After the success of the first (IPP, 2015/16) and second (IPP, 2017/2018) edition of the Italian Playwrights Project and a special evening dedicated to the work of Stefano Massini in 2017 and 2018, Valeria Orani, Director of Umanism NY, with Frank Hentschker, Director of the Segal Center (Graduate Center – CUNY) forge forward their collaboration to present to the American audience a selection of the most rappresentative Italian dramaturgy.
The IPP initiative brings some of the brightest, innovative, and most engaging playwrights from Italy to New York to develop their pieces through translation into English and public readings of the work. The Italian Playwrights Project plays an important role in introducing contemporary writing from Italy to the US. The project restarted an artistic dialogue between the two countries which has been sporadic over the last 30 years.
Participants of 2017/18 IPP included Elisa Casseri, Giuliana Musso, Armando Pirozzi and Fabrizio Sinisi.
Italian Playwrights Project 2017 - 2nd edition
Italian Playwrights Project 2016 - Special Edition on Stefano Massini
Participants of 2015/16 IPP included Lucia Calamaro, Daria Deflorian & Antonio Tagliarini, Fausto Paravidino, and Michele Santeramo.
Italian Playwrights Project 2015 - 1st edition
The experience of running the Italian Playwrights Project in New York has emphasized how important it is to introduce Italy’s contemporary theatrical work in the US and vice versa.
Umanism and Martin Segal were both motivated by the collaboration with the italian production 369gradi since the very beginning. Thanks to the support of Teatro Vascello in Rome, and The American University of Rome Umanism and Martin Segal are both working to offer this experience to American authors whose work has never been translated or performed in Italy.
The American Playwrights Project is a replica of our successful Italian Playwrights Project series.
Participants of 2017/18 APP included Amy Herzog, Cory Thomas and Mariana Carreno King
American Playwrights Project 2017 - 1st edition
More about the Italian and American Playwrights Project:
The Segal Center invited Italian Artistic Director Valeria Orani from 369gradi (Italy) and Umanism (NY) to collaborate on this ambitious new translation, performance and publishing initiative. “Valeria’s initiative is the most significant Italian playwright project in the last two decades in the Americas, and we are honoured to be able to support this project,” says Segal Center Executive Director Dr. Frank Hentschker. Valeria Orani adds: “We have a truly fantastic selection of some of the most significant contemporary Italian playwrights working today and we believe that American audiences will connect with the themes in their works.”
The Italian and American Playwrights Project has three principal goals:
- To raise the awareness of contemporary Italian and American writing for the stage in the Americas and in Italy and to foster the development of collaborative relationships between playwrights from Italy and American theatre artists and vice versa
- facilitate the collaborations between the authors, translators, directors, actors, publishers, and producers through workshops, meetings
and exchanges in Italy and in US
- The publication of a translated anthology of the selected plays
The Media Partner of Italian and American Playwrights Project is RAI Radio3 www.radio3.rai.it/
About the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center: The Segal Center bridges the gap between the academic and performing arts communities through dynamic public programs and digital initiatives that are free and open to all. Home to theatre artists, scholars, students, performing arts managers, and the local and international performance communities, the Segal Center provides a supportive environment for conversation, open exchange, and the development of new ideas and new work. Year round, the Center presents a wide variety of FREE public programs which feature leading national and international artists, scholars, and arts professionals in conversation about theatre and performance. Programs include staged readings to further the development of new and classic plays, festivals celebrating New York performance (PRELUDE) and international plays (PEN World Voices), screenings of performance works on film, artists in conversation, academic lecture series, televised seminars, symposia, and arts in education programs. In addition, the Center maintains its long-standing visiting-scholars-from-abroad program, publishes a series of highly regarded academic journals, as well as single volumes of importance (including plays in translation), all written and edited by renowned scholars. www.theSegalCenter.org
About Umanism NYC: Umanism is a company dedicated to the promotion and support of contemporary Italian culture and its professionals in New York. A movement, an open platform connecting Italy to the USA recognizing and expanding the creative potential of projects by Italian artists, supporting them in each step of the production and communication in the larger and more challenging context of New York www.umanism.com
About 369gradi Contemporary Culture Production: In 2003, Valeria Orani founded "369gradi", a production and curatorial company as well as a Center for the promotion and distribution of Italian culture, based in Rome, Italy. "369gradi" mission is to investigate new possibilities in contemporary art, performing arts and drama. In 2013 alone 369gradi produced over 12 award-winning ensembles pieces, presented at major Italian theatres and festivals. www.369gradi.it