KITNEWSLETTER
JUNE 2010

Logo Rosso Prova
Three KIT events to go before the Summer break...

1. SOLD OUT!!! The first reading of Gomorrah was sold out. We added one more date: the New (and only) date is JUNE 13, same place, same time (see below for details).

2. JUNE 7th: last appointment of the season for KITCAFFE' In Montclair. KIT dedicates the night to KIT friend Fred Gardaphe' (see below for details).
We'll celebrate a nice KITCAFFE' season together, toasting to Kristina, Ruth and everyone else who made KITCAFFE' in Montclair possible.

3. JULY 27: will celebrate the return of KITCAFFE' in Manhattan at Cornelia Street Cafe'... details will come soon...

And if you'd like to Donate To KIT, see below for the details! We thank you in advance for your support!

On a personal note, I am proud to announce that from June 14th to July 2nd I will be part of the Director's Lab at Lincoln Center together with seventy other directors from all over the world. A great honor indeed!


Ciao! Laura & KIT


KAIROS ITALY THEATER and TRUMPETS JAZZ CLUB
With the endorsement of THE CENTER FOR ITALIAN AND ITALIAN AMERICAN CULTURE and under the auspices of the ITALIAN CONSULATE IN NEWARK


FRED GARDAPHE'
KITCAFFE' IN MONTCLAIR
Literary Italian Salon

Trumpets Jazz Club
(6 Depot Square, Montclair, NJ)


Monday June 7th
7-9pm

Followed by a special pugliese dinner
to mark the last appointment of the season with KITCAFFE' in Montclair


Honorable Guest

DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR
FRED GARDAPHE'
and its book
IMPORTATO DALL'ITALIA e altre storie
(Idea Publications, June 2009)

KITCaffe': $ 10.00
Dinner: $ 20.00

R.S.V.P. via email: info@kitheater.com
or by calling Trumpets' reservation line: 973-486-0822


Fred Gardaphe is Distinguished Professor of English and Italian American Studies at Queens College/CUNY and the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute.  He directs the Italian/American Studies Program at Queens and formerly directed the programs in Italian American and American studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.   He is Associate Editor of Fra Noi, an Italian American monthly newspaper, editor of the Series in Italian American Studies at State University of New York Press, and co-founding-co-editor of Voices in Italian Americana, a literary journal and cultural review.  He is past president of MELUS (2003-2006) and the American Italian Historical Association (1996-2000), and current President of the Working Class Studies Association.  His edited books include: New Chicago Stories, Italian American Ways, and From the Margin: Writings in Italian Americana.  He has written two one-act plays: "Vinegar and Oil," produced by the Italian/American Theatre Company in 1987, and "Imported from Italy," produced by Zebra Crossing Theater in 1991.   His study, Italian Signs, American Streets: The Evolution of Italian American Narrative, is based on his dissertation which one the Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli/Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs award for 1993 dissertations) and was published by Duke University Press in 1996; it was named an Outstanding Academic Book for 1996 by Choice. He has also published Dagoes Read: Tradition and the Italian/American Writer, Moustache Pete is Dead!: Italian/American Oral Tradition Preserved in Print, Leaving Little Italy: Essaying Italian American Studies and From Wiseguys to Wise Men: Masculinities and the Italian American Gangster.  His most recent book is Importato dall'Italia.  

Teachers will receive a certificate for 2 hours of professional development.
Refreshments are kindly donated by Trumpets Jazz Club
NJ coordinators:  Kristine Massari & Ruth Kunstadter, licensed NJ teachers of Italian.
Host: Laura Caparrotti, KIT
 The Flea Theater and Kairos Italy Theater present
THE KIT PROJECT:
READINGS OF ITALIAN THEATRE IN TRANSLATION


Arlecchino Love SickGOMORRAH
A theatrical adaptation
by Roberto Saviano and Mario Gelardi
Translated by Laura Caparrotti and Dave Johnson
in collaboration with Rocco Sisto


ADDED READING SOLD OUT!!!
Sunday June 13th @ 7pm
The Flea Theater (41 White Street)
Free Admission

For reservations, please email sarahw@theflea.org
 

The Flea Theater and Kairos Italy Theater proudly present a reading of Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano and Mario Gelardi -from an idea by Ivan Castiglione and Mario Gelardi- translated by Laura Caparrotti and Dave Johnson in collaboration with Rocco Sisto and directed by Laura Caparrotti. The play is based on the International Best-Seller Gomorrah written by Roberto Saviano and will feature Rocco Sisto, Edoardo Ballerini, Vincent Piazza and Nicholas Maccarone and John Anthony Russo fromThe Flea Theater's resident acting company, The Bats. Post-reading discussion with author George DeStefano.

