With the support of the Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies in the Department of Spanish and Italian (MSU)
In collaboration with Center for Career Services and Cooperative Education (MSU)
With the participation of KIT-Kairos Italy Theatre, New York, NY, USA
and of ICAMus, International Center for American Music, Ann Arbor, MI, USA – Florence

«Translating Voices Across Continents» (TVAC) is both an educational project and a professional workshop that will result in the creation of English surtitles for Italian and international theater productions. On the one hand, the project gives American university students the opportunity to familiarize themselves with specific aspects of this multimedia translation sector, engaging them in the creative process of this work. On the other hand, it is a valuable service that will increase language access to the Piccolo Teatro di Milano’s productions for a wider audience. These productions are part of the Piccolo Teatro’s ad hoc calendar for an international audience on the occasion of Expo 2015 (Milan, May-October).

Stemming from a proposal by the Piccolo Teatro di Milano, the project is developed by Prescott Studio, a reference point in Europe for theatrical titling, and by Montclair State University (NJ, USA), that, by means of the Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies, fosters and supports interdisciplinary approaches, a cosmopolitan academic vision, and a focus on the highest expressions of Italian culture. Prescott Studio, as supervisor, will offer the professional expertise, sensibility, and organizational experience needed, while the Inserra Chair and the professors in the Italian BA program at MSU, through their own interns, will oversee the adaptations of the surtitles into English.

Group of experts involved
Mauro Conti, Director of Prescott Studio, Florence
Teresa Fiore, Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies, MSU, NJ, USA
Marisa Trubiano, Associate Professor, MSU, NJ, USA
Laura Caparrotti, Artistic Director of KIT-Kairos Italy Theatre, New York, NY, USA
Aloma Bardi, Prescott Studio Tutor and Director of ICAMus, Ann Arbor, MI, USA – Florence

> TVAC – Inserra Chair / Montclair State University

The Art of Creative Compromise

Surtitling – Theoretical Models and Practical Goals. Special Internship Project for Theatrical Productions
Led by Mauro Conti and Prescott Studio

1.
Theatrical surtitling is a niche in the multimedia translation field: it involves a creative aspect while remaining rigorous, and offers, above all, a unique learning experience for those who aspire to highly qualified professional outlets in the dynamic and versatile sector of audiovisual productions.
For instance, creating surtitles for theater allows students to tackle subtitling for the cinema with an uncommon level of professionalism. The multiple skills required by surtitling include the ability to work within a team and to respect specific technical parameters: these are the premises for the creative compromise and the linguistic mediation that drive surtitling work.

2.
The internship has developed within a unique framework that brings together an Italian theater of international renown like the Piccolo Teatro di Milano and an initiative of global importance such as the Expo 2015 in Milan, during which a special calendar of events, including theater productions, will be presented.
Approaching these productions through an educational project such as TVAC is a challenge for all the parties involved (surtitling experts, students, professors acting as supervisors), requiring the deployment of multiple competences, organizational skills, patience, precision, and, last but not least, passion. The result will be a fusion of creative and professional energies that will serve as a valuable model for students as they prepare for their future professions.

3.
In essence, the project will involve students in the production-adaptation of English surtitles for a number of theater productions over Spring, Summer and Fall 2015, under the guidance of Prescott Studio and the supervision of MSU faculty members. Students will gain firsthand experience of a complex journey that melds art, craftmanship, and technology.
Along with an appreciation for the practical aspects of these translations and adaptations, students will come to understand the larger aesthetic and operational factors that have made surtitling indispensible for the world of live performance. Today, theater, like cinema – yet to an even greater degree, given the fact that it is live performance – represents the truest meeting place for languages, cultures and experiences.

Productions involved in the project