Celebrating Dino Buzzati on the 40th Anniversary of his departure
Theater – Cinema – Conferences
A month-long event dedicated to one of the leading figures on the 1900 Italian Literature.
Four monologues by famous Italian writer DINO BUZZATI
Presented in English followed by its original Italian Version.Translated by Natasha Lardera – With Ilaria Amadasi (Italian), Lydia Biondi (Italian), Laura Caparrotti (Italian), Rosemary Fine (English), Lucia Grillo (English), Jojo Karlin (English), Marta Mondelli (English), Amy Frances Quint (Italian). Directed by Laura Caparrotti and others.
Until November 19, 2012 – CHECK THE PRESS PAGE FOR THE PRODUCTION!
CHERRY LANE THEATER
38 COMMERCE STREET
www.cherrylanetheatre.org
You can support the project as well: contribute to our funding campaign ending on October 29… Click here and Give OR buy the tickets in advance! Grazie!!!!
PERFROMANCE SCHEDULE:
The Switchboard Operator/La Telefonista Jojo Karlin/Ilaria Amadasi
Sat 11/10 7pm
Sun 11/11 1pm
Thu 11/15 7pm
Sat 11/17 4pm
Sun 11/18 1pm
The Clock/L’Orologio Lucia Grillo/Amy Frances Quint
Mon 11/12 7pm
Fri 11/16 7pm
Sat 11/17 1pm
Sun 11/18 4pm
Mon 11/19 7pm
Alone at home/Sola in casa Rosemary Fine/Lydia Biondi
Wed 11/7, Thu 11/8, Sun 11/11 7pm
Mon 11/12 8:30pm, Tue 11/13, Wed 11/14 7pm
Striptease/Spogliarello Marta Mondelli/Laura Caparrotti
Tue 11/6, Fri 11/9 7pm
Sat 11/10 1 & 4 pm
Sun 11/11 4pm
Sat 11/17, Sun 11/18 7pm
Mon 11/19 8:30pm
Dino Buzzati, the “Italian Kafka”, wrote these monologues in the late ‘50s but there is nothing of the “dolce vita” in these women trapped into their lives like passionate and proud victims of a fate they can’t control. Solitude, magic, absurd, wait and death are the dominant themes of these ironic and at the same time dramatic monologues presented in the English translation, followed by their original, evocative Italian.
The project is supported to date by Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo’ at NYU, The Consulate General of Italy, the Italian Cultural Institute in NY, The Fondazione Buzzati and the Fondazione Corriere della Sera.
THE MONOLOGUES
Spogliarello (Striptease): Velia’s unfortunate relationship with a married man doesn’t bring the financial stability she needs. After his death, she tries to become independent by opening a café, that soon after goes out of business. From there, the downfall is fast and cruel and even death appears to her an empty place where none is listening… even there. This monologue told by the bold and sarcastic prostitute Velia in a post-war Milan is a look into the life of a woman that even in front of death doesn’t loose her biting wit.
L’orologio (The Clock): Widow Irma’s life is destined to live in a constant and absurd shift between past and present. In an enormous clock in her house, among the mechanism, the soul of her revengeful late husband hides only to endlessly torture her: when the pointers go backwards, she is forced to live again and again one precise moment of her life.This dramatic monologue tells the terror and torment of a woman without escape. It is a symbolic tale of the impossibility of taking control of the consequences of our acts.
Sola in casa (Alone at home): Iris, widow and fortune-teller is afraid to be at home alone: in her neighborhood three women were killed by a stranger. She is visited by a distinctive man, her neighbor, who flirts with her while having his fortune told. The cards will reveal something deeply disturbing… and Iris will have to face the consequences. This dynamic monologue shows the subtle nuances between wait, fear and the longing of love in a solitary life.
La Telefonista (The Operator) A love ending through the phone’s cable.
Dino Buzzati Traverso (October 16, 1906 – January 28, 1972) was born at San Pellegrino near Belluno, in the Veneto region, on his family’s ancestral villa. Buzzati’s mother, a veterinarian by profession, was Venetian and his father, a professor of international law, was from an ancient Bellunese family. Buzzati was the second of his parents’ four children. In 1924, he enrolled in the law faculty of the University of Milan, where his father once taught. As he was completing his studies in law, he was hired, at the age of 22, by the Milanese newspaper Corriere della Sera, where he would remain until his death. He began in the copyeditor department, and later worked as a reporter, special correspondent, essayist, editor and art critic. It is often said that his journalistic background informs his writing, lending even the most fantastic tales an aura of realism. During World War II, Buzzati served in Africa, as a journalist attached to the Regia Marina. After the end of the war, Il deserto dei Tartari (The Tartar Steppe) was published Italy-wide and quickly brought critical recognition and fame to the author. He married Almeria Antoniazzi in 1964, which also marked the release of his last novel, Un amore. In 1972, Buzzati died of cancer after a protracted illness.
Works by Buzzati
Buzzati began writing fiction in 1933. His works of fiction include five novels, theatre and radio plays, librettos, numerous books of short stories and poetry. He wrote the children’s book, originally called La famosa invasione degli orsi in Sicilia, and then translated to The Bears’ Famous Invasion of Sicily by Frances Lobb. Lemony Snicket wrote the introduction and reader’s companion. The Tartar Steppe, his most famous novel, tells the story of a military outpost that awaits a Tartar invasion. In its sentiment and its conclusions, it has been compared to existentialist works, notably Albert Camus‘s The Myth of Sisyphus. His writing is sometimes cited as magical realism, social alienation, and the fate of the environment and of fantasy in the face of unbridled technological progress are recurring themes. He has also written a variety of short stories featuring fantastic animals such as the bogeyman and, his own invention, the colomber (il colombre).