In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY, the first Italian theater festival that takes place in the city's five boroughs, is having its first Winter edition. Indeed the international theater festival, launched by Laura Caparrotti and Donatella Codonesu of Kairos Italy Theater and Kit Italia, that takes place at the beginning of the summer, is adding the dates February 4-7 to its calendar. In Scena!Winter is presented by KIT, KIT Italia, Italy in the US, the Embassy of Italy in Washington DC and the Ministry of Foreign Affair together with Bernie Wohl Center and the Italian Cultural Institute in NY.

In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY winter edition is re-presenting two shows that were featured in past editions: “Niuiòrc Niuiòrc” (In Scena! 2013) and “L’Italia s’è desta” (In Scena! 2014). Both shows will take place only in one location, a location that often hosts great Italian programs: the Bernie Wohl Center at Goddard Riverside (647 Columbus Avenue, NY, NY).
 

“There are two reasons why we decided to have a winter edition,” Donatella Codonesu, co-founder, explained to i-italy. “The first coincides with one of the main goals of the festival itself: supporting the theater companies and the artists who participate in creating an international network. Getting to perform in New York, getting in touch with the city, its people and local artists but also meeting each other over here builds the foundations of both an Italian and an international network.

Paradoxically, in past editions there have been several exchanges between artists from northern and southern Italy. Having some of them return for more shows, in a different situation, means helping them maintain a link to the city and the opportunity to circulate, even if it is for a short time (right now). The second reason involves the festival itself that, with the additional February dates, is growing and is reminding audiences that it exists. Thanks to these additional dates Italian theater is more accessible, and not only at the end of the season.”
 

“Italian theater is rich of ideas, energy and talent. We are working on the 4th summer edition and every year we are surprised to discover how much variety and quality there is in our national theater. It is a value that we are proud to bring to a country that loves theater in general but mostly loves Italy and its culture. Bringing our culture abroad is not important... it's vital. Culture is the biggest wealth that we possess: making it accessible and known is good for both Italy and the rest of the world. Theater, when compared to other art forms, has an additional value that is priceless: it's live. It lives, always and only, in the presence of people: actors and audiences. This is what In Scena! wants to be: first and foremost it wants to be a meeting place for artists, audiences but also technicians, operators and, to put it more simply, people.”

The two shows that have been selected were chosen because they have racked up an enthusiastic response from the public and critics both in Italy and in the US. After having toured all over Italy they are welcomed in New York once again.
 

“Niuiòrc Niuiòrc” by and with Francesco Foti is “a journey across the Big Apple, based on a true travel diary. A ‘young’ 40-year-old ‘boy’ finds himself disoriented in the big city. He gets lost in the streets, avenues and parks of Manhattan while meeting a unique collection of characters. A funny, tender and original story about finding yourself in a foreign city.” (Showtimes: February 4, 6 7:30pm, February 7 3pm).
 

“L’Italia s’è desta,” written and directed by Rosario Mastrota and performed by Dalila Desirée Cozzolino, “tells the story of Carletta, a Shakespearean village fool, who witnesses the kidnapping by the Calabrese mafia – ‘ndrangheta – of the Italian national soccer team. The army, politicians and journalists, too busy creating a media storm around the event, and blinded by the magnitude of the news, don’t notice her. She’s the only person who knows where the team is hidden – but nobody believes her.” The play, which owes its title to the Italian national anthem, is performed in Italian and Calabrese dialect with English supertitles. (Showtimes: February 5,7 7:30pm, February 6 3pm).