KIT and The Flea Theater inaugurate the series with Gomorrah, a theatrical adaptation based on the book that The New York Times called "A groundbreaking, unprecedented bestseller in Italy. Roberto Saviano's insider account traces the decline of the city of Naples under the rule of the Camorra, an organized crime network more powerful and violent than the Mafia."

The theatrical adaptation of Gomorrah was written when Roberto Saviano was in the process of writing the book, before anyone could forecast its international success. The play follows the stories of five characters - Mariano, Franco, Pasquale, KIT KAT and Pickachu, as well as Roberto Saviano's work as a reporter in and around his own town. The play has been successfully presented in Italy and in Germany.

Italian culture - theater and literature especially - is full of hidden treasures for the English speaking audience. Until now, many English speakers have been unable to appreciate such masterpieces as they have either been translated poorly, or not at all. This is why KIT has created THE KIT PROJECT, a series of readings of Italian plays, from old to contemporary ones, written by Italian authors. The series will introduce translation of plays never translated into English before as well as new translation of works already previously translated.

Mario Gelardi, co-writer of the adaptation with Saviano, states: "In the play, we wanted to create a structure that linked all the stories using Roberto Saviano as the glue for them. We wanted to give character and a face to the protagonists of the book. It's not just paper, it's flesh and blood. The theatrical Gomorrah is like a series of shots by a Kalashnikov, fast, violent, that shoots at bullet-proof glass, making big and small holes."


The reading will be followed by a post-reading discussion organized in collaboration with Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo' at NYU.

The Flea Theater, under Artistic Director Jim Simpson and Producing Director Carol Ostrow, is one of New York's leading off-off-Broadway companies. Winner of a Special Drama Desk Award for outstanding achievement, Obie Awards and an Otto for political theater, The Flea has presented nearly 100 plays and numerous dance and live music performances since its inception in 1996. Past productions include the premieres of Anne Nelson's The Guys; five plays by A.R. Gurney (Post Mortem, O Jerusalem, Screenplay, Mrs. Farnsworth and A Light Lunch); Mac Wellman's Cellophane and Two September; Roger Rosenblatt's Ashley Montana Goes Ashore... and The Oldsmobiles; Elizabeth Swados' JABU and Kaspar Hauser; Karen Finley's Return of the Chocolate Smeared Woman; Adam Rapp's Bingo with the Indians; Will Eno's Oh, The Humanity and other exclamations; Dawn by Thomas Bradshaw; The Great Recession and most recently, Girls in Trouble.

The Flea is located at 41 White Street between Church and Broadway, three blocks south of Canal, close to the A/C/E, N/R/Q/W, 6, J/M/Z and 1 subway lines.

ABOUT KIT MEMBERS & KIT FRIENDS...
Logo Mondiali 2010


ITALIANS LOVE SOCCER! 
 
KIT friends Mauro, Simone and Fabio at Sora Lella NYC keep screening soccer matches from Italy every week... Starting from June 11, the party will continue with the 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP... Thank you guys for keeping our lives in NY so Italian! To watch the games and to know when the games are on: www.soralellanyc.com.
In This Issue
KITCAFFE' In Montclair
THE KIT PROJECT
DONATE TO KIT!!!
Quick Links
Kairos Italy Theater
KIT In The City
Find us on Facebook


SOME KITFRIENDLY LINKS...
Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo'
Istituto Italiano di Cultura
La Collina Italiana
Every Little Movement
Sora Lella NYC
Mare Nostrum Elements
Anabella Lenzu/Dance Drama
The Flea Theater
Essence of Italy


