, Bigatis / Spinners, premiered at Mittelfest 2000, Adelaide Ristori award to the actresses, Cecità / Blindness in 2004 in Italy and at the International Theatre Festival of Teheran, Iran. La lungje cene di Nadâl / The long Christmas Dinner in 2007, Il Calapranzi / The Dumb Waiter as part of the Living Things Harold Pinter 2009, Pieri da Brazzaville 2010), 
with Teatro Incerto in friulano, the regional language, with Claudio Moretti, Fabiano Fantini and Elvio Scruzzi: from 1997 the trilogy Four, Laris e Dentri / Four, Burglars and Inside, Maratona di New York / Marathon of New York, Isoke, Garage 77, Muradôrs / Builders, Bessôl-Un arbitro tal bunker / Alone-A Referee in the Bunker, Forest / Stranger, Don Chisciotte / Don Quixote, La solitudine del tennista, Predis, Sglaçât, Fieste, Blanc, Guarnerius with Angelo Floramo, Cumbinìn with Martina Delpiccolo,
with Teatrino del Rifo with Cannibali brava gente, 2016, and Odyssey according to Tonino Guerra,
with Eimuntas Nekrosius, who directed two editions of the École des Maîtres, which led to his new project on Anton Cechov's The Seagull. This was presented at the Biennale Teatro di Venezia in 2001 and later toured throughout Italy and Europe,
with Paolo Mazzarelli, Pasolini, Pasolini! Special prize Scenario 2001, Giulio Cesare / Julius Caesar in 2004, Morte per acqua / Death by Water at Mittelfest 2005, Fuoco! / Fire!,
with Aleksandar Popovski, La morte di Danton / Danton's Death in 2003,
with Michela Lucenti and Alessandro Berti of the group Impasto,Cantiere West/ The West: Work in Progress Mittelfest 2004,
with Giancarlo Cobelli, Woyzeck in 2005, a performance created with the students of the École des Maîtres,
with the Balletto Civile di Michela Lucenti, I topi / Mice nel 2005 e I sette a Tebe / Seven in Thebes premiered at the Festival of Siracuse in 2006, Battesimi - dell’acqua e del coraggio / Baptisms - of Water and Courage in 2007 and Karnival in 2022 with Emilia Romagna Teatro / Teatro Nazionale e TPE - Teatro Piemonte Europa;
with Maurizio Camilli, ‘Ccelera! / Speed up!, which won the Premio Tuttoteatro.com arti sceniche Dante Cappelletti 2005 and Col sole in fronte / With the Sun in the Eyes in 2008,
with Antonio Latella Pericles, born out of the project Thierry Salmon, the new École des Maîtres 2006, which premiered at Biennale Teatro di Venezia,
with Annalisa Bianco e Virginio Liberti, Le Troiane /Trojan Women (Napoli Teatro Festival Italia 2008), Il bicchiere della staffa / One for the Road for Living Things Harold Pinter 2009,
with Armin Linke, Renato Rinaldi and Giuseppe Ielasi for the audio-visual performance  Transient, premiered at Innovaction 2008,
with Alessandro Berti for L’Abbandono alla divina Provvidenza / Surrender to Divine Providence 2009,
with Teatrino Giullare, La Stanza / The Room  for Living Things Harold Pinter 2009,
with Benedetto Sicca for Les Adieux 2010, at Napoli Teatro Festival,
with Cosmesi, a three-year resident company from 2009: the first work was Periodonero, co-produced between CSS and Centrale Fies; Neroep, co-produced with Rotorvator 2010.
with Cesare Lievi: Barbablù / Bluebeard premiered at Mittelfest 1993, Tra gli infiniti punti di un segmento / Among the Infinite Points of a Segment, which was awarded the Biglietto d’oro 1995, Il giorno delle parole degli altri /  Other People's Words' Day 1999, Ceneri alle ceneri / Ashes to Ashes for Living Things Harold Pinter 2009,  Il vecchio e il cielo / The Old  Man and the Sky 2010, The Prince of Homburg, La fine dell’inizio (2012),
with Giuseppe Provinzano/Babel, To play or to die. This is the question…today (2013),
with Rafael Spregelburd, Furia Avicola in 2013, from Ecole des Maîtres 2012,
with Virgilio Sieni, for his participatory choreographic works with citizens: in 2013 Angelo che se ne va, in 2016 Fuga Pasolini_ The Dance of 1922 e and in 2020/21 Mondo Novo,
with Francesco Zecca, in 2014, Il mondo non mi deve nulla with Pamela Villoresi and Claudio Casadio in co-prod with Accademia Perduta and Teatro e Società,
with Massimo Somaglino, Tre Zovini, 2014 debut at Mittelfest, Il canto e la fionda – Pensiero e vita civile di David Maria Turoldo, in collaboration with Fabiano Fantini, 2016,  
with ricci/forte Pinter’s Anatomy  for Living Things Harold Pinter 2009, La ramificazione del pidocchio (2015) and PPP Last inventory before liquidation (2015), 
