Part II of 3 part series: Salon Radio and Kairos Italy Theater presents: Tania Kass (A Mother’s Heart), Feerica Cellini (Dhana And The Rosebuds), and Giorgia Penzo (Le gemelle Mejerchold)

International Women Artists’ Salon is proud to continue our annual partnership with Kairos Italy Theater (KIT) in presenting magnificent Italian women theater professionals that are selected to participate in KIT’s annual In Scena! Italian Theater Festival.

This year we present a three-part podcast series to introduce to you talented women in Italian Theater that KIT brings to New York City for May 7^th through the 21^st of 2018…

Five Boroughs, 12 Shows, 15 Days…Reserve your FREE tickets today (shows are already selling out). Take a peak…

Part II 

This episode is hosted by IWAS founder Heidi Russell with Laura Caparrotti, founder of Kairos Italy Theater, presenting Tania Kass (A Mother’s Heart), Feerica Cellini (Dhana And The Rosebuds), and Giorgia Penzo (Le gemelle Mejerchold). Salon Radio is rounded out with our Women in The Arts world bulletin highlighting news about women in all The Arts, from editor Barbara Sullivan, and our Salon Bulletin highlighting Salon and Salonista activities and partnerships. This podcast was recorded at our production partner Funkadelic Studios with sound engineer Jade Zabric. 

****************

Kairos Italy Theater (KIT), the preeminent Italian theater company in New York, brings back to NY for 6th edition IN SCENA!, the first Italian theater festival to take place in all 5 NYC boroughs. This 15-day festival will offer 12 fully-staged productions from Italy, special events, readings, among other events and activities. All are presented in Italian and English or with English supertitles, curated by Kairos Italy Theater.  The 2018 edition features shows bringing real stories about immigration (to and from Italy), the post WWII time, discrimination of LGBT under Fascism, among others. ADMISSION IS FREE TO ALL EVENTS (with suggested donation.) for further information and to reserve a seat go to www.inscenany.com. 

 

Save the dates for this episode's guests' shows...

A Mother’s Heart (Cuore di mamma)

May 14 and 15 8pm – The Brick (Brooklyn)

 

Dhana And The Rosebuds (Dhana e I boccioli di rosa)

May 14 7pm The Brick (Brooklyn)

 

The Mejerchold Twins (Le gemelle Mejerchold)

May 17 8pm - Bernie Wohl (Manhattan)
May 18 8pm – The Brick (Brooklyn)

 

 ***************************************

A MOTHER’S HEART

In English

By Daniela Dellavalle adapted and directed by Tania Kass, with Alice Lussiana Parente, Selamawit Worku, Marianne Goodell

Ambrosia Production, New York

 

SYNOPSIS

We’re in the criminal wing of a hospital, in one of those countries where the death penalty is the only acceptable punishment for those who commit a serious crime. Mary has just killed her father, and tried to kill her mother. She is now forced to talk about herself, her life, her most hidden thoughts with a stranger, a psychiatrist who is tasked with verifying her mental state. But Mary isn’t up for it. She’s not crazy. She’s simply filled with hatred. A hatred that’s nothing more than the product of a society that deals in schemes, that forces people to make sacrifices. The hatred of someone who felt loved in the wrong way, imperfectly. Mary is irreverent, seductive, impertinent; she tries to destabilize the happy and unflappable microcosm that the psychiatrist surrounds herself with. The psychiatrist is an impenetrable, haughty woman, representative of an institution that doesn’t grant favors, doesn’t forgive. She too is therefore imperfect. And then there’s the mother. A mother who has loved and who continues to love in spite of everything. A mother who doesn’t give up in the face of the ruthless sentence that her daughter has already received. A mother who seeks explanations and love, even if imperfect. Three very different women who love and who want to be loved. 

