In Scena Italian Theater Festival Kicks Off Next Month
By: Tyler Peterson Apr. 14, 2015
Kairos Italy Theater (KIT), the preeminent Italian theater company in New York, has finalized the calendar of events for the third annual IN SCENA! ITALIAN THEATER FESTIVAL NY. This 17-day festival will offer 8 fully-staged productions from Italy, among other events and activities. Shows will be presented in all five boroughs of New York at venues including The Secret Theater, Theatre For The New City, BAAD, Brooklyn College, John Jay College, and Center of the Arts at College of Staten Island. All are presented in English or with English supertitles. Performances run May 4 - 20, 2015. Tickets for most full productions are $15 and readings are $5. An All-Access Pass is available for $75. For more details and tickets visit www.inscenany.com or call 646-850-7056.
by and starring Rossella Raimondi
When a country girl moves to the city she is cursed to become a mule -- a servant to her depressed husband and an anorexic daughter.
• Thursday, May 7 at 6:00pm at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo at NYU (24 W 12th St, Manhattan). Broken Dances - in Pasolini's Bubble
by and starring Benedetta Capanna / Excursus Company (Rome/Lazio).
This dance theater piece takes audiences on a stroll through the contradictions of Roman daily life punctuated by the echoes of Pier Paolo Pasolini, one of the greatest poets and intellectuals of contemporary Italy (and to whom In Scena! 2015 is dedicated, on the 40th anniversary of his death). Presented in collaboration with IDaCO NYC, the Italian Dance Connection.
• Monday, May 18 at 8:00pm at BAAD (2474 Westchester Ave, Bronx). Chez Dimì
by Giuseppe Sinatra / DimiDimitri Company (Novara/Piemonte).
A butler tries to lift the spirits of an old lady on her birthday with sketches, jokes and circus-like stunts. DimiDimitri is a clowning-based theater that has received numerous important Italian and international accolades.
Wednesday, May 13 at 4:00pm at Church of St. John's (300 Bloomfield Street at 3rd St, Hoboken, NJ).
• Thursday, May 14 at 4:00pm at Belmont Library and Enrico Fermi Cultural Center (610 E 186th St, Bronx).
• Friday, May 15 at 7:00pm at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo at NYU (24 W. 12th St, Manhattan).
by and starring Jessica Leonello (Brescia/Lombardia).
This comic monologue tells the stories of migrants returning home to their roots, travelling backwards through the history of Italy and its changing customs. 2012 Petroni Award winner, 2014 Offerta creative/teatrinrete Award winner.
• Thursday, May 7 at 7:30pm at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo at NYU (24 W 12th St, Manhattan). Ninetta and the Others
by Damiana Leone / Errare Persona Company (Frosinone/Lazio).
This drama tackles the difficult theme of rape as an instrument of war. Based on a mass rape that happened during WWII. Winner of Amnesty International's Chimere Award.
• Monday, May 11 at 7:30pm at Theater for the New City (155 1st Avenue, Manhattan).
• Tuesday, May 12 at 6:00pm at John Jay College of Criminal Justice Alumni Association (899 10th Avenue #623, Manhattan). Taddrarite - Bats
by Luana Rondinelli / Accura Teatro Company (Trapani/Sicilia).
Three sisters find the courage - and sarcasm - to talk about incidences of domestic violence. Winner of the 2014 Rome International Fringe Festival Award.
• Saturday, May 16 at 7:30pm at Bernie Wohl Center at Goddard Riverside (647 Columbus Ave, Manhattan).
• Tuesday, May 19 at 7:30pm at Brooklyn College (2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn).
• Wednesday, May 20 at 6:00pm at Italian Cultural Institute (686 Park Avenue, Manhattan).
by and starring Isabella Carloni, based on the novel Minchia di re by Giacomo Pilati / Rovine Circolari Company (Ancona/Marche).
