LYDIA BIONDI is an actress, stage director, choreographer,, casting director  and teacher (film, theatre and opera). Lydia appears in films, on television and on stage around the world. In the U.S. she can be seen in the upcoming film EAT, PRAY, LOVE by Ryan Murphy (2010), in LETTERS TO JULIET (2010) by Gary Winick, and in Spike Lee's film MIRACLE AT SANTA ANNA as well as in the HBO series ROME. In theater, she has appeared at La Mama ETC. Lydia is the artistic director of MimoTeatroMovimento in Rome and teaches Commedia dell'Arte all around the world.

At the beginning of her career, she worked in the avant-garde and experimental theater in Rome, Italy while appearing in movies by important Italian directors such as Roberto Rossellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Federico Fellini, and others. In 1978 she founded the non-profit association MTM (mimoteatromovimento), a theater school and company, which became one of the most important private theater schools in Rome.

In 1981 Lydia joined the famous mime and masks company Mummenschanz,. In 1985 (while continuing to collaborate with Mummenschanz on other tours), she returned to Rome  where She resumed direction of her group MTM, renamed MTM-Teatro Studio, moving into a prestigious space on the Gianicolo hill, the 17th century baroque fountain known as Fontanone. From 1996 to 2007, she was the organizer and artistic director of FontanonEstate, one of the most prestigious theater, music and dance festivals in Rome.

Lydia continues to teach acting and Commedia dell'Arte; she has conducted Commedia dell'Arte workshops in New York, Russia (Omsk, Saratov, Ufa), Colombia (Bogota), Canada (Toronto), Denmark (Copenhagen), and France (Paris).

Cornelia Street Cafe'
(29 Cornelia Street)

Tuesday July 27th
6-8pm



KITCAFFE' on the past and the present of Italian Literature:
The fantastic yet so real world of
STEFANO BENNI
and PRIMO LEVI

Readings from
Margherita Dolcevita by S. Benni and Short Stories by P. Levi
Two writers who transformed reality into fantasy to talk about the world, society and people. Satire, comedy and some hidden drama in stories by two Italian masters.

Primo Levi: Italian-Jewish writer and chemist, who first gained fame with his autobiographical story SE QUESTO � UN UOMO (1947, If This is a Man) of survival in Nazi concentration camps. For the last forty years of his life Levi devoted himself to attempting to deal with the fact that he was not killed in Auschwitz. "The worst survived, that is, the fittest; the best all died," he said. Levi also published poetry, science fiction, essays, and short stories. In 1987, at the age of 67, he killed himself. Italo Calvino called Levi "one of the most important and gifted writers of our time."

Stefano Benni is widely considered one of Italy's foremost novelists. His trademark mix of biting social satire and magical realism has turned each of his books into a national bestseller. His many novels include: Bar Sport, The Company of Celestini, The Cafe Beneath the Sea and the latest remarkably successful Margherita Dolce Vita. Benni is also the author of several volumes of essays and poetry and many collections of short stories. He lives in Bologna, Italy. From Europaedition web-site.

 Following KIT's tradition, the reading will be first in English followed by its Italian version.
Copies of the reading material in Italian will provide to the audience the opportunity to follow the professional reading.
Q&A and mingle in before, during and after the reading.

  Entrance+Cover Charge $ 12.00
includes copies of reading material and a glass of wine
(or if you don't drink, the equivalent in food)