SINOSSI

Siamo nel reparto carcerario di un ospedale, in uno di quei Paesi dove ancora la condanna a morte è l’unica punizione “lecita” per chi commette un reato grave. Mary ha appena ucciso suo padre e tentato di uccidere sua madre. Si ritrova ora costretta a parlare di sé, della sua vita, dei suoi pensieri più nascosti a una sconosciuta, una psichiatra che ha il compito di verificare la sua lucidità mentale. Ma Mary non ci sta. Non è pazza. Il suo è solo odio. Odio che altro non è che il frutto di una società che ragiona a schemi, che impone, che costringe a fare delle rinunce. Odio di chi si è sentita amata in modo sbagliato, imperfetto. Mary è irriverente, seducente, impertinente, prova a destabilizzare quel microcosmo felice e imperturbabile di cui si avvolge la psichiatra. Donna imperscrutabile, altera, rappresentante di un’istituzione che non fa sconti, che non perdona. Anche lei, dunque, imperfetta. E poi c’è lei, la mamma. Una mamma che ha amato e continua ad amare nonostante tutto. Una mamma che non si arrende dinanzi alla sentenza spietata di chi ha già condannato sua figlia. Una mamma che cerca giustificazioni e amore, anche dove questo non è altro che imperfetto. Tre donne molto diverse che amano e vogliono essere amate.

 

BIOs

 

Daniela Dellavalle – Playwright

Daniela Dellavalle is an Italian actor, director and playwright. She holds a theater degree from the University of Triest and attended Accademia Teatrale Città di Trieste (Triest Theater Academy) where she studied Commedia dell’Arte, Clown, Shakespeare and the role of the Fool. She participated in three editions of the International Directing Prize (Fantasio Piccoli, Trento). She started writing at sixteen and studied playwriting/screenwriting with Barbara Sinicco (Paolo Grassi Theater Academy, Milan), Giovanni Veronesi and Massimiliano Bruno. Most of her plays tackle social issues and her works are prominently featured in the indie theater circuit in Rome. She studied Art-Theater Counseling (European Theatrical Institute, Rome), which led her to meet Jordi Forcadas. With him she devised the Theater of the Oppressed and educational theater for children in need in Barcelona, Spain (Forn de Teatre Pa'Tothom). In 2014 she won third place for "Prima della Prima" (European Theatrical Institute) with a children’s play about divorce. She has taught playwriting in Triest, Rome and Budapest. She is currently working with Magnolia Association, an art-therapy center in Triest.

 

Tania Kass – Director

New York based actor, musician, singer-songwriter and director. Born and raised in Italy where she graduated from the Bernstein School of Musical Theater, she moved to New York to attend the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and to continue her work as a musician and singer-songwriter. Italian credits include: Ragtime, Into the Woods (Baker’s Wife), Urinetown, Parade (Mrs. Phagan), Duke Ellington’s Beggar’s Holiday (Mrs. Peachum), Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Mrs. Lovett), Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (u/s Mrs. Potts and M.me de la Grand Bouche). New York theater credits: Come Back to the 5&Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (Juanita), Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Shakespeare Benefit (Joan La Pucelle), The Heidi Chronicles, Midnight on a Monday (MITF), 4th Rib From the Right (Director), A Mother’s Heart (Psychiatrist), Ask Joseph (Mother) Norma Jeane Was a Brunette (Director), A Mother’s Heart (MITF-Director). Web series: Oh My Godness, Perspective (Jeremy Chevillotte). Short film: The Days Before Last (Babak Mehrabi Parsiyan). She is also the drummer and backing vocalist of the lazy-punk band What Would Tilda Swinton Do.

 

Alice Lussiana Parente – Mary

Alice Lussiana Parente was born and raised in Italy, then moved to New York to attend the Stella Adler Studio of Acting from which she recently graduated. NYC theatre credits include: The Woman Who Reads (In Scena, Italian theatre festival), The Mountain Giants (Helluva theatre company), Richard III (Gallery Players), Uncommon Women and Others (Stella Adler Studio). Italian theatre credits: Annika in Pippi Longstocking (Theatre of Rome - National tour), Beba, The Night of Assassins, (Theatre Vittoria) Alma in Summer and Smoke, (Theatre Juvarra) Ariel, The Tempest (Cavallerizza Reale) and Franceschina, Il Falso Magnifico directed by Eugenio Allegri. Film and TV credits include: Peopling the Palace directed by Peter Greenaway, Life Bites (Disney Channel), Richard the Lionheart (Lionsgate Home), Lo Smemorato di Collegno (RAI-TV). Alice also studied Cinema and New Media at the University of Turin and is currently narrating 6 audiobooks for Audible. www.alicelussianaparente.com

 

