Àfora is the agora of Focus, a hub of thought, an area of reflection and activities that, based on the scenic experience, has the intention of influencing the artistic life , cultural and social, in the territory of our influence.

We have 5 areas of action: The Romea Foundation, Àfora Edicions, La 5a Paret, Platea 618 and Spectators

Agenda

  • VII WORKSHOP ON SCENIC MEMORY (organized by Fundación Aisge)

    Fundació Romea - Monday march 3, 7:00 p.m

    In relation to two of the objectives pursued by the AISGE Foundation, one of a welfare nature: The promotion and development of welfare activities for the benefit of audiovisual performers, and one promotional: To develop activities of dissemination, research and exchange of knowledge about the artistic profession, the AISGE Foundation has developed a project that it considers of great interest for the dissemination of the artistic profession. The project is called “Taller de la Memoria Escénica”.

    This “Creation Workshop” is an activity aimed at retired members of AISGE, which aims to tell their life and artistic career. We will learn about their professional beginnings, the tours, the theater companies, the theater tent, the repertory theater, what they traveled with, where they stayed, the colleagues with whom they shared the billboard… Through the compilation of the material they have: photographs, press clippings, reviews, programs, etc., and guided by a workshop leader, they will classify and order it and as a result of this work, a collection of books called “Memory of the Spanish Stage” will be created. Each book will be dedicated to an actor and will bear his name as title.

    In this edition they will present their memoirs:

    IMA RANEDO: Manuela, dernier rôle parlant
    MONTSE COLOMER: Ballem per celebrar la vida (Ballet to Celebrate Life)
    PEPA ARENOS I ARDIACA: Rebel with a cause
    QUICO ROMEU: Viscut entre cametes (Viscut in between the shirts)
    JORDI BULBENA I MOREU: Life and theater: continuous session

    Barcelona
    Teatre Romea
    March 3

  • Fear

    Fundació Romea - Monday march 10, 7:00 p.m

    Genesis

    In 2017, in full creative fever, the novel “Fear” fell into my hands. As I delved into its pages, I was already impatiently visualizing the staging. Quickly, the idea of taking it to the theater took shape and form until, in the last three pages, an unexpected dramatic twist of Zweig altered my illusion and expectation. What happened to me in those damn three pages? After thinking about whether to go ahead or not, I decided to get on with it; to try to adapt it to the theater in the hope that sooner or later I would be able to unblock that jam. The solution finally arrived: the narration of the novel would be accompanied by a second parallel narration where I would unravel the fears and contradictions that can originate the mental block of a director facing the creative process.

    Thesis

    Fear is worse than punishment. It is worse the fear, the ghosts that the author creates within himself, than the final verdict of the public. Faced with a classic work, how should a contemporary director position himself? Should he be faithful to the author’s original thesis? Should he adapt it to his current values? The director must make decisions, knowing that this will imply renunciations. And he must be very clear about this, otherwise he will end up being the victim of the cruelest doubts and fears that any creative process can arouse.

    Barcelona
    Teatre Romea
    March 10
    Tickets

  • In search of the perfume of the Romea Theater

    Fundació Romea - Monday April 22, 7:00 p.m

    The artist Alejandro Acosta and the perfumery Sillage, will materialize the aroma of a piece of clothing from the theater found in one of its old closets, which was hidden after its last performance.
    An immersive representation of the senses and how their perception affects the most primitive of all: the sense of smell.

    Barcelona
    Teatre Romea
    April 22
    Tickets

  • PUMA DIARY. A Mutation

    Fundació Romea - Monday May 19, 7:00 p.m

    Poetry requires skill, instinct, precision. Hence, this transformation seeks the most beautiful animal whose conditions are similar to poetry. We will travel with the puma along paths of extinction, colonization and abandonment of writing and voice while discovering new frontiers of perception and knowledge.

    Barcelona
    Teatre Romea
    May 19
    Tickets

Romea Foundation

A dialogue between contemporary art and the performing arts.

