WHO WE ARE

LAG teatro grew out of an idea by Mirko Rizzi, developed in collaboration with Alice Bestetti, Luca Colombo, and Gloria Grilli.

It is an ongoing creative laboratory designed to train a new generation of theater artists and educators who can move fluidly between theater for young audiences and contemporary performance research. At the heart of the project is a commitment to passing on, preserving, and further developing the theater education methodology that Mirko Rizzi has shaped over thirty years in the field.

A wealth of experience that now chooses to become an “interruption,” making space for new thinking.

The Interruption Manifesto

To us, LAG is not a system error. It is a declaration of intent.

We are immersed in a relentless flow, where speed is the only metric and efficiency the only value. Young people—and often all of us—are expected to perform constantly, stay connected, and never fall behind.

We choose to be the interruption.

We are LAG because we claim the right to an unplanned pause.

We are that moment of creative uncertainty when the screen freezes but the imagination comes back to life. In that fragment of suspended time, when mechanical action fails, space opens up for wonder and poetry.

In our educational and artistic practice:

To Stop Is to Listen: We do not seek immediate answers; we make time for questions.
Uncertainty Is Discovery: We do not fear an empty stage or doubt; we inhabit both. It is there, in the interruption between stimulus and response, that identity takes shape and asserts itself.
Error Is Art: We transform the stumbles of everyday life into aesthetic acts.

Through our productions and our educational practice, we restore time to thought.

We stop the rush so that movement can regain its meaning.

LAG teatro. Nothing more, nothing less.

LUCA COLOMBO

Actor and Theater Educator

Trained under Mirko Rizzi, he carries forward and applies Rizzi’s advanced theater education methodology. His work is distinguished by a versatility that brings together educational expertise and artistic project management:

Theater Education: He independently designs and leads theater programs for children and preteens, working regularly in several elementary schools—including Ornago, Mezzago, and Aicurzio—and in municipal programs.
Performance and Directing: An active stage and screen actor whose work includes short films and experimental theater, he also has experience coordinating workshops as a director.

A co-founder of LAG teatro, an artistic project operating under Smart Soc. Coop., he contributes to the management and delivery of training projects led by Mirko Rizzi.

ALICE BESTETTI

Actress, Theater Educator, and Technical Director

Trained under Mirko Rizzi, she carries forward and applies Rizzi’s advanced theater education methodology. Her versatile practice spans the entire theater-making process:

Theater Education: She designs and leads theater programs for all age groups, from elementary school children to adults, using a structured approach and working with full autonomy.
Performance and Writing: An award-winning actress and writer (Premio Gavioli), she focuses on playwriting that combines experimentation and irony.
Technical Production: She serves as the company’s Technical Director and has hands-on expertise in sound and lighting.

A co-founder of LAG teatro, an artistic project operating under Smart Soc. Coop., she works continuously on the training and production projects led by Mirko Rizzi.

GLORIA GRILLI

Actress and Theater Educator

Her work focuses on film acting, text-based theater, and experimental performance. Alongside her work as a performer, she teaches theater, passing on the methodology she learned within Mirko Rizzi’s artistic ensemble.

Acting: Trained for the screen at Accademia Artisti, she has worked on projects ranging from RAI television productions to independent films and auteur shorts. Her theater work focuses on contemporary drama.
Workshops: She leads theater programs for children and adults, bringing together her studies in education and her stage practice as tools for connection and discovery.

A co-founder of LAG teatro, an artistic project operating under Smart Soc. Coop., she takes part in the company’s production and training projects led by Mirko Rizzi.

MIRKO RIZZI

Artistic Director

Theater Educator, Actor, and Director

A professional actor and educator since 1996, he has extensive expertise in theater for young audiences and theater education. Over thirty years, he has developed an advanced theater education methodology, refined through hundreds of performances in Italy and abroad and sustained workshop practice.

His professional profile brings together multidisciplinary expertise developed directly in the field:

Theater Education and Training: An expert in designing programs for every age group, he leads workshops with an average of approximately 40 classes each school year, with peaks of more than 50 active projects. Since 2012, he has taught at the Scuola di Teatro Binario 7 in Monza.
Performance and Directing: A professional actor trained with Corrado Deri, Roberto Corona, and Silvano Antonelli, he has worked regularly with Italian theater companies recognized by the Ministry of Culture. He has also received international recognition, including winning the Wandertheater Festival in Radebeul, Germany.
Artistic Direction and Outreach: Founder and Artistic Director of LAG teatro, he leads a group of young actors and theater educators. Since 2014, he has curated elt.one, a blog devoted to sharing experiences in theater education.
Composition and Technical Production: A composer and multi-instrumentalist, he has created more than 15 original scores for Italian and international theater productions. He personally oversees technical production, including audio and video software and lighting systems.
Social and Academic Work: He has designed social theater programs for people with intellectual disabilities. The rigor of his methodology has been examined in several university theses devoted to theater for young audiences and disability.