FRO MORE LINKS, GO TO KIT WEBSITE's LINKS SECTION.
Italy in (& around) NY


Palladio and his legacy: a translatantic journey at MORGAN LIBRARY

Pranzo di Ferragosto by Gianni Di Gregorio at QUAD CINEMA

Marco Di Marco Trio at BIRDLAND

IL PAESAGGIO DE-SCRITTO: UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Italy. Photographs by Luca Capuano at CASA ITALIANA AT NYU

Open Roads at WALTER READE THEATER

Cinemonde Soiree' presenting The Law at TRIBECA GRAND HOTEL

CIAO ITALY PERFORMANCE ART FESTIVAL

Carmen Consoli at LE POISSON ROUGE

The Law with Marcello Mastroianno and Gina Lollobrigida at BAM

Jovanotti at SUMMERSTAGE
Message
Arlecchino Love Sick

KIT's mission is to create a cultural exchange program between Italy, the US and the international community, to unveil artistic and creative sides of these two countries to the world.

In the States, Kairos Italy Theater is dedicated to spreading the Italian Culture and to creating an Italian Cultural Network in order to support and further increase the knowledge of Italy in the States.

Upcoming Events
June 7th, 7-9pm: KITCAFFE' In Montclair: Fred Gardaphe's Importato dall'Italia, Trumpets Jazz, Montclair, NJ
June 13th, 7pm: GOMORRAH, The KIT PROJECT, The Flea Theater
July 27th, 6-8pm: KITCAFFE' In Manhattan, Cornelia Street Cafe'

Closing Headline
WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE TO KIT PROGRAMS? DONATE TO KIT!

DONATE TO KIT BY CREDIT CARD
Go to The Field Artist's Contribution Page and select  Laura Caparrotti/Kairos Italy Theater from the drop down list of Sponsored Artists.
Then put the amount you wish to donate in the "Contribution Amount" slot.
Please be sure to fill in all of the contact info so that we can acknowledge your donation with a proper thank you!

DONATE TO KIT BY PERSONAL CHECK
Write a check to The Field, and put in the memo line Laura Caparrotti/Kairos Italy Theater. Then mail it to the following address: KIT-Kairos Italy Theater 60 E 8th street Suite 12B NY-NY 10003.

REMEMBER: ALL THE DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE!

KIT-Kairos Italy Theater is sponsored by The Field, a not-for-profit, tax-exempt, 501 (c) (3) organization serving the New York City performing arts community.
The Field is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt,501(c)(3)organization serving the New York City performing arts community. Contributions made to The Field and earmarked Laura Caparrotti/Kairos Italy Theater are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. For more information about The Field contact: The Field, 161 6th Avenue, New York NY 10013, (212) 691-6969, fax: (212) 255-2053, www.thefield.org. A copy of The Field's latest annual report may be obtained, upon request, from The Field or from the Office of the Attorney General, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.

Closing Headline
Kairos
Arlecchino Love SickAccording to ancient Greeks, Kairos was the god of the "fleeting moment," "a favorable opportunity opposing the fate of man." Such a moment must be grasped (by the tuft of hair on the personified forehead of the fleeting opportunity); otherwise the moment is gone and cannot be re-captured (personified by the back of head being bald). A concept similar to Kairos is that behind the famous motto "Carpe Diem" and a sort of recurrence in the idea of Kairos is linked with the theme of The Wheel of Fortune, which continuously rotates.

Once upon a time... KIT!
Many years ago (I was still in Italy) I have started my own theatre company with some friends, all actors like me. We decided to call us with the temporary name of Le Gramaglie, which was fun, but didn't feel completely right. Then one day, in Rome (my city), while I was walking through an exhibition dedicated to the Greek  sculptor Lysippos, I have discovered a fascinated figure, Kairos, which Lysippos replicated a lot.

Kairos was a semi-god, with a lot of hair in the forehead while completely bold in the back. He symbolized the right occasion grabbed at the right moment: in fact, you can grab it when it's coming (the hair in the forehead), but when it's gone, you won't catch it anymore... I found the concept to be beautiful, an hymn to life lived at full, an exhortation to grab the chance, even when it looks risky, just because your heart says that is the right one.

This is the very simple reason I have called my company Kairos, and when I have came to the States, I have just added Italy to better show what the company was about. After so many years, I can say that I was right: I took many chances, and I still do, and it's still very beautiful and rewarding!

Laura Caparrotti

To contact KIT, send an email to info@kitheater.com
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