Part III of 3 part series, Salon Radio and Kairos Italy Theater presents: Francesca Falchi (DegenDeration), and Erika Urban (Ultima notte mia – Mia Martini, una vita)

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 III 

This episode is hosted by IWAS founder Heidi Russell with Laura Caparrotti, founder of Kairos Italy Theater, presenting Francesca Falchi (DegenDeration), and Erika Urban (Ultima notte mia – Mia Martini, una vita). Salon Radio is rounded out with our Women in The Arts world bulletin highlighting news about women in all The Arts, and our Salon Bulletin highlighting Salon and Salonista acitivites and partnerships with Mauren Van Trease. 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...

Degen(D)erationa

MAY 9, 7:30pm – BAAD/Bronx

MAY 12, 7:30pm – Bernie Wohl Center (Manhattan)

 

My Last Night – Mia Martini, A Life

MAY 16, 8pm – Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò (Manhattan)

MAY 19, 7:30pm - The Brick (Brooklyn)

 

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

DEGEN(D)ERATION

In Italian with English supertitles

Written, directed and performed by Francesca Falchi

Music and video by BRIGATA STIRNER  (Arnaldo Pontis/Roberto Belli), Costume Design by Alessia Marrocu

A L’Eccezione Production/Sardegna

 

SYNOPSIS

Starting from the Manifesto of Futurist Woman by Valentine de Saint-Point, the play traces the gradual restriction of autonomous spaces for women – including sexual autonomy – under Fascism, using historical documents such as Mussolini’s and the Catholic Church’s speeches about the ‘wife-mother’ binomial, and employing the metaphor of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. The material is interlaced with the stories of the protagonists, who attempt to cut out an autonomous space for themselves in their daily life, in an attempt to remain faithful to their inclinations. Alice herself is different – in that she is a human being – in a world of ‘different’, non-human creatures, a world that rejects diversity and embraces homogenization as dictated by the ‘red’ fascism of the Queen of Hearts. A world where those who rebel are decapitated or summarily sentenced, punished even before being found guilty.

SINOSSI

A partire dal Manifesto della Donna Futurista di Valentine de Saint Point, il testo ricostruisce la progressiva riduzione degli spazi di autonomia (compresa quella sessuale) della donna durante l’epoca fascista, attingendo a documenti storici come i discorsi di Mussolini e della Chiesa inneggianti al binomio moglie e madre, passando attraverso la metafora di Alice nel Paese delle Meraviglie di Lewis Carrol. I materiali si intrecciano con i racconti delle protagoniste, che cercano di ritagliarsi uno spazio di autonomia nel quotidiano, nel tentativo di non tradire le proprie inclinazioni. Alice è diversa (la sua natura umana) in un mondo di diversi (“extraumani”), un mondo che rinnega la propria e altrui diversità, in direzione di un’omologazione dettata dal fascismo “rosso” della regina di Cuori, dove chi si ribella viene decapitato o processato in maniera sommaria, addirittura punito prima che venga emesso un verdetto di colpevolezza.

 

L’Eccezione – Theater Company

L’Eccezione was established in November 2006 with the specific purpose of giving greater chances of affirmation and fulfillment to individuals belonging to the female sphere in the fields of culture, art and information. Since then, L’Eccezione has undertaken a series of activities that have accomplished important objectives, among which: theoretical-practical training and theatrical productions, round table discussions, playwriting competitions (playwriting prize for feminine monologues titled Women and work-Women at work). L’Eccezione was the first Sardinian company to be selected with its show DER PUFF for In Scena! festival 2017.

L’Eccezione

Costituita nel novembre 2006 dall’attrice e drammaturga Francesca Falchi con il preciso intento di fornire una maggiore opportunità di affermazione e realizzazione alle individualità appartenenti al mondo femminile nel campo della cultura, dell’arte e dell’informazione, in questi anni L’Eccezione si è impegnata in una serie di attività che hanno raggiunto degli importanti obiettivi: tra queste, corsi di formazione teorico-pratica, produzione di spettacoli (In una stanza, Dentroterapia, Donne sull’orlo-Ritratti in nero di eroine in negativo, Il lupo e il cielo spinato-la favola nera di Esther H., Madonne di celluloide), realizzazioni di tavole rotonde (Etty Hillesum-un giglio nel campo) concorsi di drammaturgia (Premio di Drammaturgia per Monologhi al Femminile dal titolo Donne e lavoro-Donne al lavoro).

