Participants:
Mercè Saumell
Born in Barcelona, she holds a doctorate from the UB with a thesis on Catalan theatre companies. She has taught at universities in Salamanca and Girona and, since 2001, she is a permanent teacher at the Institut del Teatre de Barcelona where she directs Serveis Culturals (2009-2016). She is a teacher on the official master’s degree MUET (UAB-IT-UPF), and has supervised a number of doctoral theses and two postdoctoral tutorials. She has participated in various accredited research groups (CSIC, EU Sòcrates Program, UB GREGA Group, Project HERA). She took part in the project Independent Theatre in Spain (1962-1980), led by the Reina Sofia Museum and the CDT in Madrid. She has had articles published in national journals (Pausa, Estudis Escènics, Don Galán) and international journals (Contemporary Theatre Review, Critical Stages). She is author of the books El teatre contemporani (2006), La Fura dels Baus en quarentena (2019), and co-editor of Escenarios compartidos: cine y teatro en España en el umbral del siglo XXI (2008).
Pep Gatell
President of Épica Foundation and Artistic Director of La Fura dels Baus. He has taken part in more than 250 performances, integrating all kinds of technology and innovation, which have enriched the language of his company. He directed the first digital theatre labs sharing spaces for 3D videoconferencing. He developed an interactive platform in mobile app format launched at M.U.R.S (2014). This year he has presented 3 digital shows as an artistic response to the COVID19 crisis.
He has a degree in Audiovisual Communication from Valencia University and a master’s degree in Advanced Reporting from Ramon Llull University. He started as a cultural journalist for the magazine TeatreBCN and has continued to write for publications like Hamlet, El Temps and Time Out Barcelona. He currently directs the magazine Entreacte, as well as working as a theatre critic for El Periódico de Catalunya. He coordinates the Street Performance Arts Awards and is co-author of a book of theatre essays called El carrer és nostre.