with Constanza Macras The Ghosts (2015) in co-production with Constanza Macras / DorkyPark Berlin / Goethe Institut China and Tanz im August, Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz - Guangdong Dance Festival,
with Alfonso Santagata There is no fresher water (2015) with Giuseppe Battiston, dramaturgy by Renata Molinari on the Friulian poems of Pier Paolo Pasolini,
with Ksenija Martinovic in 2015 Diary of a Serbian Housewife Young Theatre Realities Award monologues section, Mileva (2020) and Tesla (2023) written with Federico Bellini,
with Agrupaciòn Señor Serrano in 2018 with Kingdom, in 2020 with The Mountain, in 2023 Una isla, international coproductions, debut at GREC Festival de Barcelona,
with Matthew Lenton, in the 2018 co-production with Fondazione Emilia Romagna Teatro Nazionale 1984 by George Orwell,
with Giuliano Scarpinato, in 2018 As long as you don't soil my floor,
with Francesco Collavino, with his choreography Catastrophe in 2018 and Bassilla in 2019,
with Davide Carnevali, in 2019 in co-production with Fondazione Emilia Romagna Teatro Nazionale Lorca sogna Shakespeare in una note di mezza estate;
with Aida Talliente in 2019 with The Gospel of the Beatitudes,
with Marta Cuscunà, in 2018 with Il canto della caduta, in 2021 Earthbound, in co production with Fondazione Emilia Romagna Teatro Nazionale, and Corvidae sguardi di specie with Piccolo Teatro di Milano-Teatro d’Europa and MUSE Trento (2023),
with Giulia Bean in 2019 for her debut opera Cabe, a VHS Elegy,
with Virtew, for the projects in Virtual Reality Il labirinto di Orfeo 2.0 (2019) and I misteri della luce 1.0 (2020),
with Mario Martone, for Nella solitudine dei campi di cotone with the voices of Carlo Cecchi and Claudio Amendola and music by Teho Teardo,
with Lotte Van Den Berg, Daria Deflorian and Antonio Tagliarini in Cinéma imaginaire (2020),
with Jérôme Bel, Laura Pante (2020), with Institut français Italia and Fondazione Nuovi Mecenati,
with El Conde de Torrefiel, Se respira en el jardín como en un bosque (2020) with Santarcangelo Festival, with the support of Programma per l’Internazionalizzazione della Cultura Spagnola (PICE) di Acción Cultural Española (AC/E),
with Ivana Müller, We are still watching (2020) in collaboration withn Institut français Italia and Fondazione Nuovi Mecenati,
with Lorna Rees, Cloudscapes/La forma delle nuvole (2020) with Gobbledegook Theatre,
with Guillermo Pisani, Mi vedi? theatrical experience on Zoom (2021) with Compagnie LSDI - Le Système pour Devenir Invisible and Comédie de Caen - Centre dramatique national de Normandie,
with Lucia Calamaro, Darwin inconsolabile (2021) with Sardegna Teatro,
with Valentino Mannias, Orestea da Eschilo (2021) with Sardegna Teatro,
with Sotterraneo, L’Angelo della storia (2022) coproduction with Marche Teatro, Associazione Teatrale Pistoiese, Teatro Nacional D. Maria II di Lisbona, UBU 2022 Award for best performance,
with Tiago Rodrigues, Dans la mesure de l’impossible (2022) with Comédie de Genève, Odéon – Théâtre de l’Europe – Paris, Piccolo Teatro di Milano – Teatro d’Europa, Teatro Nacional D. Maria II – Lisbonne, Équinoxe – Scène nationale de Châteauroux, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Théâtre national de Bretagne – Rennes, Maillon Théâtre de Strasbourg – Scène européenne, CDN Orléans – Val de loire, La Coursive Scène nationale La Rochelle,
with Liv Ferracchiati, Uno spettacolo di fantascienza (2022) from Ecole des Maîtres 20/21, with Marche Teatro, Teatro Metastasio di Prato / Fondazione Teatro di Napoli – Teatro Bellini,
with Mattia Cason, Le Etiopiche (2022) Scenario 2021 Award, with EN-KNAP Produzioni,
with Alessandro Sciarroni, Dream (2023) with Marche Teatro, Corpoceleste_C.C.00#, Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels, Centquatre — Paris, Festival D’Automne a Paris, Triennale Milano Teatro, Centrale Fies, Snaporazverein, Palaexpo — Mattatoio,
with Forced Entertainment/Tim Etchells, Tomorrow’s Parties (2023) with ALDES, Romaeuropa Festival, Dracma - Centro Sperimentale d’Arti Sceniche, ATP - Teatri di Pistoia,
with Francesco Alberici, Bidibibodibiboo, (2024) from Ecole des Maîtres 20/21, with SCARTI, Piccolo Teatro di Milano - Teatro d’Europa, Teatro Stabile di Bolzano,
with Davide Enia, the restage of maggio’43 and L’abisso and in 2024 Autoritrattothe new production with Piccolo Teatro di Milano-Teatro d’Europa, Accademia Perduta Romagna Teatri, Festival dei Due Mondi di Spoleto.