Selamawit Worku – Psychiatrist

Selamawit Worku is an actor, singer-songwriter, and producer based in Brooklyn. Her training includes being a conservatory graduate of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, musical theater training at CAP21, and a degree in Jazz/Pop music. Recent Acting Credits include: 'Tami' in Olivia: Through the Years (Harold Clurman Playwrights Division/Stella Adler Studio of Acting), 'Egyptian Queen' in Northbound at Theater for the New City, ‘Dog #11’ in Spike Lee/Netflix’s She’s Gotta Have It, ‘Maya’ in Makeup and Breakup webseries, ‘Kathleen Cleaver’ in Black Panther Women at 13th St Rep Company ‘Francine/Lena’ in Clybourne Park at the Stella Adler Studio. Recent productions: 'Yasmin' in Yellow Card Red Card at the New Ohio Theatre for the 2017 Ice Factory Festival. Please follow her journey here: www.selamawitworku.com

 

Marianne Goodell – Claire Phyllis

Marianne Goodell is a Brooklyn based actress. She has studied at The Barrow Group under Seth Barrish and Lee Brock, and Playhouse West Brooklyn Lab under Andrea Dantas. She is a member of Paul Michael's Network Theatre Company and Amios Shotz, both dedicated to writing and producing new plays. In the last Network Theatre festival her play was voted Best Play and she was nominated for Best Actress. Marianne is also in the web series “Disposable Teens” (nominated for a Streamy Award in 2016) and several independent films, most notably playing Katherine Ross' daughter in the film Attachments. www.MarianneG.com

 

******************************

DHANA AND THE ROSEBUDS

In English

Directed by Federica Cellini, with Ali Evarts, Valerie Fenton, Lia Johnson, Lauren Kieler, Natasha Preston

Music composed and improvised by Irene Jalenti

A Dhana Production/WASHINGTON D.C

In cooperation with Parity Productions

 

SYNOPSIS

A young Syrian woman living in New York City has forgotten all about her past, but when she thinks she sees her estranged grandmother filmed on television at the Balkan border, she decides to go find her. Her journey becomes a spiritual voyage to rediscover her roots and her identity. Dhana is a sort of backwards Greek heroine: she doesn’t return home after the war, but rather runs away from peace to find home again in the war. Searching for her grandmother Sham, Syrian-born American Dhana travels to the Balkans at the heart of the migrant crisis, across border walls and through refugee camps, train stations and makeshift shelters. She discovers that even in such dramatic circumstances life goes on: in a tent within a refugee camp, a young Syrian woman is getting married, and all the women around her participate in the ritual to prepare her for her special moment. While witnessing this unique event, Dhana finds herself trapped in a suspended, dreamlike reality. All the women in her present and her past surround her and blend into one another: her Syrian childhood memories resurface, the ones that no bomb could destroy.

 

BIOs

 

Federica Cellini - Playwright and director

A director and artist, Federica Cellini defines herself as a storyteller above all. Telling stories is her passion and she believes that every story needs to be told in a different way. With a journalistic background, her long and creative professional journey is an evolving experiment in trying to achieve her goals of presenting each story in a specific manner. She uses various mediums in her research, exploring them all to the fullest, mostly focusing on social issues and current affairs. She has directed several award-winning documentaries. Her experience also includes various television shows she wrote and hosted on the Italian public channel RAI. She has also been a Vogue contributor and has had multiple collaborations with Italian magazines. Her artwork Draunara was designed to raise awareness about the influx of the African migrants arriving to the island of Lampedusa. Draunara was exhibited in the most important Italian contemporary art museums: the Contemporary Art Museum of Castello di Rivoli, Turin; and the Contemporary Art Museum MAXXI in Rome.

 

Ali Evarts – Actress

Ali is a professional actress working on stage and in film. Favorite roles include Ophelia in Hamlet (Compass Rose Theater), Arachne/Philomela in Tales from Ovid (Kenan Theatre Company), and Alison in Redmonton (independent web series). See www.alievarts.com for full list of credits. B.A. Dramatic Art, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

 

Valerie Fenton - Actress

Valeria has performed with many theatre companies and arts organizations, including the National Gallery of Art, The Columbia Orchestra, Olney Theatre Center for the Arts, National Players, WSC Avant Bard, Source Theatre Festival, Round House Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, and Young Playwrights’ Theater. She is a founding company member of Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, a Rorschach Theatre company member, and is Director of Community Engagement for the new Ally Theatre Company. Valerie is featured in regional commercials and acts in training scenarios for the military, police, and emergency first responders. Valerie can be seen next at Katherine in Taming of the Shrew with Chesapeake Shakespeare. www.valeriefenton.com

