Le figure della Costituzione at Teatro La Casetta, from October 8 to November 12, 2026

Le figure della Costituzione (Figures of the Constitution) is a free workshop in playwriting and figure theater for girls and boys aged 9 to 14, at Teatro La Casetta at Via Federico Borromeo 75, in Primavalle (Municipio XIV). The course is made up of six sessions, on October 8, 15, 22 and 29, already held, and on November 5 and 12, 2026, always at 16:45. Participation is free with mandatory booking, by phone at 334 8977384. For information you can also call 338 3707076, the number of Cantieri dello Spettacolo E.T.S., the association that runs the project. The theater can be reached on metro line A, Cornelia stop, and on buses 46, 49, 907, 907L and 916. The workshop is part of We Have a Dream, the program of shows, readings and workshops on the Constitution that crosses the northwestern outskirts of Rome and culminates on December 5, 2026, in a choral show.

Language: a performance based on dance, music or visual acts; no English version is announced, any spoken parts are in Italian.

Six afternoons in which a group of kids chooses an article of the Constitution, reads it, discusses it and turns it into a scene brought to life by figures built with their own hands. It's an idea that is simple and serious at the same time, in one of the small neighborhood theaters that keep figure theater alive in Rome. Here you'll find how to sign up, what happens in the sessions, who leads them, what the theater is like and how to get there.

Le figure della Costituzione in brief

Le figure della Costituzione is a course of six free afternoon sessions for girls and boys aged 9 to 14, led by Federica Mancini and Paolo Iorio for Cantieri dello Spettacolo at Teatro La Casetta. The work flows into the final show We Have a Dream on December 5, 2026.

The six dates

The program text published on Roma Capitale's culture portal lists six sessions: Thursday, October 8, 15, 22 and 29, Thursday, November 5 and 12, 2026. The summary page on the same portal gives the period as October 8 to November 5: to be safe, when booking it's best to have the full calendar confirmed, including the November 12 date.

Time and length

Sessions start at 16:45. The portal page gives an end time around 18:00, so sessions of just over an hour, compatible with getting out of school and with evening homework.

Who can take part

The workshop is for girls and boys aged 9 to 14. No previous theater experience is required: the course starts from reading the Constitution and from the basics of writing for the stage and building figures.

How much it costs

Nothing. Admission is free, with mandatory booking. The project is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Roma Capitale through the public call Lo spettacolo dal vivo fuori dal Centro 2026, in collaboration with SIAE.

What happens at the Le figure della Costituzione workshop

The Le figure della Costituzione workshop combines three activities: a close reading of the Constitution, playwriting, and building and animating theater figures. The program published by the organizers describes a real process of collective creation.

Starting from the Constitution

The first step is reading and studying the Italian Constitution. The participants choose the article to work on and look together for the most effective way to represent it. It's a concrete way to bring closer texts that at school are often met as a list to memorize: here an article becomes a story, with characters, conflict and resolution.

Playwriting

Through practical and creative activities the kids learn the basics of writing for the stage: who speaks, what they want, what stops them, how a scene ends. In the project they take on the role of the playwriting department of the final show, that is, of real authors, not performers of a script already written.

Building and animating the figures

The second half of the work concerns the fundamental principles of building, animating and using theater figures. The participants become the design and construction team for the stage figures that will go on stage in December. Teatro La Casetta, by its own description, is a space where tables and papier-mâché change places with the audience benches over the course of the day: the workshop takes place in a space designed exactly for this.

The final show on December 5

The work flows into We Have a Dream, scheduled for December 5, 2026: a choral show that brings all the departments of the spread-out workshop together in a single participatory stage action. Those who wrote and built in October will see their work on stage next to that of their peers from the other workshops.

We Have a Dream: the project behind Le figure della Costituzione

We Have a Dream is a multidisciplinary project by Cantieri dello Spettacolo that from September to December 2026 crosses the northwestern outskirts of Rome, from Primavalle to Bastogi, with 32 free events including shows, readings and workshops for young people.