THEATER PRODUCTIONS FOR CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH

Over the years CSS has intensified its productive commitment to the new generations with productions dedicated to schools with a wide offer for different ages:
with Francesco Accomando: Domani 1987, Come mai non siamo in otto? 1990, Nel segno del drago 1991, Il giorno della pace 1992, Il sogno del clown 2000, Supermarket City 2001, Inferno 2002, Progetto Infiniti ∞ - Bianca*neve e le 7 nanotecnologie 2007, I Mille 2011;
with Bruno Stori, in 2008 Le macchine di Leonardo - Progetto Infiniti ∞, with Francesco Accomando and Giuseppe Nicodemo,
with Renzo Boldrini, with SCART Il lato bello e utile del rifiuto - Progetto Infiniti ∞ (2009) with Francesco Accomando and Eleonora Ribis,
with Vania Pucci, Cuore di carta (2012) with Eleonora Ribis,
with Chiara Carminati in L'acqua e il mistero di Maripura 2012 and Fuori fuoco 2018,
with Eleonora Ribis, La scatola dei giochi 2013,
with TPO Il giardino d'Oriente in 2006,
with Manuel Buttus, Giorgio Monte and Roberta Colacino Topochef in 2013,
with Desy Gialuz, Felicino directed by Roberto Piaggio, Il soffio di Sofia in 2017,
with Giuliano Scarpinato, in 2014 Fa'fafine (Premio Scenario Infanzia 2014, Premio Eolo Awards 2016 and Premio Infogiovani 2015- FIT Festival Lugano) co-prod Teatro Biondo Stabile di Palermo and in 2017 Alan e il mare, A+A. The story of a first time (2020), mention at Eolo Award performance for teenagers,
with Fabrizio Pallara and teatrodelleapparizioni: in 2016 La mia grande avventura, in 2018 Auschwitz, una storia di vento, in 2019 Kafka and the travelling doll, in 2020 La bella addormentata nel bosco, in 2021 the restage of Fiabe da tavolo and Il tenace soldatino di piombo, Eolo Awards 2015 best figure theatre performance and Premio Operatori Piccolipalchi 2014/15, Nel mezzo dell’inferno, experience in VR, for the National Committee for the Celebrations of 700 years since the death of Dante Alighieri of the MiC - Ministry of Culture, in 2023 Alice! è tardi, in 2024 Lucy/gli orsi,
with Roberto Anglisani, in 2020, Il Minotauro by Gaetano Colella directed by Maria Maglietta, in 2023 La storia di Nicola che non voleva andare a scuola,
with Emanuela Dall’Aglio, in 2021 Rumori nascosti and in 2024 Ti vedo-storia di un bambino un basilisco e una strega, in coproduction with Teatro del Buratto - Milan.