 

Lia Johnson – Actress

Lia Johnson is a filmmaker and actress. She produced the Tribeca short film "Spanish Boots", as well as the award-winning feature film “I’m Through With White Girls” which sold for North American distribution and premiered on Showtime Networks. Lia’s directorial debut "Tennis For Two" won the Most Original Film Award at the International Tres Court Film Festival in Singapore (2010). Her narrative short “American Refugee” was shot in Cambodia, and won the Best Short Film Award at CTFF in Long Beach, CA (2015). As an actress, Lia has appeared in several Off-Broadway shows, numerous short films, network and cable television series, and independent features.  She is a member of all performer unions and several of her performances have garnered awards, including Best Actress at the Atlanta International Film Festival. 

Lauren Kieler – Actress A skilled actress, with a deep and emblematic way of using movement and body language, Lauren has worked as an actress for different theatre companies. Credits: Silver Spring Stage, God of Carnage; Studio Theatre, Cock (u/s); Synetic Theater: Don Quixote (u/s), King Lear (u/s), The Master and Margarita.  Training: The Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory

 

Natasha Preston – Actress

Natasha is an actress, playwright, and choreographer based in Washington DC. REGIONAL: Blithe Spirit (Annapolis Shakespeare Company) and Bridge and Tunnel (Infinity Stage). She is a recent graduate of Kenyon College with a BA in Drama and minor in Dance. Her credits there include Sex With Strangers, Free Man of Color, Taming of the Shrew, Summer and Smoke, Going to St. Ives, Moonchildren, and her original solo work Conversations. Natasha is also a proud Teaching Artist with Acting for Young People, a children's theatre company based in Fairfax, VA.

Irene Jalenti – Pianist
Irene Jalenti's deep voice and unique sound are rooted in Italy and have traveled and performed for over 15 years throughout Europe and the United States. Jalenti has earned a Bachelor degree in Jazz performance at Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore and she is finishing her Masters degree at Howard University in Washington, DC where she also performs with the multi-award winning a capella jazz ensemble Afro Blue. She has performed at the White House, the Kennedy Center, and the Apollo Theater of NY. More recently she has sung with Esperanza Spalding at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. She has shared the stage with Patti Austin, Lizz Wright, Cassandra Wilson, and many other jazz artists. She has also sung with pop artist Kelly Clarkson, gospel artist Yolanda Adams, rap phenomenon Chance the Rapper, and Latin American singer Marc Anthony. She also has a natural feeling for the stage, where her goal is not only to share the essence of a tune, but also to bring to light her individuality and her life experience, along with her ever present sense of humor.

 

******************************

THE MEJERCHOLD TWINS

In Italian with English supertitles

Directed di Davide Schinaia, with Francesca Airaudo and Giorgia Penzo

Live music by Tiziano Paganelli, costume design by Paul Mochrie

A Città Teatro 2013-2014 Production/Emilia Romagna

with the support of the Provincia di Rimini and Regione Emilia Romagna

 

SYNOPSIS

They have plenty of talent and comedic genius; too bad that they fight about everything. Olga and Manolita, known as the Mejerchold twins, started singing together by sheer coincidence, having to fill a slot at a popular cabaret show. They haven’t left one another’s side since, and their fellowship continues in an eternal struggle for domination of the stage. Separated at birth? Well… one is tall, square, low-pitched, dazed, and indirect; the other is short, precise, methodical, high-pitched and sharp. A perfect clowning duo. Every diva has her demands, but with two divas of this caliber the problems don’t just double, they multiply, and producers aren’t always willing to put up with them. Although flanked by the continent’s most famous musician, the Majerchold twins’ career, already in decline, is now on a knife-edge, between promises of world tours and spectacular cancellations. In which case there is nothing to do but embrace the nostalgia for better days, when the world’s most famous theaters welcomed them, with audiences that went wild for their feats, not just vocal. With only one certainty: if there’s anything that can go wrong with a number, it definitely will! The Mejerchold twins are two multifaceted artists with unique singing and pantomime abilities, who occupying that child-like, surreal space between theater and circus; two women that mix comedy and music with a femininity that is rooted in vaudeville, variety shows and reviews, to land on the art of clowning.

