PEM Habitat Teatrali

PEM Habitat Teatrali is a production company founded in 2014 by Rita Pelusio and Anna Marcato. It creates, produces, and distributes performances born from the need to describe and question the society around us. Without sacrificing depth of content, it employs a language of poetic irony, with the belief that this is a powerful way to engage audiences with important issues. PEM’s artistic vision is rooted in three core areas that have shaped its work since the very beginning: comic art, civic engagement, and a particular focus on issues related to women through the creation of original dramaturgy. Our approach to comic art is eclectic and multidisciplinary, because comedy is by its very nature rebellious and curious, rejecting categories and conventions. We love mixing and blending genres: over the years, our productions have ranged from narrative theatre to musical comedy, from comic prose to comedy, always with irony and irreverence. We aim to create a popular theatre capable of bringing the high down, making important and complex issues accessible to everyone. Ours is a form of civil comedy theatre designed to both entertain and make people think. PEM integrates theatre production with training and social theatre as an extension of our artistic path, aligned with the ethical principles of our profession. Brought together by the desire to create socially focused projects, numerous artists and professionals collaborate with PEM, offering their expertise, always respecting an idea of ethical, accessible and shared production. Thanks to its ability to foster networks and collaborations, PEM has produced and distributed numerous performances, helping to launch and establish informal groups such as the Cikale Comic Vocal Trio and Compagnia Trioche. The artistic training represents a natural extension of our theatrical work. Teaching means sharing our experience with new generations of actors and actresses, in a reciprocal exchange of talents and skills. For us, nurturing new talent means creating an incubator not only for theatrical techniques, but for fresh scenic visions and cross-disciplinary experimentation—while learning from participants in the process. Over the years, we have developed specialized training programs led by Rita Pelusio, PEM’s artistic director: L’Umanità Comica (divided into Level I and II), L’Animale Comico, La Drammaturgia Comica, Il Comico Musicale, and Full Creative Support workshops. These opportunities allow for an in-depth exploration of comic individuality, from character creation to scenic writing. Each module forms part of an organic path of thought which, in its “tiny wholeness,” aims to be a useful tool for anyone wishing to explore or deepen their practice of this noble art. We also collaborate with academic institutions such as CIT – the Centre for Theatrical Initiative at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan – offering training programs on the value of comic art within educational processes, including L’Umanità Fragile. Through workshops, masterclasses, and performance-lessons, we work with professionals, theatre students, and schools, developing a research-based approach to comic art that integrates body, voice, and dramaturgy. Finally, PEM brings to Italy clown theatre workshops led by Gardi Hutter, a leading international figure in contemporary clown performance.