The Romea Foundation investigates artistic forms to activate terms such as fervor, passion, the sublime, beauty or inspiration that paradoxically cause discomfort. A discomfort that manifests itself when we show ourselves sensitive to the world and reveal our vulnerability. It could be said that our effort seeks to summon ghosts, as Joan Fontcuberta did with the artist Margarida Xirgu, or Eduard Márquez when he tried, in a certain way, to overcome his ghosts to advance his literary work.

Romea Foundation website

Recent events

The 5th Wall

The intersection wall between the theater and the street, between the stage and society.

In the theater world, the virtual wall that separates the stage from the spectators is known as the fourth wall, and for a long time the actor-spectator interaction has been called “breaking the fourth wall”.

La 5a Paret is a meeting point that will allow us to capture concepts that emerged from the stage and take them to the field of philosophy, to analyze them from different angles and formats.

Recent events

Àfora Editions

In editorial format to channel reflection needs.

An editorial stamp to protect Áfora’s will to permanence its activity, and the conceptual and aesthetic relevance of selected texts and creators.

ÀforaEdicions was born with the publication of three editorial initiatives:

Pre-Occupaciones, under the title “ParaísosPerdidos”, dedicated to identifying our sensitive part in collaboration with different authors such as Emma Riverola, Fernando Prats, Pep Duran, Helena Tornero, Anna Malagrida, Andrés Lima, Arash Arjomandi , Eloi Fernández Porta, Enrique Ruíz Domènec, Sofia Rincón and Pablo Auladell.

Fer Mutis (Mutandis). 35 verbal foci in the performing arts of Màrius Serra. A commission to the writer and journalist Màrius Serra on theatrical slang and aphorisms, which will gloss over theatrical concepts and expressions beyond their etymology, searching for hidden curiosities and origins.

And the adaptation of the theatrical text “Paradizo Perdido” by Helena Tornero, based on the epic poem by John Milton and illustrated by the artist Paula Bonet.

Recent events

PLATEA 618

Aerial view of Gran Via shopping area in Madrid, Spain.

A connection between professionals from the theater sector in Barcelona and Madrid.

618 are the kilometers that exist between Barcelona and Madrid, the two theatrical centers of the State. We want to take advantage of this ascendancy to favor a close relationship between professionals from both cities, creating a permanent circuit and personal relationship channels, which allow increasing synergies aimed at increasing co-participation and creative and artistic exchange.

PLATEA 618 will feature meetings between artists and creators, and between managers and producers, to discuss atavistic concerns and new challenges.

Recent events

Spectators

INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF THEATER SPECTATORS

Biennial in nature, the International Congress of Theater Spectators is not just another congress about audiences.

It is the only international meeting of, by and for theater spectators. The public is art and part.

It is a unique opportunity to learn first-hand about the needs, concerns, and beliefs of performing arts spectators. The Congress aims to call on spectators to regain their role in the value chain of the performing arts and rethink their future role.

In the 1st edition, held in October 2022 at the Romea Theater in Barcelona, we have more than 650 registered, more than 50 invited international spectators, from 25 countries and 5 continents.

We are already preparing the organization of the 2nd edition, which will take place from November 18 to 20, 2024

Website of the International Congress of Theater Spectators

GRANSTEATRERUS

Social project of the Grup Focus that aims to contribute to combating involuntary loneliness among the elderly and promote active aging through theater and culture.

We want to recover as spectators our “Grans Teatrerus” who, for various reasons, have ceased to be theater audiences, through intergenerational links with young, with whom to share their passion and knowledge for the performing arts.

During the 2023-24 season, a pilot test will be developed with residents of the Raval neighborhood in Barcelona, linked to the Teatre Romea and the Theatre Goya.

More info

PUBLIC ADVICE

We have launched Public Advice, made up of active spectators who will participate in the day-to-day life of our theaters, wanting to contribute ideas, visions and opinions, as ambassadors and collaborate in the dynamics of the performing spaces.

It is the transfer to our theaters of the main objective of the Congress of Spectators: giving a voice to the public and getting to know their desires closely.

The 2023-24 season has started its activity:

Supported by

Contact

ÀFORA

afora@grupfocus.cat

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