The theater school of the Popular University of Palencia (UPP) reaches its first 35 years of life. It was founded by director Concha Santiago, who still heads a cultural entity through which more than 2,000 students have passed. Perhaps the figure alone does not attract much attention, but it is a figure similar to that of the number of people registered in Carrión de los Condes at present (2005).
The seven decades of history officially began in 1988, after the head and alma mater of the school proposed a project to the UPP. Everything seems to indicate that this plan was liked by the adult training institution, since it received the green light and is still maintained within it. The first step was some theater workshops that were held in the capital and in Venta de Baños. They were joined by a third, aimed at young people from the Ave María neighborhood, according to Santiago. They were the three legs that served as the basis for the UPP theater school, whose classes were taught only in Palencia, although they also attracted residents of the province. “It started with a theater workshop and now we are talking about 35 years of school,” he adds.
Among the milestones that this school achieved, Santiago comments that “at the end of the 20th century we were pioneers, with the different workshops, in doing street theater, mime, performances, theatrical presentations, dances and other expressions that had not yet been seen in the city. started to see. Furthermore, he highlights the collaborations with different public and private entities. “Among the most notable were the International Film Exhibition – where we prepared some shows that filled Calle Mayor with people, he points out -, the International Street Theater Exhibition or the beginnings of Televisión Palencia,” explains the director.
BEYOND. At the beginning of the 90s, part of the students were interested in taking the leap to the stage, so the Lapsus Teatro company was founded. It is independent of the UPP, but maintains a special relationship with the institution. Many of the school’s students can perform in this company that has received, throughout its history, more than 250 awards at national and international festivals. Its actors are not the only ones who have taken a step further in the world of theater.
“Nowadays many of the students dedicate themselves to it professionally, forming their own companies, animation companies or within the show,” emphasizes the director before explaining that over the 35 years many issues in theater have changed, such as the technology. «Now it is also image, sound, sets that come and go. It’s not just the word. “It has been evolving,” she declares.
At this point, he details that if something “identifies” the school, it is that it trains students in basic tools (such as interpretation, dance, mime, clowning, body expression or improvisation) and in other processes. «You may write a script, a story or a theatrical scene and perform it, or direct it, or record it and go on to make your own short film, interview, podcast or radio. We touch all the suits. What differentiates us from other schools or theater training is that during the course each group has its own play where the actor will pedagogically develop all his tools for greater interpretive success,” explains Santiago. On the other hand, he also emphasizes the relationship they maintain with the UPP photography school and the importance of “training people.” Furthermore, in 2013, the theater classroom of the senior group of the Palencia City Council began to be managed by the same stage management, “so the family of actors continues to grow,” he details.
Finally, Santiago hopes that the number of students continues to grow over the years. The workshop is open to people from 15 years old, but if there are 13-year-old teenagers who have a special interest in the performing arts and want to get started in the world of acting, they can come to the Popular University and ask about the corresponding registration.
2023-10-01 05:19:31
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