Viola di Mare is a salt-water fish that is born female but then turns into a male after laying its eggs. This is the true story of a 19th century girl who dresses like a man to escape her father's fury and the bigotry of her island village.
• Monday May 4 at 7:30pm at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo at NYU (24 W. 12th St, Manhattan).
• Sunday, May 17 at 7:30pm at Bernie Wohl Center at Goddard Riverside (647 Columbus Ave, Manhattan).
• Tuesday, May 19 at 7:30pm at Brooklyn College (2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn). Webulli
by Ermanno Nardi / Elea Teatro and Industria Scenica Company (Milanno/Lombardia).
Bullying on social networks is the subject of this dark comedy that explores the digital exchange of explicit materials.
• Wednesday, May 6 at 3:30pm at Center of the Arts at College of Staten Island (2800 Victory Boulevard, bldg. 1, Rm. 116, Staten Island).
• Friday, May 8 at 7:30pm at Bernie Wohl Center at Goddard Riverside (647 Columbus Ave, Manhattan). READINGS: The Alibi of God
by Francesco Randazzo.
During a dark night, a priest faces the ghost of a young man whom he loved passionately.
• Monday, May 18 at 6:30pm at BAAD (2474 Westchester Ave, Bronx). Le Beatrici
by Stefano Benni, directed by Margherita Peluso.
A series of monologues that explore our complex and troubled society through the eyes of contermporary women, titled after Dante's muse.
• Saturday, May 9 at 3:30pm The Secret Theater (44-02 23rd Street, Long Island City, Queens). Giuseppe Musolino: a Drama in Acts
by Francesco Morabito, directed by Evan T. Cummings.
A very special world premiere of a play discovered by Evan T. Cummings in his attic. The play was written by his grandfather, a reporter and writer from Calabria, who often traveled between the US and Italy and was one of the reporters for the trial of legendary folk hero Brigante Musolino. In association with Calandra Institute for Italian-American studies.
• Thursday, May 14 at 6:00pm at John Jay College of Criminal Justice Alumni Association (899 10th Avenue #623, Manhattan) SPECIAL EVENTS Opening Night: Homage to Pasolini
A staged reading directed by Marco Calvani.
Journey into Pasolini's writing on the 40th anniversary of his death in 1975.
• Monday, May 4 at 6:00pm at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo at NYU (24 W 12 St, Manhattan). Be International: Producing International Theater in NY
A panel and networking event on the practices, challenges and ambitions of producing International theater - and International theater festivals - in NY. Led by Laura Caparrotti with Aktina Stathaki, Artistic Director of Between the Seas Festival; Glory Kadigan, Artistic Director of Planet Connections Festival; and others.
• Tuesday, May 5 at 5:30pm at Etcetera Etcetera (352 W 44th St, Manhattan). Free Verse Meets In Scena!
Led by Dave Johnson. A cultural exchange between In Scena! Italian artists and emerging writers from the South Bronx community. Performed in English, Spanish and Italian. Free Admission.
• Thursday, May 14 at NeON Center (198 East 161st, Bronx, NY). Mario Fratti Award Ceremony & Mater Familias
A special ceremony and a reading the 2015 Mario Fratti Award winner for emerging Italian playwrights: Mater Familias by Pier Lorenzo Pisano. "A powerful drama on the desperate need to commit a crime to let your family survive." - Mario Fratti.
• Monday, May 11 at 6:00pm at Theater for the New City (155 1st Avenue, Manhattan). Closing Night
Festival Closing Night celebration, including a photography exhibit from the Museum of Pupi in Palermo.
• Wednesday, May 20 at 8:00pm at Bread (20 Spring Street, Manhattan). IN SCENA! ITALIAN THEATER FESTIVAL NY was founded in 2013. That year, it was chosen as an official event representing Italian culture in the US 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. For more information on IN SCENA! ITALIAN THEATER FESTIVAL NY visit www.inscenany.com.
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