On November 25th, the Mazzacorati Theater in Bologna transformed into a gym, hosting a self-awareness training “in preparation for the manifestation of one’s personal and collective boundaries and ‘noes.’” At the entrance of the villa, the gym’s manager welcomed the audience, inviting them to perform three self-stretching exercises before entering the “No Gym.”

In the first stretching exercise, a trainer introduced herself as a caryatid and encouraged the spectators to adopt plastic poses inspired by a personal myth that influences their identity (identification). In the second exercise, a coach prompted participants to let themselves fall into the arms of others while recounting a moment of powerlessness (relaxation). In the third and final warm-up exercise, participants were asked by the first trainer to write a question directed at their future selves (extension).

Inside the building, the anteroom hosted a practice of shedding clothing and internal toxicity, necessary to enter the theater. The theater itself became the gym, featuring two exercises dedicated to dreams, with brushes to paint images related to them on the body.

In the center of the theater, sitting on a staircase, a trainer wore a mirror on her face and invited those reflecting to narrate about the image, while the first trainer overlaid her voice describing what she felt about herself. On stage, a sewing circle proposed the construction of accessories symbolizing personal fears. In a square drawn on the floor, a couple of people drew their respective boundaries on each other.

The final practice took place on a narrow staircase, where participants whispered their desires to the caryatid trainer; she announced them from the balcony: “Grace desires to live!” “Sara desires the same love for the same love!” “Teo desires to live in a world of cubes like Minecraft!”