L’associazione ha inserito tra le produzioni 2016 gli spettacoli DER PUFF-frammenti cantati di corpi internati e La maledizione dei puri (creati e portati in scena dalla stessa Falchi e prodotti precedentemente da terzi) per dare continuità a due operazioni che rientrano nel percorso dell’associazione stessa. LA MALEDIZIONE DEI PURI è stato finalista alla XVI Edizione del Premio Poetico Ermo Colle 2016 e selezionato al Festival Teatro Off artificio di Como-Italia dei Visionari 2016.

L’eccezione è stata la prima compagnia sarda ad essere selezionata con il suo spettacolo DER PUFF-al prestigioso IN SCENA! Italian Theatre Festival che si è tenuto a New York dal 1 al 15 maggio 2017.

www.eccezioneteatro.com

  

Francesca Falchi – Writer, director and actress

Francesca graduated from the Bologna Theater School in 2002 with a thesis on “Pasolini and Spain.” In 2006 she won the Teramo prize, category City of Fantasy, with La peschiera (The Fisherwoman.) Her essay El juanero- Pasolini and Spain, was published in Spain by Alreves publisher, Barcelona. She won the first edition of the Lunarte Festival Prize 2012, the playwriting award Punta di penna 2013 and the XIV edition of women’s writing award “Il Paese delle donne” 2013, TEATRO category. In October 2015 she premiered the show LA MALEDIZIONE DEI PURI-Se Pasolini e De André, which was a finalist at the XVI Edition of the Ermo Colle Poetry prize. In 2016 she was a finalist for the EXIT Prize - Baggage of Ideas with the text Kindermultonne, a show about children deported to concentration camps that debuted in January 2018. Her show DER PUFF was selected by the prestigious In Scena! Italian Theatre Festival, which took place in New York in May 2017.

Francesca Falchi

Cagliari, 1970. Si diploma alla Scuola di Teatro di Bologna. È finalista al Premio Scenario 1995 con Christiane Forse. Nel 2002 si laurea con 110/110 e lode con una tesi dal titolo Pasolini e la Spagna. Nel 2006 vince il Premio Teramo, sezione Città di Fantasia. Il suo primo testo teatrale, Frida che nacque due volte, nel 2009 è finalista al Premio di drammaturgia Oltreparola. Nel giugno del 2010 debutta con Il lupo e il cielo spinato. La favola nera di Esther H. È ospite della rassegna Garofano verde 2011 con Der puff-Primo studio su lesbiche e nazismo. Nel settembre 2011 è finalista alla II edizione del Premio di Drammaturgia Avamposti d’Autore con il testo Degeneration/Degenderation su lesbiche e fascismo. Nel novembre 2011 il saggio El juanero- Pasolini e la Spagna, edito nel 2003, esce in Spagna per la Editorial Alreves di Barcellona. È vincitrice della I edizione del Premio Lunarte Festival 2012 con il monologo L’Alba della sposa sull’artista Pippa Bacca. È semifinalista ai Teatri del Sacro 2013 con CANOSSARIUM. È autrice della sceneggiatura de La donna di carta, il cui teaser è stato presentato alla 70ma Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica di Venezia. È finalista ad Avamposti d’Autore 2013 con il testo Jellyfish, su una transizione donna-uomo, il cui studio è stato semifinalista al premio Dante Cappelletti 2013. È vincitrice del Premio di drammaturgia In punta di penna 2013 e della XIV edizione del Premio di scrittura femminile “Il Paese delle donne” 2013 sezione TEATRO con il testo Vettorina nella città dei pezzi di ricambio, sulla storia di Vittorina Sambri prima donna motociclista e lesbica. Nel 2014 idea insieme all’artista di strada Riccardo Tanca la performance THE BACKWARDS CIRCLE- Eversio temporis (regia e drammaturgia) in collaborazione con il compositore Stefano Guzzetti che ha partecipato European Juggling Convention - Millstreet, Ireland. Da giugno 2014 tiene un blog dal titolo CONVERSAZIONI ATOMICHE sul La donna sarda portale. Dall’ottobre 2014 al luglio 2016 è direttore organizzativo della compagnia Origamundi. Fa parte della giuria regionale delle edizioni II-III e IV del Premio La giara indetto da Rai ERI. Nel marzo 2015 il monologo L’alba della sposa è stato ospite alla VI edizione della rassegna TEATRI DI PIANURA organizzata dalla Compagnia Piccolo Parallelo a Romanengo (CR). Ad ottobre 2015 debutta con lo spettacolo LA MALEDIZIONE DEI PURI-Se Pasolini e De André, spettacolo finalista alla XVI Edizione del Premio Poetico Ermo Colle 2016 e selezionato al Festival Teatro Off artificio di Como-Italia dei Visionari 2016. Nel 2016 è finalista del premio EXIT-Un Bagaglio di idee con il testo Kindermultonne, spettacolo sui bambini deportati nei campi di concentramento. Il suo spettacolo DER PUFF è stato selezionato per partecipare al prestigioso festival IN SCENA Italian Theatre Festival che si è tenuto a New York nel maggio 2017

