The cultural artistic association MILANO OFF was born in 2016 by Renato Lombardo, already the acting president of Milan's Teatro Libero and for over thirty years an organizer of international events related to theatre and jazz, and Francesca Vitale, author, actress and artistic director of PALCO OFF in Catania and Milan, as well as a lawyer specialized in entertainment law.
Moved from an agreement in 2015 with the president of FESTIVAL AVIGNON LE OFF to create a twin festival in Milan, the association takes example from the philosophy and objectives which distinguish the most important Off Festivals on a national and international level: the valuing of quality theater; the exhibition of current social and language innovation; the creation of an innovative and virtuous network and circuit for artistic creation; and the cultural revitalization of city neighborhoods and spaces (thanks to the widespread matrix of the Festival), which culminates in moments of social gathering, tourism, and commercial promotion.
For this reason, Milan OFF has offered, since 2016, a real OFF Festival, hosted and promoted in the nerve centers of Milan. The project, through direct and indirect participation, was born with the intention of gathering thousands of people around an environment of exchange and coexistence, and with the goal of rediscovering and recognizing the contemporary cultural identity of the city. The strategic locations of the performing spaces within Milan, recognized as crossroads of Italian culture, also represents the ideal bridge between our national culture and Europe.
And so the 1st Milano OFF Isola Festival is born.
From May 30th to the 12th of June, two weeks of events and performances took place, with a single core objective: increase the Felicità Interna Lorda, (Gross Internal Happiness), or F.I.L. all of the participants were divided into three sections:
- MILANO IN - From May 30th to June 1st, the UniCredit Pavilion in Piazza Gae Aulenti welcomes great protagonists of the performing arts as testimonials of MI OFF: Stefano Bollani, Jango Edwards, Francesco Scimemi, Dario Fo and Enrico Intra.
- MILANO OFF - From the 2nd to the 5th June, original spaces of the Isola neighborhood hosted different performances from various companies selected Dal 2 al 5 giugno, originali spazi del quartiere Isola hanno ospitato gli spettacoli di diverse compagnie nazionali selezionate da a special artistic commission. Every day, from the afternoon to the evening, 12 performances alternated on the stages of four different locations: Fonderia Napoleonica, Isolacasateatro, Stecca 3.0, and Teatro Verdi.
- MILANO ISOLA FESTIVAL - From the 6th to the 12th of June, the Isola neighborhood becomes a stage itself for numerous initiatives geared towards teaching culture, encouraging interdisciplinary exchange, and having fun.
MI OFF 2016 registered around 50.000 attendees and put up more than 150 cumulative events between theatrical productions, laboratories, conferences and presentations. The performances with the highest votes participated in the 2017 edition of
Festival AVIGNON LE OFF, of
IN Scena New York and in the
PALCO OFF season at the Teatro Libero in Milan.
In 2017 the concept is solidified with the 2nd Milano OFF F.I.L. Festival.From the 11th to the 28th of June in 2017, from the afternoon to the evening, 50 productions (for a total of over 400 performances) of professional artistic quality and of differing artistic genres, rotated on the stages of historical theaters and Milanese cultural spaces.
14 original locations distributed throughout all of the municipalities of Milan. With Milano OFF F.I.L. Festival, the three-section format is confirmed:
MILANO IN in the Unicredit Pavilion,
MILANO OFF significantly extending its range from 12 to 50 companies offered and from 4 to 12 locations. Milano Isola festival instead becomes
MILANO OFF DELL’OFF, connecting various spaces participating in the Festival with commercial activities on the streets of the neighborhoods themselves.
The 2017 benefitted from partnerships with the prestigious
Festival AVIGNON LE OFF, od
IN SCENA! Italian Theatre Festival di New York and the
PALCO OFF Circuit.
Testimonials for MILANO IN 2017 for the inaugural evening in the Unicredit Pavilion:
Enico Bertolino, Roberto Brivio, Massimo Navone, Enrico Intra, Enrico Bonavera, and
Giorgio Bongiovanni.
Three performances, voted by the public and by the technical juries, were selected to participate in the 2018 edition of its festival partners, resulting in the enhancement and promotion of the national OFF theater in France, the United States and Italy.
The 3rd edition sees the realization of the MILANO OFF FRINGE FESTIVAL (#MIOFF19)from the 17th to the 22nd of September, 2019.
#MIOFF19 becomes
FRINGE while maintaining its primary mission:
Gross Internal Happiness (F.I.L.) for a gratified citizen, tourist in their own city.All of the Festival days upheld non-stop emotions and dreams: Fringe theatre, contemporary theatre, fringe musicals, dance, street artists, artisans from the performing arts, exhibits, debates and much more.
The heart of #MIOFF19 is
VILLAGE OFF, staged within the prestigious structure of the
FABBRICA DEL VAPORE. The Festival also expands, however, into cultural spaces, historical theaters and other unique locations.
This edition of
MILANO OFF FRINGE FESTIVAL 2019 also holds a key international partnership with Festival AVIGNON LE OFF. The important and direct collaboration exemplifies
MI OFF as protagonists in the international focus dedicated to OFF Festivals. The conference promotes, with planning, the development of an international network of festivals capable of enhancing OFF theater (including shows in foreign languages), for an increasingly wider reach of its offerings. For the 3rd edition, important national partners include:
PALCO OFF, PALCO 5, TORINO FRINGE FESTIVAL e CLAN OFF TEATRO.
In just three years of activity, the Association has achieved remarkable milestones in terms of quality and numbers:
450 events and and theatrical performances;
21 milanese structures;
70 national and international companies;
22.500 spectators;
339 artists; 143 journalists and industry professionals; 31 staff, collaborators and volunteersCreating, ultimately: an excellent network of exchanges between Milanese realities, artists and industry operators; a connection between the city of Milan and the international artistic OFF market; international tourist/cultural development; social aggregation and empathy, live performative art available for everyone at a low cost; the creation of new audiences (with particular attention to young people and those who do not go to the theater); and an economic-commercial impact on the territory at large.
To know more, see the archival pages of years past:
2016 and
2017.
Concept and General Direction:
Renato Lombardo -
direzione@milanooff.com - tel. +39 391 141829
Artistic Direction:
Francesca Vitale -
direzione@milanooff.comArtistic Direction MusicalOFF: Marco CaselleProduction Assistant: Giulia Quescioli produzione@milanooff.comSecretary/Administration :
Melissa Marino segreteria@milanooff.com, amministrazione@milanooff.com Press Office:
ufficiostampa@milanooff.com Communication Paolo Zunnino , Federica Scazzarriello comunicazione@milanooff.comTechnical Direction:
direzionetecnica@milanooff.com Human Resources:
Elisabetta Carmignani-
sviluppo@milanooff.comGeneral Information:
info@milanooff.com Associazione Milano OFFRegistered Office: Via Carlo Freguglia 10 - 20122 Milano
Field Office: Via Sarzana 50 - 20159 Milano
