Pier Lorenzo Pisano's MATER FAMILIAS Wins In Scena! 2015 Mario Fratti Award; Reading Set for 5/11

The third annual IN SCENA! ITALIAN THEATER FESTIVAL NY, produced by New York's Kairos Italy Theater (KIT), has announced the winner of the second annual MARIO FRATTI AWARD for emerging Italian authors. The Award goes to: "Mater Familias" by Pier Lorenzo Pisano. An Award ceremony and staged reading of the play will be presented on Monday, May 11 at 6pm at Theater for the New City (155 1st Avenue in Manhattan). Tickets are $5 at www.brownpapertickets.com.

"Mater Familias" tells the story of three generations trying to help each other through increasingly difficult times. "I was born in Naples, I work in Rome, I love Venice." This is how Pier Lorenzo Pisano likes to introduce himself. His career spans from theater to cinema, from directing to writing.

According to the Award's namesake, Mario Fratti, "Mater Familias" is "a powerful drama on the desperate need to commit a crime to let your family survive. Clear dialogue, perfect Italian language not contaminated by modern vulgarities."

As part of the MARIO FRATTI AWARD, "Mater Familias" will be translated into English by KIT's Carlotta Brentan. Mr. Fratti will also present the winning playwright with a specially created painting by Victoria Febrer, a Spanish visual artist who uses wine to create her paintings.

The theme for the 2015 award was "the Mother." The winning play was selected by a panel including Mario Fratti (Nine, Six Passionate Women), Dalila Cozzolino (Actress - 2014 In Scena! Participant), Tiziano Panici (Artistic Director Teatro Argot, Roma -2014 In Scena! Participant), Marco Calvani (Playwright and Director), Antonia Chiodi (Director of the Scuola di Teatro della Accademia dei Filodrammatici di Milano), Valeria Orani (Artistic Director, Producer at 369 gradi and Umanism), and Simone Nebbia (Theater Critic for Italian webzine TeatroeCritica). The jury evaluated each entry based on four criteria: quality of the writing, originality of the subject matter, treatment of the Award's theme, and its universality .

Runner-up for the award is "Il più bell'addio" by Pierpaolo Palladino, whose several award-winning plays have been produced all over Italy. The play describes a confrontational relationship between a mother and a daughter, which hides the daughter's deep mourning for her mother's death.

In third place is "Mamma Randagia" by Thomas Otto Zinzi. The play, a dark comedy, tells of an aging mother who loses her way in a city. She's searching for truthful feelings, and finds them in the helpful behavior of a policeman.

IN SCENA! ITALIAN THEATER FESTIVAL NY 2015 is a 17-day festival that will offer 8 fully staged productions from Italy, among other events and activities. Shows will be presented in all five boroughs of New York. Each show will have at least two performances, one in Manhattan and one in one of the outer boroughs. Performances will run May 4 - 20, 2015. Venues, a calendar of performances and ticketing information will be announced later this week.

IN SCENA! ITALIAN THEATER FESTIVAL NY was founded in 2013. That year, it was chosen as an official event representing Italian culture in the US under the auspices of the President of the Italian Republic with the Patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C. For more information on IN SCENA! ITALIAN THEATER FESTIVAL NY visit www.inscenany.com.

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