80 years since the Constituent Assembly

The stated goal is to rediscover, through beauty and inclusion, the values of the Constitution 80 years after the Constituent Assembly took office. Particular attention goes to the role of the Mothers of the Constitution, the women who sat in the Assembly and helped write the Constitution.

A neighborhood network

The project brings together public institutions and nonprofit organizations: the ASL Roma 1 health authority, the Biblioteca Cornelia, ATER, the association Intersos Lab with the youth center of Ottavia, Teatro La Casetta, the Comitato Bastogi and the association Sunu Africa Oumy. The events take place in different spots in Municipi XIII and XIV.

The other workshops

Alongside Le figure della Costituzione, the program includes Dentro la scena, a theater workshop at Intersos Lab on Via della Stazione di Ottavia from October 14 to December 2, Immaginario, a theater workshop in the community hall of the Comitato Bastogi from October 30 to November 27, and Percussioni la colonna sonora, a percussion workshop at Teatro La Casetta from November 9 to 30. Each workshop is a department of the final show.

Readings and shows

The program also includes readings at the Biblioteca Cornelia: Resistenza sostantivo femminile, a reconstruction by Silvia Corsi, was held on October 16 at 17:00, and Storie di magia, amore e libertà is scheduled for November 19. On December 5, at Parco Dominique Green on Via San Igino Papa, the puppet show Princìpi con le ali is scheduled at 10:00 and La valigia di Charlot, a tribute to Charlie Chaplin, at 17:30.

Federica Mancini, Paolo Iorio and Cantieri dello Spettacolo

The Le figure della Costituzione workshop is led by Federica Mancini and Paolo Iorio for Cantieri dello Spettacolo E.T.S., the association that runs Teatro La Casetta. Federica Mancini is also the artistic director of the whole We Have a Dream project.

Cantieri dello Spettacolo

The cultural association Cantieri dello Spettacolo was born in 1996 from the meeting and merging of the long experience of authors and professionals from film, television and theater production. Since then it has devoted itself to teaching and to creating and promoting cultural and show projects, from theater to film, from music to literature.

The birth of the Casetta

In 2001 the association opened Teatro La Casetta, a multipurpose space for training and performance aimed, in the words chosen by its founders, at kids up to 90 years of age. The theater has become the base of the association's activities in Primavalle.

The choice of figure theater

The Casetta's distinctive feature is its promotion of figure theater, from courses to the program. The theater calls it a genre that, wrongly and only in Italy, is relegated to childhood: a clear stance, which explains why a workshop on the Constitution can go through puppets and figures without losing seriousness.

A neighborhood theater open to Europe

The Casetta's program hosts companies from all over Europe and beyond, alongside shows conceived and made by the children and teenagers of the theater school. The space is made available to school groups, to young people who run it for other young people, to parents and grandparents with children.

Teatro La Casetta in Primavalle

Teatro La Casetta is at Via Federico Borromeo 75, in Primavalle, in Municipio XIV, on the northwestern outskirts of Rome. It's a small multipurpose space that changes over the course of the day from workshop to auditorium.

A box that changes

The theater describes itself as a tiny magic box: in the morning and afternoon there are tables, tools, papier-mâché, and in the evening the audience benches take their place. Shows are conceived and made in the same space, and anyone taking part in a workshop sees how a figure is born from raw material all the way to the stage.

Theater school and workshop

Alongside its show program, the Casetta is a theater school and an arts and crafts workshop. The courses for children and teenagers produce shows that enter the program next to the visiting companies: a continuity between training and stage that is the hallmark of this place.

Primavalle and surroundings

Primavalle is a working-class neighborhood on the northwestern outskirts, between Via Boccea, Via di Torrevecchia and the Policlinico Gemelli area. The Monte Mario reserve and the Monte Mario observatory are the nearest green destinations for a weekend walk. The same area hosted in summer 2026 the free outdoor screenings of Vivi il Cinema at Santa Maria della Pietà.