 

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

MY LAST NIGHT – MIA MARTINI, A LIFE

In Italian with English Supertitles 

By Aldo Nove

With Erika Urban

Directed by Michele De Vita Conti

An Erika Urban Production/Lombardia

 

SYNPOSIS

“My last night. Mia Martini, a life” tells the story of the life of the great Calabrese singer Mia Martini: from joyful moments of her adolescence, to the difficult relationship with her family and her great love of music. When she was at the height of her success, because of a series of coincidences, a rumor started circulating that the presence of Mia Martini brought bad luck. Slowly, this whisper became a shadow that swallowed her up day-by-day, eventually hollowing out and stealing her soul. The show is an intense and sensitive portrayal of a woman and her destiny.

SINOSSI

Il testo di Aldo Nove, " Mi chiamo ... ", racconta la vita della grande cantante calabrese Mia Martini: dai momenti gioiosi dell’adolescenza, ai difficili rapporti con la famiglia e il grande amore per la musica. Per una serie di coincidenze, all’apice del successo, iniziò a circolare la voce che la presenza di Mia Martini portasse sfortuna e pian piano questa voce diventò un’ombra che giorno dopo giorno la inghiottiva sempre di più, fino a scavarle e rubarle l’anima. Lo spettacolo è il racconto intenso e sensibile di una donna e del suo destino.

 

Erika Urban – Actress

Erika Urban is originally from Venice, and currently lives in Milan. She studied Political Science before training at the Scuola del Teatro Stabile of Turin, under the direction of Luca Ronconi. In theater, she has worked with directors including Ronconi, Marco Baliani, Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, Giorgio Gallione, Gabriele Lavia, Beppe Navello and Pierpaolo Sepe. As a performer, she has worked on the play My Last Night – Mia Martini, a life written by Aldo Nove and directed by Michele De vita Conti. She has also acted in feature films directed by Marco Bellocchio, Peter Greenaway, Lucio Pellegrini, Marina Spada and Michele Soavi. In 2011 she won the Best Actress award at the Pisticci festival with the short film “La Colazione” by Elena la Ferla. In television, she has worked with Marco Turco, Riccardo Donna and Stefano Sollima.

Erika Urban – Actress

Erika Urban is originally from Venice, and currently lives in Milan. She studied Political Science before training at the Scuola del Teatro Stabile of Turin, under the direction of Luca Ronconi. In theater, she has worked with directors including Ronconi, Marco Baliani, Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, Giorgio Gallione, Gabriele Lavia, Beppe Navello and Pierpaolo Sepe. As a performer, she has worked on the play My Last Night – Mia Martini, a life written by Aldo Nove and directed by Michele De vita Conti. She has also acted in feature films directed by Marco Bellocchio, Peter Greenaway, Lucio Pellegrini, Marina Spada and Michele Soavi. In 2011 she won the Best Actress award at the Pisticci festival with the short film “La Colazione” by Elena la Ferla. In television, she has worked with Marco Turco, Riccardo Donna and Stefano Sollima. 

 

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

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.