THEATRE BASED ON FRIULIAN CULTURE AND LANGUAGE (of the Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia)

Since the beginning of its activity, CSS has paid particular attention to the production, support and artistic development of companies in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region (such as Teatro Incerto) that have expressed as their vocation a stage work with a strong link to Friulian history and culture.
Since 1997 CSS produces many performances in Friulian language
con il Teatro Incerto, Claudio Moretti, Fabiano Fantini e Elvio Scruzzi: dal 1997 fino al 2023: la trilogia Four, Laris e Dentri, Maratona di New York, Isoke, i Mosaiciscj, Garage 77, Muradôrs, Bessôl - Un arbitro tal bunker, Forest, Don Chisciotte, La solitudine del tennista, Il siums di une patrie, Predis, Sglaçât, Fieste, Blanc, Guarnerius with Angelo Floramo, Cumbinìn with Martina Delpiccolo, Spierdûts directed by Giovanni Visentin,
with Gigi Dall’Aglio, dal 2000 al 2012 Bigatis, La lungje cene di Nadâl, Pieri da Brazzaville e Siums,
with Rita Maffei, Katzelmacher (2001), Maratona di New York (2002), Muradôrs (2006) e, insieme a Fabrizio Arcuri, Maçalizi - Il dio del massacro (2022),
with Massimo Somaglino Trê Zovini (2014).
In 2011 CSS took an active part in the creation of Farie Teatrâl Furlane, a project designed to promote the renewal and stability of the theatre scene in Friulian culture and language, through support for the writing of new plays and the production of performances with the involvement of professional artists from Friuli.
In 2019, CSS is the founder of the Associazione Teatri Stabil Furlan with the Municipality of Udine, Accademia d'Arte Drammatica Nico Pepe, Fondazione Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine, Società Filologica Friulana.

TEATRO NUOVO GIOVANNI DA UDINE

Since the opening of the theatre Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine in 1997, CSS has actively contributed to the setting up of a cultural project for the venue and continued to do so until the 1999/2000 season. In the first three year-period CSS was responsible for the artistic directorship of, and for programming, the theatre and dance seasons.  In the following years and up to now, the synergy between the Teatro Nuovo and CSS has continued through a number of co-productions and supports: Copenhagen by Michael Frayn with Umberto Orsini, Massimo Popolizio e Giuliana Lojodice in 1999, Polygraphe by Robert Lepage with Giorgio Pasotti, Stefania Rocca in 2000, Bigatis - storie di donne friulane in filanda / Spinners–Stories of Friulian Women in the Spinning Mill in 2000 and the most recent productions of Il vecchio il cielo / The Old Man and the Sky in 2010 and Il principe di Homburg / The Prince of Homburg in 2011, both directed by Cesare Lievi, as well as new projects like Udine a theatre-city for children and Farie Teatrâl Furlane.

SPECIAL PROJECTS

ECOLE DES MAÎTRES
CSS is engaged in the realisation of primary initiatives in the field of training, first and foremost the Ecole des Maîtres, of which CSS is the leader, historically realised in collaboration with ETI Ente Teatrale Italiano and currently in Italy, now with the support of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia and the MiC - Direzione Generale Spettacolo dal vivo and, in Europe, together with the Ministries of Culture (from 2004 to 2006 the master course continued under the name Project Thierry Salmon with the support of the Culture 2000 programme of the European Union).
Ecole des Maîtres won the Leone d’Oro 2007 at the 39th edition of the International Theatre Festival - Biennale of Venice.
Created by Franco Quadri (also a theatre critic of the newspaper La Repubblica), the project has had as its leaders some of the most famous international directors: Luca Ronconi, Jerzy Grotowski, Anatolij Vasil'ev, Jacques Lassalle, Lev Dodin, Peter Stein, Alfredo Arias, Dario Fo, Matthias Langhoff, Eimuntas Nekrosius, Giancarlo Cobelli, Denis Marleau, Jan Fabre, Carlo Cecchi, Rodrigo García, Pippo Delbono, Antonio Latella, Enrique Diaz, Arthur Nauzyciel, Matthew Lenton, Rafael Spregelburd, Constanza Macras, ricci/forte, Ivica Buljan, Christiane Jatahy, Transquinquennal, Tiago Rodrigues, Angélica Liddell, Davide Carnevali (special edition for dramatists), Claudio Tolcachir, Marcial Di Fonzo Bo.
Following the death of its creator and Artistic Director, Franco Quadri, the European partners form a collective artistic direction, today consisting of: CSS Teatro stabile di innovazione del FVG, Piccolo Teatro di Milano - Teatro d’Europa (Italy), Théâtre de Liège (CFWB/Belgium), Teatro Nacional D. Maria II, TAGV - Teatro Académico de Gil Vicente (Portugal), Le Quai Centre Dramatique National Angers Pays de la Loire, Comédie, Centre dramatique national de Reims (France).