How to get to Teatro La Casetta

Teatro La Casetta can be reached on metro line A, Cornelia stop, and on bus lines 46, 49, 907, 907L and 916, according to the directions published by the organizers. The address is Via Federico Borromeo 75.

By metro

The Cornelia stop on line A is the most convenient for those coming from the center, from Termini or from Ottaviano. From the metro you continue by bus toward Primavalle or on foot, working out the times with the Roman public transit app. For the other We Have a Dream events, the Battistini stop on metro A and the Gemelli and Ottavia stations on the FM3 railway are also useful.

By bus

The lines listed for the theater are 46, 49, 907, 907L and 916. It's best to check the stop nearest to Via Federico Borromeo before setting off, especially if the kid is traveling alone.

By car

Primavalle isn't a limited traffic zone, and finding parking in the residential streets is generally easier than in the historic center. When schools let out, traffic on Via Boccea and Via di Torrevecchia can be heavy: better to leave with a few minutes' margin for the 16:45 start.

How to book Le figure della Costituzione

Booking for the Le figure della Costituzione workshop is mandatory and is done by phone at 334 8977384, the number listed on Roma Capitale's culture portal. For general information Cantieri dello Spettacolo answers at 338 3707076 and at cantieri.dello.spettacolo96@gmail.com.

What to ask on the phone

When booking it's best to confirm the full calendar of the six sessions, the participant's age, any materials to bring and participation in the final show on December 5, which presumably requires a few extra rehearsals.

Attendance

The workshop is a course, not a series of one-off sessions: the work of one afternoon continues in the next. Anyone who signs up should make sure to attend all the sessions, otherwise they lose the thread of the collective creation.

Practical tips for families

Le figure della Costituzione is designed for kids aged 9 to 14, an age range that covers the last years of primary school and middle school. For families in the neighborhood it's a rare opportunity: a free, high-quality theater workshop with a concrete final goal.

Clothing

Building figures involves glue, paper, paint, sometimes papier-mâché: comfortable clothes that can get dirty are the wisest choice.

Drop-off and pick-up

With a 16:45 start and an end around 18:00, whoever brings the kids can wait nearby or come back at the end time. It's best to ask the organizers how pick-up of the youngest is handled.

Accessibility

For accessibility needs, reduced mobility or specific educational needs, calling the organizers in advance is the right approach: the Casetta's workshops are by vocation aimed at a broad and diverse public.

The Constitution told with figures

The Constitution of the Italian Republic was written by the Constituent Assembly elected on June 2, 1946, approved on December 22, 1947, and came into force on January 1, 1948. 2026 marks 80 years since the election of the Constituent Assembly and its taking office, the anniversary that gives meaning to We Have a Dream.

Why figure theater

Figure theater, that is, puppets, marionettes, dolls, shadows and animated objects, has a precious quality when working with kids: it shifts attention from the body of the performer to the figure brought to life. A shy kid who would never get on a stage can give voice to a puppet they built themselves. And an abstract principle, like equality or freedom of speech, is easier to represent with a symbolic figure than with a flesh-and-blood actor.

The Mothers of the Constitution

The project pays specific attention to the Mothers of the Constitution. 21 women sat in the Assembly out of more than 500 members, and some were part of the committee charged with drafting the text. It's a chapter often skipped at school, which the kids can discover by working on the articles on equality and rights.

The places of the Constitution in Rome

For families who want to continue the journey in the city, Rome offers the places of its institutions: Montecitorio, seat of the Chamber of Deputies, where the Constituent Assembly met, Palazzo Madama, seat of the Senate, the Quirinal Palace, residence of the President of the Republic. For the memory of the Resistance, the Museo storico della Liberazione on Via Tasso.

