ACCIONA and Arbolé present a new space at Expo 2008: the new Arbolé Theatre

10 July 2008.- ACCIONA, a sponsor of the Zaragoza International Exposition, and the Arbolé Theatre Company today presented the new Expo stage in Zaragoza where the "Stories of Water at the ACCIONA Theatre", a series that seeks to make children aware of sustainability in an entertaining, didactic format, will be performed from now on. Located in the "Luis Buñuel" Water Park and with seating for 225, the new Arbolé Theatre aims to become a central point of Aragonese culture.

The new theatre, which is the result of combined efforts by Compañía Arbolé and ACCIONA, will be a space for children and culture during the exposition. Once the Expo concludes, Compañía Arbolé will continue to use the theatre, enabling children and adults to enjoy new works and workshops. The theatre opening ceremony was attended by Jerónimo Blasco, Head of Operations at Expo Zaragoza 2008, José María Barea, creator of the "Stories of Water" and Head of Operations at the ACCIONA Pavilion, Esteban Villarrocha, Manager of Arbolé Theatre, and Iñaki Alday, the architect who designed the Theatre.

"In addition to sponsoring the Expo and participating in its construction, we firmly believed that our presence here should include activities that foster sustainable development from the standpoint of culture with a specific focus on the citizens of the future: children," said José María Barea, creator of the "Stories of Water" and Head of Operations at the ACCIONA Pavilion.  "We are delighted to be working with a company of the calibre of Arbolé, which has been entertaining young and not-so-young Aragonese for 28 years."

Esteban Villarrocha, Manager of the Arbolé Theatre, said that "after 28 years as a company and 18 years in children's theatre at our Actur Theatre, we felt it was time to move on. The tender organised by the Expo to manage a children's theatre in the Water Park forced us to make additional efforts and expand our horizons in the field of performance for children and young adults. Consequently, we are grateful to the Expo for enabling us to build this cultural centre."

The theatre will be officially inaugurated in October 2008. The Arbolé company, which is working on its programme of performances for the coming season, will turn the theatre into a centre of performing arts for children and young people which will be part of the European Network of Children's Theatre.

The Stories of Water at the ACCIONA Theatre
As one of the activities at its pavilion, on 14 June ACCIONA inaugurated the "Stories of Water at the ACCIONA Theatre", which are adaptations in several formats (theatre, ballet, puppets, etc.) of the Stories of Water animations produced by ACCIONA for Expo 2008, based on traditions and stories about water drawn from many cultures around the world.  The series of performances for children, which have been successfully staged on the "Music Balcony", will now be transferred to the Arbolé Theatre, which will be used by four companies: La Industrial Teatrera, Lamar de Marionetas, La Mar and Arbolé.

The initiative seeks to present the idea of sustainability as a challenge and to raise children's awareness of the importance of water in an entertaining, educational way. To date, 7350 children have enjoyed the daily performances of the first story, by the Epse Clown troupe.

In order to increase environmental awareness among young people, children attending the theatre receive a copy of the Stories of Water series on DVD and a book entitled "Los Ecosféricos" about superheroes whose mission is to save the planet from pollution and climate change.

Arbolé—entertaining children in Aragon for nearly 30 years
Arbolé Theatre came into being in 1979 as a small puppet theatre, later becoming the first professional children's theatre company in Aragon. In recent years, it has participated in co-productions with other companies in theatre for children and adults. Arbolé has transcended its roots in puppets and is now involved in production, programming, exhibition, distribution and training.  

ACCIONA is one of Spain's leading corporations, with operations in infrastructure, energy, water and services in more than thirty countries in five continents. In 2007, ACCIONA reported 7.953 billion euro in revenues (a 26.8% increase) and 1.407 billion euro in EBITDA (46.6% more).