DIALOGUES - PERFORMING ARTS RESIDENCIES AT VILLA MANIN

Since 2015, as CSS Teatro stabile di innovazione del FVG we have conceived and curate the project Dialogues Performing Arts Residencies at Villa Manin, thanks to the support of MiC - Ministry of Culture, Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Friuli Foundation, Artistic Residencies, in collaboration with ERPAC - Regional Cultural Heritage Authority.
As the owners of the project Dialogues Performing Arts Residencies at the Villa Manin, we have been experiencing the cultural intervention and experience of the Residencies as a unique and irreplaceable resource, an opportunity of formidable value, where temporary artistic communities research and produce artistic actions with energies that are not conditioned by rigid production processes.
After the first three years of work at Villa Manin, the Dialogues project has gradually gained a national and international reputation to the point where it has become a point of reference and a much coveted experience for artists and artistic groups operating in the area, both Italian and European.
For us, Residencies are places of experimentation that bring together, emerge, coagulate and consolidate social energies present in the thousand realities of our country and fundamental opportunities in its internationalisation processes.
They are living, fluid spaces of circulation, of reference, of testing languages, skills, formats, where people and artists cross paths and exchange practices, with a strong regenerative effect.
Residencies conceived in this way become factors of innovation and qualification of the performing arts system, in their specific function of accompanying the practices and processes of artistic creation. They can develop thought and creative trajectories, intercept physical, mental and social interferences, inhabiting a place and bringing to it a strong sense of community.

CASE CIRCONDARIALI / DETENTION CENTRES - AN OUTREACH PROJECT TO TACKLE SOCIAL EXCLUSION, DEVIANCE AND CRIME

Present in its territory also in the areas of youth discomfort, deviance and crime, CSS was the promoter of a pilot project of socialising and cultural activities developed within the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region's Detention Centres. The project has been applied on a regional scale since 1995, after six years of experimentation in Udine, gradually involving other cooperatives in the region, and extending to the Trieste prison in 1992, to the Tolmezzo prison in 1993, to the Gorizia prison in 1994 and finally to the Pordenone prison in 1995.
CSS has been responsible for numerous activities and moments of socio-cultural action in the Udine, Tolmezzo, Pordenone and Gorizia prisons until 2020. In almost twenty years, CSS has been able to guarantee a constant and continuous presence of artists, experts and operators in the three prisons, where workshops have been held in various creative fields, while continuing to offer theatre performances, concerts and concert-lessons for the inmate population. Since 2012, the Project has been enriched with a new segment of action aimed at addressing the discomfort of minors, starting this year with an intervention conceived in close cooperation with the Trieste Social Services Office for Minors. After the pandemic pause, the CSS resumed activities for the inmate population thanks to the collaboration with ENAIP, setting up theatre and music courses.

AWARDS

1995
Biglietto d'oro AGIS - Minerva per la ricerca teatrale XI Edizione to Tra gli infiniti punti di un segmento, written and directed by Cesare Lievi
2000
Adelaide Ristori Award to the actresses of Bigatis directed by Gigi Dall’Aglio
2005
Tuttoteatro.com alle arti sceniche Dante Cappelletti to ‘Ccelera! by and with Maurizio Camilli
2007
Leone d’Oro per il futuro at the 39th edition of the International Theatre Festival - Biennale of Venice to the Ecole des Maîtres
2008
Biglietto d’oro per il teatro AGIS to La caccia by and with Luigi Lo Cascio
2008
Coopnet Award to CSS for the best cooperative websites
2009
Franco Enriquez Award for best performance to Canto per Falluja by Francesco Niccolini, adapted and directed by Rita Maffei 
2010
Caprienigma Award to Alessandro Marinuzzi for L'arte e la maniera di abbordare il proprio capoufficio per chiedergli un aumento, directed by Alessandro Marinuzzi, with Rita Maffei
2010
Franco Enriquez Award for best director to Larry Moss and Rita Maffei and best actress to Rita Maffei for The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien, directed by Larry Moss and Rita Maffei
2011
Special Mention International Teresa Pomodoro Award for Theatre of Inclusion for The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien, directed by Larry Moss and Rita Maffei
2022
Eolo Award 2022 best figure theatre performance to Kafka e la bambola viaggiatrice directed by Fabrizio Pallara
2022
Mention at Eolo Award performance for teenagers to A + A Storia di una prima volta by Giuliano Scarpinato