A curious fact about Le figure della Costituzione at Teatro La Casetta, from October 8 to November 12, 2026

The nicest curiosity about this workshop is the role it gives the kids. In the We Have a Dream project each workshop isn't a course for its own sake but a «department» of a single production, as in a real theater: those attending Dentro la scena at Intersos Lab in Ottavia work as an acting company, those following Percussioni la colonna sonora at the Casetta build the music, and those taking part in Le figure della Costituzione become both the playwriting department and the team that designs and builds the stage figures. The organizers use an old word to describe this shift: the participants become the «maestranze», the skilled crew, of the creative process. It's the same logic as Renaissance workshops or the set-building shops of the great opera houses, applied to 10- or 12-year-olds in a neighborhood theater. Then there's a second detail worth noting. The starting point isn't a script but an article of the Constitution chosen by the kids themselves: they decide which principle to tell and look for its stage form. This reverses the usual relationship between school and the Constitution, where the text comes from above and has to be learned. Here the text has to be questioned, discussed, turned into characters. For a generation raised in front of screens, building with their hands a figure representing freedom of speech or the right to education is an exercise in citizenship more effective than many lectures.

Something nobody tells you about Le figure della Costituzione at Teatro La Casetta, from October 8 to November 12, 2026

What you won't read in the presentations is that workshops of this kind, free and led by theater professionals, are very rare in Rome outside the halls of the center. They exist because a public call, Lo spettacolo dal vivo fuori dal Centro, funds cultural projects in the outskirts with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Roma Capitale, and because organizations like Cantieri dello Spettacolo know how to write them and see them through. The places available, however, aren't unlimited, and booking is mandatory: if you're interested, don't wait until the last week. A second little-mentioned aspect concerns the dates. The program text talks about six sessions, until November 12, while the summary page on the same portal ends the period on November 5. It's no small detail for a family that has to fit six afternoons around sports, homework and siblings: on the phone, it's best to get all the dates precisely, and also ask if extra rehearsals are planned for the December 5 show. Third point: figure theater is wrongly considered in Italy a genre for small children, as the Casetta itself points out with a touch of polemic. A 13-year-old may turn up their nose at the idea of puppets. It's worth explaining that this isn't about watching a puppet show, but about writing, designing and building one, and that contemporary figure theater in Europe is an adult, sophisticated language.

My advice for Le figure della Costituzione at Teatro La Casetta, from October 8 to November 12, 2026

My advice to parents is to treat this workshop as a commitment, not a pastime. Six consecutive afternoons, work that builds week by week, a final show in which every participant has a role: it's an experience that pays off more if the kid lives it from start to finish. Sign them up only if you can guarantee attendance at all the sessions, including the final one, and if the kid agrees. A workshop endured reluctantly is wasted time for them and for the group. Second piece of advice: before the first session, leaf through the Constitution together at home, even just the first 12 articles, the fundamental principles. There's no need to prepare, but arriving with an idea of the article that interests them makes the group choice easier and gives the kid a sense of responsibility toward their own work. The articles on equality, work, school and freedom of speech lend themselves very well to becoming scenes. Third: make sure you see the December 5 show, and bring the grandparents too. That's where the work of October and November takes on meaning, and seeing your own puppet or your own line inside a choral production, next to the work of the kids from Ottavia and Bastogi, is the moment the participants will remember. Finally, if the workshop works, find out about the Casetta's theater school: it's the natural next step for those who discover they have a passion.

Another well-known fact, yet seldom mentioned

That the Italian Constitution was born from the Constituent Assembly elected on June 2, 1946, the same day as the referendum between monarchy and republic, is studied at school. Less often remembered is that on that day women voted in a national political election for the first time, and that 21 women sat among the members of the Assembly: the Mothers of the Constitution, to whom the We Have a Dream project pays particular attention. They were few, less than four percent of the Assembly, from very different parties and backgrounds, and some joined the committee that prepared the text. Their contribution can be read in some of the most important articles, starting with the principles of equality among citizens without distinction of sex. It's a fact known to historians and increasingly present in school curricula, but for many adults it's still a discovery. For a workshop aimed at girls and boys aged 9 to 14 it's a powerful starting point: it lets you tell them that the Constitution isn't a text that fell from the sky, but the result of discussions, compromises and battles by real people, some of whom were the age of today's participants' grandparents. The reading organized by the project at the Biblioteca Cornelia on October 16, Resistenza sostantivo femminile by Silvia Corsi, went in the same direction: reconstructing the role of women in the years that led to the Republic. Those attending the Thursday workshop could combine the two.

