Individual residencies / Andorra
FERRAN JOANMIQUEL PLA
From Monday, 3 June 2024 to Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Bio
Ferran Joanmiquel is a playwright, director and professor of theatre in a variety of socio-educational arenas. He has won several playwriting awards: Boira de Vic for Riu Gener; Recull de Blanes for Dinou; Bartrina de Reus for Blau; from Calldetenes for Vidres als ulls; Inicia’t Badalona for La filla de Chagall; Octubre València for Tots els colors del blanc; and Pepe Alba, Sagunt for Dones que parlen. His plays that have been performed on stage include Dinou (directed by Carles Fernández-Giua) and Blau (directed by Jordi Prat i Coll, at Sala Beckett). With his company Cos a Cos, he has directed Vidres als ulls, La crida, El rey del Gurugú, La filla de Chagall and Cent dies i cent vides (Festival Temporada Alta). He has also directed the documentaries El color de la llum and El·lipsi for the La Planeta Verbatim theatre series.
Project
Frontera – Playwriting project
The initial concept is for Frontera to be a text on the relationship between a father and son, on the silences and suffering that weave a family relationship, on the expectations any father inevitably projects on his own child, on the difficulties of understanding and accepting the other for who they are, with all their shadows.
The text also aims to reflect on death, on the instinct to cheat it, which has been the topic of much speculation in biotechnology in recent years.
It is possible to transcend pain and death? In the near future, will science allow us to live so long that we are verging on immortality? Should we be able to decide what we want our children to be like using genetic engineering? These are some of the possibilities posed by transhumanists, who believe in a radical shift in the humanism paradigm. And these are also some of the ethical dilemmas that science and medicine are currently grappling with, which in the not-so-distant future will need an ethical, political and social answer.
A VERY FRUITFUL RESIDENCY
I had always wanted to do a writing residency somewhere where nature was very present. That was surrounded by nature. I wanted it to be a place where I could spend five, eight or ten hours a day writing, leave “home” and get my creative juices flowing by walking, running, sweating, getting some fresh air from and through the landscape. And that’s exactly what I did on my stay in La Massana.
And this isn’t arbitrary because it is very closely tied to the context of the play I am writing, which is about a father and son trapped in the mountains, which won’t let them leave, forcing them to look at their past, individually and together. So, the title of the play, “Frontera” (Border), refers to many types of borders the piece lays out: in relationships, existential borders and more, even geographic ones, as it takes place somewhere that could very well be the Principality of Andorra or very close by. Basically because it is a land of mountain passes.
Since I’m used to having to carve out time to write wherever I can (work, family and a nine-year-old son, nothing new), suddenly having this perfect place to work at the La Massana residence flat was amazing. And in this sense, it was very fruitful because the work rate I set for myself was frankly very high.
But you can’t write a play in ten days, naturally. When I get home to Girona, I still have a lot to do: writing, rewriting and rethinking. But I can say without any sort of doubt that these ten days have allowed me to lay the groundwork, which I think is solid, for what will end up being “Frontera” in the end. Thanks to the background research I’ve been able to do, the outline, finding the right tone for the characters (so important!), the plot and a good handful of scenes and dialogues I think are quite well put together.
I also have to mention the image theatre workshop I had the chance to give at L’Animal Escola de Teatre d’Escaldes-Engordany. It was a great group of people and we shared theatre games and reflected on the social construction of gender and gender stereotypes for over two hours.
I am thankful to Faber Andorra and Institut Ramon Llull for giving me the opportunity to do this residency. Truthfully, I have been very comfortable and felt very welcome. I would do it again, no question.
