IN SCENA! ITALIAN THEATER FESTIVAL NY
Presented by Kairos Italy Theater
THE LAND OF SWOLLEN FACES
May 6-8 at 7:00PM
May 11 and 13 at 8:00PM UPDATED TIMES
May 5 and 12* at 9:30PM
May 15 at 3:00 PM
Based on an industrial workplace accident in Italy, The Land of Swollen Faces features one rising voice, alone and essential, that denounces it. A one voice live narration of tragic events portrayed with heart breaking lyricism to highlight a vulnerable underdog’s love for life, in the face of powerful people and their reckless arrogance.
*The May 12 performance of The Land of Swollen Faces will include ASL interpretation.
HIDE AND SEEK
UPDATED DATES:
May 18 at 7:00PM
May 19 at 9:30PM
May 20 at 7:00PM
May 21 at 3:00PM and 9:30PM
PLEASE NOTE: The May 5, 7, and 8 performances of HIDE AND SEEK have been cancelled.
Giò is a gay teenager firmly convinced that nobody loves him. Not his parents or his teachers, let alone his schoolmates, who mock him constantly and inflict him with humiliating tortures and cruel violence. He therefore decides to escape from that hostile world and hide in his secret shelter. Everyone is looking for him for days without success, until Mirko, one of his classmates, finds him by accident during a walk. Giò begs him to preserve his secret, making him an accomplice to his plan, which forces their relationship to take an unexpected turn.
MEET THE COMPANY
Kairos Italy Theater’s (KIT) mission is to create a cultural exchange program between Italy, the US and the international community, to unveil the artistic and creative sides of each country, with special focus on Italy and the US. In the United States, Kairos Italy Theater is primarily dedicated to spreading Italian Culture and to creating a Cultural Network in order to support and further increase the knowledge of Italian and International culture, and to support and encourage collaboration between artists world-wide. We at KIT believe in: Embracing: seeking to understand the “other” in order to discover differences and similarities. Collaboration: sharing experiences and learning from each other in order to create something universal. Being International: promoting art without boundaries and not grounded in stereotypes. Since its creation, there have been some important milestones that made us the company we are today. www.kitheater.com FB: @KairosItalyTheater - Twitter @kitheater - Instagram: @inscenany - Youtube: Kairos Italy Theater
THE LAND OF SWOLLEN FACES
WIMPY | Joseph Franchini
DIRECTOR | Laura Caparotti
DIRECTOR | Jay Stern
PLAYWRIGHT | Paolo Bignami
TRANSLATOR | Carlotta Brentan
SET DESIGN | Sarah Edkins
HIDE AND SEEK
MIRKO | Joseph Monseur
GIO | Michael Luszczak
DIRECTOR & TRANSLATOR | Carlotta Brentan
PLAYWRIGHT | Tobia Rossi
SET DESIGN | Sarah Edkins
MEET THE TEAM
LAURA CAPAROTTI
DIRECTOR (THE LAND OF SWOLLEN FACES)
Laura Caparotti is a director, actress, journalist, teacher, lecturer, consultant, dialect-coach, curator with an Italian accent. She has worked professionally for over ten years in Italy before relocating to NY in 1996. 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 Italian Theater Festival taking place in all 5 NY Boroughs and beyond and the cofounder of On Stage! the American Theater Festival in Italy. She is the recipient of the Dante Award and of the Italian Cultural Society Award for her role in spreading Italian culture in the States through theater. In 2021 Laura completed her first documentary as a director Tutti In Scena on the history of Italian theater in NY. The documentary was one of the three finalists at The Russo Brothers Film Forum and has now been submitted to Festivals and TVs for future broadcasting
JAY STERN
DIRECTOR (THE LAND OF SWOLLEN FACES)
Jay Stern is a film and theater director based in New York City. He is a founder and co-host of The Iron Mule Short Comedy Film Festival, and a film professor at Rider University. Theater work includes a commercial run of “The Bardy Bunch: the War of the Families Partridge and Brady” in Chicago, “The Latvia Project”, co-created with Veronica Wigg, the world premiere of “Alien Attack!” created with Chang Nai Wen at Teatro Due in Rome, the premiere of “Gary Apple's Hell is for Real” at the 2015 New York International Fringe Festival and the sold out run of “Butterflies” at the Tank NYC. Jay is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab and a founder of the director-driven international World Wide Lab. Film work includes an adaptation of Middleton and Rowley's “The Changeling”, “Spirit Cabinet”, “The Adventures of Paul and Marian” and “Say my name”, seen in Cinema across the US and the UK. Jay has produced and directed over 30 short films which have played at festivals across the US and Canada, and produced Victor Varnado's feature documentary “The Awkward Comedy Show”, which premiered on Comedy Central and is distributed on DVD by New Video. Jay holds a degree in writing from Columbia University and an MA from the European Graduate School where he studied with Peter Greenaway, John Waters, Claude Lanzmann, Jacques Derrida, Agnes Varda and Volker Schlöndorff.