SINOSSI

Abilità e talento comico ne hanno da vendere, se non fosse che litigano per qualsiasi cosa: Olga e Manolita, in arte le Gemelle Mejerchold, cominciarono a cantare insieme per puro caso, dovendo sostituire un numero mancante in un celebre varietà. Da allora non si sono più lasciate e il loro sodalizio continua, in una lotta perpetua sul contendersi la scena. Separate alla nascita? mah...: una è alta, cubica, baritonale, stordita, obliqua; l'altra è bassa, precisa, metodica, sopranile, puntuta. Un perfetto duo clownesco. Ogni diva ha i suoi capricci, ma con due di questo calibro i problemi non raddoppiano: si moltiplicano al quadro, e questo gli impresari non sempre sono disposti a sopportarlo. Anche se non è poco avere al loro fianco il più celebre polistrumentista del continente, la carriera delle Mejerchold, già in declino, procede sul filo del rasoio fra promesse di tournée mondiali e clamorosi annullamenti. Di fronte ai quali non resta che abbandonarsi alla nostalgia di tempi migliori, quando i più celebri teatri del mondo le accolsero, con pubblici in delirio di fronte alle loro acrobazie - non solo - canore. Con una sola certezza: se c'è qualcosa che potrà fare andare storto un numero, sicuramente accadrà! Le Gemelle Mejerchold sono due poliedriche artiste che esprimono il canto e la pantomima come abilità peculiari, recuperando quella dimensione surreale e infantile che vive ancora fra teatro e circo; due donne che impastano comicità e musica senza rinunciare a una femminilità un po’ “sciantosa”, che parte dal vaudeville, dal varietà e della rivista per approdare all’arte del clown.

 

BIOS

 

Giorgia Penzo – Actress

Giorgia trained as an actress at the Scuola di Teatro Giovanni Poli – A l’Avogaria in Venice and at the Scuola of the Teatro Stabile del Veneto directed by Giulio Bosetti. She continued her training on the Commedia dell’Arte in Paris with Carlo Boso, and on the Venetian repertory in Venice with Gianfranco De Bosio. She delved further into Theatrical Biomechanics with Nikolaj Karpov. She has worked in Italy and abroad on classic pieces as well as contemporary plays and her own original pieces, with the companies Bel.Teatro, Teatro Malibran, Pantakin, Teatro Stabile del Veneto, Maan ricerca e spettacolo. She’s the co-founder and co-artistic director of Citta’ Teatro, located in Riccione. She specializes in mask work and Commedia dell’Arte, leading several workshops and labs at theater schools, Universities and festivals.

Giorgia Penzo

Si diploma come attrice alla Scuola di Teatro Giovanni Poli- A l'Avogaria di Venezia e alla Scuola del Teatro Stabile del Veneto diretto da Giulio Bosetti. Si perfeziona a Parigi col M.o Carlo Boso sulla Commedia dell'Arte e a Venezia col M.o Gianfranco De Bosio sul repertorio veneto. Approfondisce la Biomeccanica teatrale col M.o Nikolaj Karpov. Ha lavorato in Italia e all'estero su testi classici (Ariosto, Goldoni, Gozzi, Ruzante, Molière, Marivaux, Shakespeare…) ma anche su drammaturgie contemporanee e creazioni proprie, con le compagnie Bel.Teatro, Teatro Malibran, Pantakin, Teatro Stabile del Veneto, Maan ricerca e spettacolo. E’ fondatrice e co-direttrice artistica di Città Teatro con sede a Riccione (RN). Specialista in maschera e Commedia dell’Arte, conduce vari laboratori e stage presso scuole di teatro, l’Università, festival.

 

Francesca Airaudo – Actress

Francesca began her training at the Scuola di Cultura Teatrale in Riccione, directed by Giorgio Albertazzo, and continued training in seminars, labs and productions with Bianca Toccafondi, Giuseppe Pambieri, Massimo Foschi, Giovanni Balzaro, Enrique Vargas, Marco Martinelli, Marco Cavicchiol and others. She is among the founders of the Compagnia del Serraglio, with which she has been working regularly since 1994, producing shows and festivals, with a strong focus on contemporary plays and on the use of the romagnolo dialect as a theatrical language. Her experiences span from classical theater to musical theater, comedy, and Commedia dell’Arte. She’s the co-founder and co-artistic director of Citta’ Teatro.

