Tatiana Lepore: The Role of the Acting Coach between Creative Mediation and Functionality

In recent years, the figure of the acting coach has become increasingly crucial in the Italian production scene. This role, which was almost absent on Italian sets until a few years ago, has become a key component in experimental productions, art cinema, and, recently, even serial productions. By analyzing the path of Tatiana Lepore—who began her activity with Saverio Costanzo, then developed a long and fertile collaboration with Alice Rohrwacher and is today one of the most active coaches—it is possible to understand the tasks of this role, which takes care of the acting department by playing a mediating role between direction and screenwriting. Lepore’s path also reflects the rapid evolutions that this profession has undergone in recent years, and allows for an investigation of the different declinations of coaching (from creative mediation to functionality, from working with both nonprofessionals and professionals) in contemporary productions, offering methodological insights into the analysis of the pragmatic dimension of acting and its intertwining with theatrical practices and specific pedagogical approaches.