CARLOTTA BRENTAN
DIRECTOR & TRANSLATOR (HIDE AND SEEK) / TRANSLATOR (THE LAND OF SWOLLEN FACES)
CARLOTTA BRENTAN (Director and Translator) is a bilingual theater artist specializing in new play development as an actor, producer, director and translator. Stage highlights: World Premieres of Frank J. Avella's Lured (also co-directed, Theater for The New City and OnStage! Festival in Rome), Paolo Bignami’s The Journey I Never Made (also translated from the original Italian, Cherry Lane Theatre), Erik Ehn’s Clover (La MaMa E.T.C.) A proud member of Kairos Italy Theater, Carlotta is also a film actor, prolific voiceover artist & award-winning audiobook narrator. carlottabrentan.com
PAOLO BIGNAMI
PLAYWRIGHT (THE LAND OF SWOLLEN FACES)
Paolo Bignami is a playwright and teacher in high schools. He initially dedicated himself to cabaret and then developed a path of dramaturgical research addressing issues related to contemporaneity and recent history. He has received the Fersen Award in 2003 for “Ho perso la mia coda”, Enea Ellero Award in 2004 for "Il sogno di Evelina, the Aenaria Award in 2015 for “Lo spazio vuoto”, the Tragos Award and the Mario Fratti award in 2017 for “The Land of Swollen Faces”. In the same year “Il viaggio che non ho fatto (The journey I never made)”, DoveComeQuando Award, had its world premiere at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York, produced by Kairos Italy Theater.
TOBIA ROSSI
PLAYWRIGHT (HIDE AND SEEK)
Tobia Rossi is a playwright and a screenwriter. Awards include: the mention of the Hystrio Scritture per la Scena_35 Award with La cosa brutta (2016) and the Mario Fratti Award with Nascondino (Hide and Seek) (2019). Recently he has participated in the “half-hour project” at the Teatro Due in Parma with The Prince of Beautiful Dreams (2020) and at the Abbecedario per il mondo nuovo, conceived and produced by the Piccolo Teatro in Milan. In 2021 he developed his first film for Indiana Production and his play I Signori dell'Universo was presented at the Centro Teatrale Bresciano as part of the Open Theater project, curated by Elisabetta Pozzi. As a musical theater author, among other projects, he wrote the libretto of the opera Troposfera, produced by the Venice Biennale Musica and of the musical The Prince of Air, with music by Simone Manfredini and lyrics by Oliver Lidert.
SARAH EDKINS
SET DESIGN (THE LAND OF SWOLLEN FACES / HIDE AND SEEK)
Sarah Edkins is glad to be back at The Tank with Kairos Italy Theater. Previous collaborations with KIT include Butterflies, in this theater, directed by Jay Stern. Sarah also designed sets for KIT's production of Enrico IV at The Cherry Lane Theater, adapted and directed by Laura Caparrotti, and A Most Learned Woman directed and acted by Laura, presented at numerous locations. On The Tank's other stage, Sarah designed the set for In Blue, written and directed by Ran Xia. Please visit Sarah's website for further info and images: SarahEdkinsDesign.com.
JOSEPH FRANCHINI
WIMPY (THE LAND OF SWOLLEN FACES)
Joseph Franchini trained at New York University where he studied with legendary acting teacher Stella Adler. After graduation he continued his studies, completing three years at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Joseph received a Drama Desk Nomination for Best Actor in a Play for originating the role of Dave in The Navigator in New York and Los Angeles. Other New York roles include the acclaimed debut production of Zamboni (NY Fringe and SoHo Playhouse), Mrs. Warren's Profession (with Joy Franz), Agamemnon and The Man with the Flower in his Mouth (Worldwide Directors Lab). He has also acted with The Workshop Theater, Manhattan Theater Source, Musicals Tonite!, Off-World Theatre, The Actor's Guild, among others. Radio: Frankenstein (Gold Reel Award), A Christmas Carol (WBAI). AEA, SAG/AFTRA.
JOSEPH MONSEUR
MIRKO (HIDE AND SEEK)
Joseph Monseur is excited to be making his debut at The Tank. Joseph Monseur is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts’s three year conservatory program. Off- Broadway: Guildenstern in Hamlet (The John Cullum Theatre). Off-Off-Broadway: Max in Art & Circuses (The Players Theatre). Regional Roles: Petey the Communist in Babes In Arms (Dir. by Douglas Carter Beane). Conservatory Credits include: Ring Around The Moon, Tartuffe, Clybourne Park, and The Big Time. Joseph Monseur is also a jazz musician and has made numerous appearances at Birdland in Jim Caruso’s Cast Party as a Pianist, Guitarist, and Vocalist.
MICHAEL LUSZCZAK
GIO (HIDE AND SEEK)
MICHAEL LUSZCZAK (Gio) is an actor/musician based in Brooklyn. He is a graduate of Wagner College where he majored in theater performance. Previous roles that are among his favorites include Sam Byck (Assassins), Leaf Coneybear (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), and Riff Raff (The Rocky Horror Show). He will be releasing music soon and updates for his career can be found by following mluszczak212 on Instagram!