Francesca Airaudo

Inizia la sua formazione alla Scuola di Cultura Teatrale di Riccione diretta da Giorgio Albertazzi, cui seguono seminari, laboratori e spettacoli con Bianca Toccafondi, Giuseppe Pambieri, Massimo Foschi, Giovanni Balzaro, Enrique Vargas, Marco Martinelli, Marco Cavicchioli, Eugenio Allegri, Alfonso Santagata, Nicolaj Karpov. Nel 1994 è tra i soci fondatori de La Compagnia del Serraglio con la quale da allora lavora stabilmente alla produzione di spettacoli e rassegne, con un intenso lavoro sulla drammaturgia contemporanea e sul dialetto romagnolo come lingua teatrale. Il suo repertorio spazia dal teatro classico al teatro musicale (studia canto jazz dal 1999), dal teatro comico alla commedia dell’arte. E’ fondatrice e co-direttrice artistica di Città Teatro.

 

Tiziano Paganelli – Music

Tiziano is a musician and teacher. He trained at the Bruno Maderna Conservatory of Cesena, studying the flute and musical composition. As a composer, he has written original music for the Losanna Theater Company and the Palestinian Theater of Jerusalem. As a multi-instrument playing musician, he has collaborated with directors, actors and theater companies including Compagnia del Serraglio, Banyan Teatro, Serra Teatro, Korekanè, Citta’ Teatro. He has collaborated with numerous musical groups including Duo Barrique, Duo Spell, Padam Padam, Rosamundana, Modern Ensemble, Simon Tov.

Tiziano Paganelli

Musicista e insegnante. Ha studiato al conservatorio Bruno Maderna di Cesena conseguendo il diploma in flauto e composizione. Come compositore ha scritto musiche originali per Compagnia Teatrale di Losanna e il Teatro Palestinese di Gerusalemme. Come musicista-polistrumentista, collabora con registi, attori e compagnie teatrali (Compagnia del Serraglio, Banyan Teatro, Serra Teatro, Korekanè, Città Teatro). Collabora con varie formazioni musicali fra cui Duo Barrique, Duo Spell, Padam Padam, Rosamundana, Modern Ensemble, Simon Tov. Dal ’96 insegna flauto, fisarmonica e propedeutica in vari istituti fra cui l’Istituto Musicale di San Marino.

 

Vincenzo Davide Schinaia – Director

Vincenzo trained at the DAMS in Bologna, graduating with a thesis on Peter Brook’s Mahabharata. He then moved to Riccione, where he founded Maan ricerca e spettacolo in 2000. He furthered his training through various workshops in directing and playwriting with artists including François Khan, Jean-Claude Carrière, Eric Durnez, Francesco Niccolini. He collaborated as a director and playwright with Maan, Compagnia del Serraglio, compagnia Pantakin da Venezia, Circo e Dintorni, Studio Festi, Riccione Teatro, Marco Bertozzi, Barbara Martinini, Città Teatro and others. He has worked as a dramaturg for Francesco Niccolini on the play La guerra di Kurukshetra, directed by Giorgio Barberio Corsetti. He also directed the opera Gli Occhiali based on the work of E. A. Poe, produced by the Rossini Orchestra of Pesaro.

Vincenzo Davide Schinaia

Regista, dopo laurea al DAMS di Bologna con tesi sul Mahabharata di P.Brook, si trasferisce a Riccione dove fonda Maan ricerca e spettacolo (2000). Formatosi attraverso numerosi seminari in regia e drammaturgia con artisti quali François Khan, Jean-Claude Carrière, Eric Durnez, Francesco Niccolini, collabora come regista e drammaturgo con compagnia Maan, Compagnia del Serraglio, compagnia Pantakin da Venezia, Circo e Dintorni, Studio Festi, Riccione Teatro, Marco Bertozzi, Barbara Martinini, Città Teatro e altri. Come dramaturg ha collaborato con Francesco Niccolini alla drammaturgia dello spettacolo La guerra di Kurukshetra, per la regia di Giorgio Barberio Corsetti. Ha diretto l’opera Gli Occhiali, su testo di E.A. Poe prod. Orchestra Rossini di Pesaro.