The right photo to take at Le figure della Costituzione at Teatro La Casetta, from October 8 to November 12, 2026

The right photo, at a workshop for kids, is first of all a respectful one: images of minors are taken and shared only with the families' consent and following the organizers' guidelines. That said, there are three moments worth recording, for yourself and for the kid. The first is the figure under construction: the papier-mâché still damp, the skeleton of a puppet, the materials scattered on the Casetta's tables before the audience benches come back. It's the image that best tells what a figure theater workshop is, and one the kid will be happy to find again in a few years. The second is the written page: the sheet with the chosen article of the Constitution, underlined and annotated, next to the first draft of the scene. A photo in natural light, from above, with the kid's hands holding the sheet, is worth more than a posed portrait. The third moment is the December 5 show, but here the rule changes: during the stage action it's better to keep your phone in your pocket and watch. Photos are taken before or after, with the finished puppet in the hands of its author, maybe in front of the theater entrance or at the venue of the final show. If you want a photo of the neighborhood, the green area of Monte Mario offers, on clear October days, views over the city few Romans know.

Some important events that happened here

The history of Teatro La Casetta is short by Roman standards, but it's a dense neighborhood story. It all begins in 1996, when the cultural association Cantieri dello Spettacolo was born from the meeting of authors and professionals with long experience in film, television and theater production. For a few years the association devoted itself to teaching and cultural projects, from theater to film to music to literature. In 2001 it opened Teatro La Casetta on Via Federico Borromeo, in Primavalle: a multipurpose space for training and performance that aims to welcome an audience from children up to 90-year-olds. The choice to open a theater in the outskirts, far from the circuit of the central halls, is already a statement of intent. In the following years the Casetta built its identity around figure theater, with courses and a program, and hosted companies from all over Europe alongside shows produced by the kids of its school. It became a reference point for schools, families and youth groups in Municipio XIV. In 2026 the theater is one of the hubs of the We Have a Dream project, winner of the public call Lo spettacolo dal vivo fuori dal Centro, supported by the Ministry of Culture and Roma Capitale in collaboration with SIAE: 32 free events between Primavalle and Bastogi dedicated to the 80 years of the Constituent Assembly. The Le figure della Costituzione workshop and the percussion one take place within these very walls, and from here the figures that will go on stage on December 5 set out.

Who has passed through Le figure della Costituzione at Teatro La Casetta, from October 8 to November 12, 2026

In 25 years, mostly ordinary people have passed through the Casetta: children, teenagers, parents, grandparents, teachers with their classes. This is the vocation of the place, which the theater itself describes as a space open to school groups, to young people who run it for other young people, to families with little ones. But its stage has also seen figure theater companies from all over Europe and beyond, hosted in the program next to shows conceived and made by the students of the theater school. For an outer neighborhood, seeing puppeteers and marionette makers from other countries up close is an opportunity that elsewhere requires a ticket to the center or to a festival. Among the people who run the theater are Federica Mancini, artistic director and the association's contact person, and Paolo Iorio, who leads the Le figure della Costituzione workshop with her. Cantieri dello Spettacolo was born from the meeting of film, television and theater professionals, and this origin shows in the way the projects are set up, where playwriting, construction and directing are treated as crafts to be learned. This fall the kids of the percussion workshop also pass through the Casetta, building the soundtrack of the final show from November 9 to 30. And on December 5, on stage, the names of all the participants in the project's spread-out workshops, from the families of Primavalle to those of Ottavia and Bastogi, will enter the small history of this theater.

Other We Have a Dream events this fall

Those taking part in Le figure della Costituzione can also follow the project's other free events in Municipi XIII and XIV, all organized by Cantieri dello Spettacolo.