EDITORIAL AND VIDEOS

CSS has set up the collanina x il teatro / a theatre collection aiming at publishing plays by new playwrights  (GLORIA DEL TEATRO IMMAGINARIO /GLORY OF IMAGINARY THEATRE by Giuliano Scabia, A MESTRE SI CAMBIA / CHANGE AT MESTRE by Paolo Patui, PER IL BENE DI TUTTI / FOR THE GOOD OF ALL by Francesco Randazzo, CHI HA UCCISO IL MAIALE / WHO KILLED THE PIG by Alessandro Bergonzoni, LA CADUTA / THE FALL by Massimo Bavastro, POPOL VUH / THE VUH PEOPLE by Antonio Syxty, LA FESTA / THE PARTY by Spiro Scimone, IL SORRISO DI SAN GIOVANNI / ST. JOHN'S SMILE by Ruggero Cappuccio, LE BESTIE / BEASTS by Paolo Scheriani, LA PORTA /THE DOOR by Serafino Filoni, TRACCE DI UN SACRIFICIO/ TRACES OF A SACRIFICE by Fabiano Fantini and Rita Maffei, DENTRO IL TEATRO, IL TEATRO DENTRO / INSIDE THE THEATRE, THE THEATRE INSIDE plays written by prisoners of the detention centres of Trieste and Gorizia inspired by a text by Luca Sofri, FOUR / OUT by Elvio Scruzzi, Fabiano Fantini and Claudio Moretti, ANATEMA! / ANATHEM! by Giordano Raggi, NEL TEMPO INSOLITO / IN AN UNUSUAL TIME by Sonia Antinori, 5 X UNA / 5 BY ONE by Enrico Luttmann, DEJAVÙ by Edoardo Erba, IL CONQUISTATORE DI SIVIGLIA / THE CONQUEROR OF SEVILLE by Mauro Maggioni and Claudio Tomati, LA FAVOLA DI PIOMBO E PERVINCA / THE FABLE OF LEAD AND PERIWINCKLE by Paolo Scheriani, LARIS / BURGLARS by Fabiano Fantini, Claudio Moretti and Elvio Scruzzi, BIGATIS - storie di donne friulane in filanda / SPINNERS - Stories of Friulian Women in the Spinning Mill by Elio Bartolini and Paolo Patui, LACHRYMAE (semper dolens!) by Fabiano Fantini and Rita Maffei, LA MALATTIA DELLA FAMIGLIA M / THE MALADY OF FAMILY M by Fausto Paravidino, STRANIERI /FOREIGNERS by Antonio Tarantino, RESUREQUIE by Carlo Tolazzi, DENTRI / INSIDE by Fabiano Fantini, Claudio Moretti and Elvio Scruzzi, BETTY by Remo Binosi, LA MORTE È UNA GRAN BELLA RAGAZZA / DEATH IS A BEAUTIFUL GIRL INDEED by Elio Bartolini).

Videos of all CSS productions have been made by directors and professional videomakers.
In 2009 dvd version of La lungje cene di Nadâl / The long Christmas Dinner was made available with the newspaper Il Messaggero Veneto
Videos are produced by CSS Teatro stabile di innovazione del FVG and RAI of Friuli Venezia Giulia, with the support of the Provincial Council of Udine and ArLef Agjenzie Regjonâl pe lenghe furlane (a local agency for the Friulian language) in collaboration with Messaggero Veneto.
In 2012 a dvd version of Bigatis / Spinners was made available with the newspaper Il Messaggero Veneto.