 

Salon Radio presenter: Laura Caparrotti

Laura Caparrotti is a director, actress, journalist, teacher, lecturer, consultant, dialect-coach, curator with an Italian accent. She is the Founding Artistic Director of KIT -Kairos Italy Theater, the main Italian Theater Company in NY and of In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY, the first Italian Theater Festival to take place in all 5 NY Boroughs and beyond.

 

 

About the Kairos Italy Theater and In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY

Sixth Edition

May 7-21, 2018

 

Kairos Italy Theater, the preeminent Italian theater company in New York City, presents the sixth edition of In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY, the first Italian Theater Festival to take place in all five New York City boroughs and beyond.

 

Started in 2013, as one of the four US theater events celebrating the year of the Italian Culture in the States, The Festival has featured sold-out shows and exceptionally positive responses both by the press and by its audiences. Most importantly, In Scena! is the first theater festival to look beyond the confines of Manhattan, landing in all other boroughs and collecting praise for bringing Italian theater in locations often ignored by foreign visiting artists. Audiences and local authorities are equally as grateful and intend to keep collaborating with In Scena! for its 2018 edition.

 

The Festival 2018

8 shows are from women artists!

1. Ten Italian theater companies, selected through an open submission system. Each company presents Its show in Manhattan and in one other borough;
2. Two USA companies as “Italian Theater made in USA”;
3. VIP Opening Night including One more show as a Special event;
4. Two readings in English of translated Italian plays, already full staged in Italy;
5. Celebrating 5 years of MFA: 4 readings from the past editions' winner plays;
6. Fifth edition of the Mario Fratti Award for new and emerging Italian playwrights. The winning playwright will be awarded an English translation of their play, a staged reading during the Festival and a painting, made with Italian red wine, specially created by visual artist Victoria Febrer;
7. Lectures and Workshops on subjects including theatrical translations and the use of subtitles, as well as Q&As after the shows; Free Verse meets In Scena! - Meetings between visiting Italian artists and clients in probation. Events organized in association with the NEoN, this year a book will be published, collecting poetry and pictures from the past 5 years; Internship program: each year In Scena! involves 10 interns in different capacities. The interns are guided by experts, recognized in their work and given possibilities to work after the Festival for festivals partners and for the Festival itself.
8. Infosessions and a Conference "On theater’s changing relationships – with critics, artists, and audiences"

 

The 2018 Edition is presented by KIT-Kairos Italy Theater in collaboration with The Embassy of Italy in Washington DC, The Italian Cultural Institute in New York, Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo’, Bernie Wohl Community Center, Calandra Institute for Italian American Studies, among others.

 

Media Sponsors: La Voce di New York, Teatro Teatro, International Salon Radio.

 

Locations

• Opening Night – 7 May: Cherry Lane Theater
• Conference – 11 May: Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo' at NYU
• Manhattan: Cherry Lane Theater, Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò at NYU, the Italian Culture Institute in New York, Bernie Wohl Community Center, Calandra Institute for Italian American Studies;
• Bronx: NeON at the probation Center.
• Queens: TBA
• Brooklyn: The Brick
• Staten Island: College of Staten Island.

 

Staff

Laura Caparrotti, Founding Artistic Director

Donatella Codonesu, Associate Director

Carlotta Brentan, Executive Producer

Natasha Lardera, Translation Consultant

Niluka Hotaling, Technical Director

 

Mario Fratti Award Committee

Mario Fratti, President

 

Advisory Board

Stefano Albertini, Director, Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò at NYU

Rocco Sisto, Actor

Dave Johnson, Playwright

Teresa Fiore, Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies - Montclair State University, NJ

Fabio Troisi, Italian Cultural Institute

Susan Macaluso, Director, Bernie Whol Center

 

The organizer – Kairos Italy Theater

 

Named by the Huffington Post “a company that should be in everyone’s radar”, KIT- KAIROS ITALY THEATER is the Italian Theater Company in NY and the theater company in residency at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo’ at NYU.

 

KIT’s mission is to create a cultural exchange program between Italy, the US and the international community, to unveil the artistic and creative sides of these two countries to the world. In the States, Kairos Italy Theater is dedicated to spreading the Italian Culture and to creating an Italian Cultural Network in order to support and further increase the knowledge of Italy in the States.

