We had an idea: to build connections with professionals working at the intersection of culture, art and business, using a contemporary language to create new storytelling opportunities for our clients. In this first article, we meet director and playwright Francesca Merli, who shares how theatre can unlock powerful communication potential within organisations.
The word “Factory”, now widely used in creative circles, originally referred to Andy Warhol’s famous studio-home: a gathering place for artists, intellectuals and visionaries in New York during the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
And it was precisely the idea of the “Factory” that came to mind when, driven by a mix of chance encounters, shared interests and common passions, we brought together two worlds that may seem distant but actually have much in common: “theatre and business”.
We began imagining a different approach to innovation one that values not only technology, but also the human capabilities each of us brings to the table. The result is a network of professionals capable of transforming ideas and needs into services: from training and soft-skill development to event design, internal communication and stakeholder engagement.
To launch our “Red Factory”, we are delighted to introduce an inspiring collaborator: Francesca Merli, an artist whose work explores reality and transforms it into experiences of beauty, meaning and poetry.
Francesca, you are a director and playwright. How would you introduce yourself to someone who has never heard of your work?
I would do it by telling you about two of my productions.
The first is called “The Bank of Dreams”. It has toured throughout Italy and explores a simple yet profound question: what do people dream about throughout their lives—from childhood to old age? It is an emotional anthropological journey that seeks to give voice to the stories of the people we meet, because dreams contain both the memory of who we once were and our hopes and fears about what lies ahead.
The second production is “In a State of Grace”, another theatre-based investigation featuring children and teenagers, both with and without disabilities. Their parents appear on screen, observing them from afar. It is a story about the unconditional love between parents and children, a bond that transcends every challenge. At its heart, it is a coming-of-age story a kind of modern “Pinocchio” in which young people must find their own path towards adulthood and independence.
You describe your work as a “theatrical investigation”. What do you mean by that?
Together with my creative team, we map a territory whether physical or symbolic and meet the people who inhabit it. We interview them, ask how they are, what they think about a particular topic, film them or invite them onto the stage.
Their stories become the foundation of our performances.
People are like books: each one contains countless stories waiting to be told.
Sometimes these artistic processes intersect with the business world.
Absolutely. For years I have worked with organisations that want to communicate what they do and who they are, but through the human and relational approach that only theatre can offer.
In fact, I prefer not to speak of “companies” at all. I prefer to think of them as “communities of people” small worlds made up of many different groups: managers, employees, consultants, sales networks and more.
There is always something that connects the story of an organisation with the story of each individual within it. It might be a shared experience, a value, an anecdote, a relationship or a mission.
Why is that person part of that organisation? What brought them there? What do they dream about? Which values do they share with others?
These are the questions that matter.
Why can bringing theatre and art into an organisation be so surprising?
Because today there is a strong need for self-expression and for spaces where creativity can be channelled.
If people are unable to express their identity at work not only who they are, but also the skills, experiences and passions they bring with them then something important is being lost.
Bringing theatre into an organisation means providing people, and the organisation itself, with new communication tools. It means guiding them in how to use those tools and then empowering them to apply them in their everyday work.
What impact does this artistic process have on people who do not normally engage with the arts?
By the end of the journey, people are almost always deeply involved.
Encountering theatre is an extraordinary experience. Not all of us are artists, of course, but all of us can use artistic processes to become creators.
The first challenge is allowing ourselves to do so-which is not as obvious as it sounds. Then comes finding the key that unlocks that free and creative part of ourselves, while still working within a set of rules and structures.
It feels like discovering something that has always been there.
I often hear people say:
“So I can move people emotionally too.”
“I can sing as well.”
“I can say this out loud.”
Whatever its final purpose, this approach gives people greater self-determination and self-awareness qualities they can then bring back into their everyday professional lives.
Whether you are leading a training programme or directing a corporate event, what are the communication benefits, both internally and externally?
My role is often to help organisations identify values that may be hidden or not yet fully expressed, and make them visible.
First and foremost, internally.
We should never forget that people themselves are ambassadors of communication. That is why investing in them and taking care of them is so important.
Secondly, theatre develops new skills by legitimising the use of abilities that people already possess in their human and professional toolkit: empathy, lateral thinking, listening, dialogue and much more.
Can you give us some examples?
Through theatre, people learn to exchange perspectives and step into someone else’s shoes. They learn to listen, observe, suspend judgement, accept and welcome different viewpoints.
They also learn to overcome the embarrassment or fear of speaking in front of an audience, to communicate with confidence, to use their voice effectively, and to make their body language part of the message.
Most importantly, they learn how to tell the story of a job, a project or an activity in a way that is both precise and authentic.
At a time when “innovation” increasingly means technology and artificial intelligence, where does theatre fit in? What is its real added value?
Artificial intelligence and new technologies offer us an ever-growing multiplicity of perspectives, layers and overlaps. We are constantly exposed to visual and informational overload, making it difficult to focus on what truly deserves our attention.
Innovation is undoubtedly a product of its time, and there is no denying its importance. Yet, as director Łukasz Twarkowski states in “Oracle”, recently staged at Milan’s Piccolo Teatro: “To understand the machine, you will become the machine.”
It is a powerful warning and a frightening one because we do not want, and must not, become machines ourselves.
In this context, theatre reaffirms its value precisely because it slows us down. It helps us focus. It creates a shared experience of presence, attention and listening.
Technology can bring enormous benefits to humanity. The crucial question remains: “how, and for what purpose, do we integrate technological discoveries into human intelligence?”