At the library

At the Biblioteca Cornelia, Via Cornelia 45, the reading Resistenza sostantivo femminile by Silvia Corsi on October 16 at 17:00, and Storie di magia, amore e libertà on November 19 at 17:00.

The other workshops for kids

Dentro la scena at Intersos Lab, Via della Stazione di Ottavia 129, from October 14 to December 2, Immaginario in the hall of the Comitato Bastogi, Via Arnaldo Canepa 40, from October 30 to November 27, Percussioni la colonna sonora at Teatro La Casetta from November 9 to 30.

December 5 at Parco Dominique Green

On December 5 Parco Dominique Green, Via San Igino Papa 89, hosts at 10:00 the puppet show Princìpi con le ali, Le avventure di zio Coniglio e zio Coyote, and at 17:30 La valigia di Charlot, a tribute to Charlie Chaplin. On the same day the choral show We Have a Dream is staged.

Fall in Rome for families

October and November are good months for kids' activities in Rome: schools have settled into their rhythm, the days are still fairly long and the afternoons mild.

The weather

In October afternoon temperatures are generally pleasant, but the fall rains begin. In November it's already dark at 18:00. For the trip home from the workshop it's best to arrange for an adult or a group of classmates.

An idea for the weekend

If you want to broaden the theme, a visit to the palaces of the institutions in the historic center, on the days they're open to the public, completes the journey through the Constitution with the places where the Republic works every day.

Frequently asked questions about Le figure della Costituzione

When is the Le figure della Costituzione workshop held?

The Le figure della Costituzione workshop is held at Teatro La Casetta in six sessions: October 8, 15, 22 and 29 and November 5 and 12, 2026, always at 16:45. The portal's summary page gives November 5 as the end date: it's best to confirm the calendar by phone.

How much does it cost to take part in Le figure della Costituzione?

Le figure della Costituzione is free, with mandatory booking. The project is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Roma Capitale through the call Lo spettacolo dal vivo fuori dal Centro 2026, in collaboration with SIAE.

How do you book Le figure della Costituzione?

Booking for Le figure della Costituzione is done by phone at 334 8977384. For general information Cantieri dello Spettacolo answers at 338 3707076 and at cantieri.dello.spettacolo96@gmail.com.

What age is the workshop for?

The Le figure della Costituzione workshop is for girls and boys aged 9 to 14. No previous theater experience is needed: it starts from reading the Constitution and from the basics of writing and building figures.

Where is Teatro La Casetta?

Teatro La Casetta is at Via Federico Borromeo 75, in Primavalle, in Rome's Municipio XIV. It can be reached on metro line A, Cornelia stop, and on buses 46, 49, 907, 907L and 916.

What happens during the sessions?

In the Le figure della Costituzione sessions the kids choose an article of the Constitution, write a scene about it and build and animate the theater figures that represent it, working as the playwriting department and construction team of the final show.

What is the We Have a Dream show on December 5?

We Have a Dream is the choral show on December 5, 2026, that brings all the workshops of the Cantieri dello Spettacolo project together in a single participatory stage action, inspired by the Constitution's values of equality, citizenship and inclusion.

Who leads the workshop?

The Le figure della Costituzione workshop is led by Federica Mancini and Paolo Iorio for Cantieri dello Spettacolo E.T.S., the association founded in 1996 that has run Teatro La Casetta since 2001. Federica Mancini is the artistic director of We Have a Dream.

Final advice

Call right away, confirm all the dates and sign the kid up only if they can be there every Thursday: the value of Le figure della Costituzione lies in continuity, and in the day they'll see their own figure move on stage in front of the neighborhood. Six afternoons at the Casetta teach more citizenship than many textbook pages, and they do it with hands covered in glue, which is the best way to learn at that age. For families and groups who then want to take the kids to see the places of the Republic in the center of Rome, from Montecitorio to the Quirinale, a well-built itinerary turns a civics lesson into a memorable day.

Article written by the editorial team of Tour Leader Pro, contact them for Private/Corporate/V.I.P. Tours and Experiences.

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