 

Since its foundation in 2000 in New York City, KIT has produced more than 20 performances and events over the years, collaborating with Off-Off and Off Broadway theaters and with US Institutions such as The Kitchen, The Fringe Festival, the Abrons Art Center, Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimo’ at NYU, Italian Academy at Columbia University, Film Society at Lincoln Center, Dahesh Museum of Art, NY Hall of Science, the Flea Theatre, Theater for the New City, Montclair State University, Suffolk County Community College, the Bernie West Theater at Baruch College, the cell theatre, the Cherry Lane Theatre, The Italian Cultural Institute in NY, LA, Chicago, San Francisco and the General Consulate of Italy among many others.

 

KIT specializes in bringing premieres to the US stage. Never-before-translated works before by Ennio Flaiano, Franca Valeri, Eduardo De Filippo, and Pier Paolo Pasolini have been presented to US audiences, who have grown in appreciation and in number since the first production in 1997. In May 2003, KIT inaugurated the Double Theatre Experience: one act performed first in English and then in Italian. In 2013, KIT has inaugurated In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY, the first Italian theater festival to take place in all five boroughs.

 

KIT has curated several events all related to Italian Culture: “Fellini-Flaiano: a different take”, “Caricatures from Tolentino”, “Fellini and The Myth of I Vitelloni in Italian Cinema” in 2003. KIT is the representative of the De Curtis Family in the US and the curator of the exhibition “Excerpts from a Prince named Toto’”.

 

KIT also organizes classes of Italian &Theatre for children and adults in NY and NJ and acting classes with professional actors.

 

In 2012, KIT created YoungKIT, its ‘youth division’ company comprised of young Italian actors. The goal is to educate the younger generation on the traditions of Italian theater while offering them a platform to improve their training.  The YoungKIT has already presented shows by Boccaccio, Machiavelli, Pirandello, Calvino, Pasolini and Shakespeare.

 

IN SCENA! ITALIAN THEATER FESTIVAL NY

 an Overview

MISSION: In Scena! - Italian for On stage! – is an annual celebration of Italian theater, ‘made in Italy’ as well as ‘made in the United States.’

 

Why: While Italian culture is presented in NYC through film festivals, art festivals and music festivals, there are no festivals dedicated to the theater of our native land. However, several Italian theater artists operate in the American show business, and our talents and theater traditions are well appreciated in this country.

Therefore, KIT believes it’s very important to introduce American audiences to the ancient artistry mastered by Italians in the field of theater, as well as to new productions that have originated in Italy in recent years.

Furthermore, KIT encourages a dialogue among artists of different cultures, such the Italian and the American one, in bringing the guests to interact with the locals.

WHERE: KIT organizes the Festival in all five NYC boroughs. Performances are offered both indoors and outdoors, in auditoriums, theaters, libraries, among other locations. Each year, KIT brings selected artists on a tour in the US as an appendix to the Festival.

 

WHAT: Each year the Festival focuses on a specific theme. The Festival celebrates one person who has significantly contributed over the years to Italian theater worldwide.

 

Festival Languages: Italian and English.  The plays are presented ‘bilingual’ or with supertitles. The readings are in the English translation form.

 

Audience: Through collaborations with American theaters, institutions and artists, Italian theater will become more accessible to the American public. The Festival’s audience includes theatergoers, admirers of Italian culture, Italian Studies departments, Italian language schools, Italian and Italian-American communities, theater departments, acting schools, as well as organizations focusing on translations.

The Festival is a great vehicle to improve knowledge of Italian theater in the United States, but more importantly to bring American communities closer to Italy and to Italian culture. Last but not least, it will offer US artists an opportunity to discover Italian plays still unknown in the United States.

Tickets: all events are FREE

 

In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY 2013 was chosen as an official event representing Italian Culture in “2013 Year of Italian Culture” in the United States, under the auspices of the President of the Italian Republic with the Patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C.

Since 2013, the Festival was co-presented by: Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo’ at NYU, the Italian Cultural Institute in New York, the Consulate General of Italy, the Italian Embassy in Washington D.C., NIAF, Bronx Little Italy Association, The Secret Theater, Dicapo Opera, Theaterlab, The Italian Cultural Foundation at Casa Belvedere on Staten Island and KIT Italia among others.

In Scena! Media coverage included: The New York Times, The Village Voice, Time Out New York, NY1, Corriere della Sera, Il Mattino, Staten Islander, La Voce di New York, Rai TV, Bronx TV PX11 News.