Gabriela Ricades, first female director of official theaters: “The public must feel invited to the theaters”

A two months after his inauguration As the new general manager of the Theater Complex of Buenos Aires (CTBA), Gabriela Ricardes traces a panorama of the axes that her direction covers at the head of the six official theaters of the city: Teatro San Martín, Teatro Presidente Alvear, Teatro Regio, Teatro de la Ribera, Sarmiento Theater and El Plata Cinema Theater.

ricardo She is the first woman to hold that position. since the creation of the CTBA, in 2000, and succeeds Jorge Telerman, now in charge of the Teatro Colón.

Cultural manager, trained in Argentina, France and the United Stateshe was Secretary of the Public Content of the Nation, General Director of the San Martín Cultural Center and of the International Circus Festival of Buenos Aires, among other functions.

It is precisely on the rooms that directly depend on the Complex that Ricades focuses, thinking this each space maintains its well-defined identity“Furthermore, we are all involved in a larger issue which is the public theater, which we all are, and where there is a need to create meaning, especially in this post-pandemic time,” he says.

After many independent companies arrived with their productions in official theaters, the director has in mind to recover the tradition of its production, in priority. Once the budget has been defined, the programming grid for 2023 will be organized.

One of the objectives of the new management is the revaluation of stable casts such as the Ballet of the San Martín Theater and the historical group of Puppeteers, among others.

“We must also take advantage of such a rich tradition and enhance it with renewal,” he says.

The role of public theaters

The role of public theaters, according to Ricades, should be more experimental. “Do not occupy the role that other spaces play in the theatrical ecosystem”, He says. “It has to be a production, a design role. You have to combine new talents with established talents. I think they have to be productions that go beyond the moment they are staged in our theaters, it should be a kind of feedback.”

The idea of ​​the official circuit as a laboratory space is also linked to the possibility of opening the rooms to a new, mixed and diversified audience.

“It would be necessary to review and update the image that the CTBA may have in the collective unconscious to make it wider for new viewers.”

take back the hall

That is why, starting from August, one of the priorities will be to recover the hall in all official theaters, to literally open the doors of the theaters so that artistic experiences also occur there.

“The public must feel invited into the rooms. The idea is that the theatrical ritual begins before the show itself.enjoy that moment before and after, shared with strangers, which is what the scenic activity has as its characteristic and which makes it a unique experience “, he assures.

Another axis will be the recovery of the space that once occupied the official theater as an artistic window on the world. Although this issue is a bit more complicated due to economic factors, the director is confident that “with alliances and cooperation, it is possible to take Argentine theater on tour around the world”.

And he goes on: “We will also work with schools because, for many, going to the theater with school is the first theatrical foray, so it is essential to take the dress that will accompany you for the rest of your life, as happens with reading.” .

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