Kairos Italy Theater Announces In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY

Kairos Italy Theater (KIT), the preeminent Italian theater company in New York City, is organizing In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY, the first Italian theater festival to take place annually in all five New York City boroughs and beyond. The inaugural festival will be June 10 to 20, 2013. All events are free. The festival's website is www.inscenaNY.com. The number for audience inquiries and reservations is (866)-263-2924.

In Scena!, Italian for "on stage!," aims to create an annual celebration of Italian theater, both 'made in Italy' and 'made in the United States.' The program includes different types of theater that have been presented in Italy plus a sprinkling of Italian theater companies based in the United States that root their work in Italian culture.

This festival is part of "Year of Italian Culture" in the United States, presented 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. Year of Italian Culture takes place all over the US during 2013. Other presentations in NY include events at the Metropolitan Museum, at the Lincoln Center Festival, at the Frick Collection among others.

The festival combines Italian companies from Italy performing shows that are already successful in Italy, staged readings of Italian plays translated into English and shows produced by Italian artists residing in the NY area.

Toplining the festival is the New York debut of "Solo Anna," a tour de force performed by Lidia Vitale, written by Franco D'Alessandro, in which Anna Magnani, the great Italian film star, explores dramatic, funny and touching aspects of her illustrious career and fascinating life. The piece is presented on the 40th anniversary of the great actress' death.

The festival includes two other full productions that are US premieres, two special events and four staged readings. It ends in an evening of three plays by America's most famous Italian playwright, Mario Fratti. All events of this festival are completely accessible to English-speaking audiences. The performances are in a combination of English and Italian and the staged readings are in English.

Support is provided by the Consulate General of Italy in New York and Ferrero USA Inc. as part of the 2013 Year of Italian Culture in the United States, an initiative held under the auspices of the President of the Italian Republic, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Italy in Washington with the support of the Corporate Ambassadors Eni and Intesa Sanpaolo.

In Scena! is co-presented by the Embassy of Italy in Washington, The Consuate General of Italy, the Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò at NYU, the Italian Culture Institute in New York, Di Capo Opera, The Italian Cultural Foundation at Casa Belvedere on Staten Island, Mare Nostrum Elements in Queens, The Secret Theater in Queens, JACK in Brooklyn, AnabellaLenzu DanceDrama in Brooklyn, Inwood Shakespeare Festival, Moose Hall Company, Figment, Belmont New York Public Library in the Bronx, Bronx Little Italy, Bronx Business Development, Alto Jonio Dance Festival,Brindiamo! On NYC Channel 25, America Oggi and KIT Italia.

Kairos Italy Theatre (KIT), led by Artistic Director Laura Caparrotti, is currently the theater company in residency at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo' at NYU. Since its funding in 2000 in New York, 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. In May 2003, KIT inaugurated the Double Theatre Experience: one event performed first in English and then in Italian.