L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano " I've always been a shy person, but the- a t e r h e l p e d m e open up because it made me feel like I b e l o n g e d . I t b e c a m e m y home and my life." Italian actress and come- dian P a o l a M i n a c c i o n i took a piece of herself and her life on tour to the United S t a t e s w i t h t h e s h o w I ' m Much Better Live, which was presented both in New York and Los Angeles. In Califor- nia, Minaccioni, a Roman born in 1971, took the stage at the Hudson Theater in H o l l y w o o d w h e r e s h e brought to life some of the c h a r a c t e r s s h e c r e a t e d t h r o u g h o u t h e r c a r e e r i n film, TV, and radio. " T h e s h o w i s a m o n o - logue, a stream of conscious- ness in the form of stand-up comedy, but it blends gen- res," Paola tells us. "It's a summary of my theatrical experience, a narrative that speaks about my personal journey starting from my separation. As I talk about it, I search for a way to over- come this trauma and share it with the audience, espe- cially through the portrayal of characters from my artis- tic life." Who are these charac- ters? The first one is Loredana Berté, who advises me to be transgressive, while then Prime Minister Giorgia Mel- oni suggests adopting other techniques, to be more con- ventional as a woman. Sabri- na Ferilli, on the other hand, tells me to focus on medita- tion. Then there are other characters, like Baba Nanda, who was born on the radio. And then, my most iconic character, my grandmother, who I also bring on stage and who interacts with the audi- ence 99% of the time, so it's all improvisation. I narrate this transitional experience of mine and use my charac- ters to do so. In essence, it's a mix of stand-up comedy and Italian commedia del- l'arte. Theatrical comedy and improvisation. D i d y o u a d a p t y o u r comedy thinking about performing in front of an audience from a dif- ferent country? I adapted the show only b e c a u s e " h e r e a n d n o w , " especially for monologues, always applies and there are certain references to the fact that I came to Los Angeles from Rome and that I am Italian, for example. Specifi- cally on the type of comedy: no, I did not change any- t h i n g p r e c i s e l y b e c a u s e I thought my comedy could be an added value. I brought myself and my own way of doing things. I find Ameri- can stand-up comedy won- derful: we Italians can try to take inspiration from it but a l w a y s k e e p i n g o u r o w n identity alive. I asked myself some questions about con- tent because, sometimes, sensibilities are different. Your first show was in N e w Y o r k , h o w d i d i t go? I barely noticed that I was in New York. For me, this s h o w i s a k i n d o f p r i v a t e p a r t y w h e r e I t e l l a b o u t myself and have fun with the audience. I got confirmation that comedy is international. Do you like American stand-up comedy? I obviously like Ricky Ger- vais because he has made his writing an evolution, even writing series for TV. For me, he is a beacon. Behind him, however, there is also a lot of intelligence, it goes beyond just talent related to comedy. He is an artist, and that is what I like about people who do stand-up. Is there anything from your experience in the US that could e a future sketch? As an Italian, I would do a s k e t c h a b o u t h o w w e g o looking for good food when we are abroad. It makes me laugh because we Italians go looking for olive oil instead of going to Tiffany's. We look for our security in food! As a tourist what did you do? It was my first time in Los Angeles and I fell in love with this city. I spent a whole d a y i n S a n t a M o n i c a a n d Venice Beach watching peo- ple dancing on skates or on bicycles with the music very loud. It seemed to me a place where it is possible to have a d i f f e r e n t k i n d o f l i f e . I n Rome, we are a bit depressed and angry. What do you miss in your career? I have many dreams and many goals. I have already been lucky, in the theater, to work with dramatic texts as well. With Anna Foglietta we brought out a text by Remo Binosi, L'attesa, in which I play a Venetian servant, a wonderful character, similar to those you find in great Greek tragedies. I have these experiences, on the theater s t a g e , a n d I a m l u c k y f o r that. I would certainly like to play different roles and I think in America there are f e w e r p r e c o n c e p t i o n s : i n Italy, we are a little more complicated. Europe is deep and cultured, but also heavy. A character you would like to play? I w o u l d l i k e t o p l a y a p o l i c e w o m a n . A n o r m a l woman, like a female pigeon t a m e r . I a m f o n d o f s p y series. What is your relation- ship with social media? I recently joined TikTok. I was quite shocked because everything can be a success t h e r e , e v e n s o m e t h i n g t r a s h y , t h e m o s t u s e l e s s thing can have incredible success. What I'm trying to d o , c a t c h i n g u p w i t h o l d sketches of mine, is to use t h e m e d i u m b u t w i t h o u t going after trends, without compromising my quality. I don't want to get stuck doing the things that other people are doing. W h i c h c h a r a c t e r d o you particularly love? I love two characters very m u c h : o n e i s t h e S i c i l i a n mom, Donna Fugata, who talks about daughters-in-law and the fact that guilt is the basis of united and happy families. An archetypal char- acter who has no boundaries and cannot grow old, she s p e a k s t o p e o p l e ' s b e l l y , despondent, heartbroken, grieving. The other is my grandmother, Mrs. Wanda, who was the first imitation in my life, totally homemade! Think how many years I've b e e n e x p l o r i n g h e r n o w : s i n c e I w a s a c h i l d , e v e n t h o u g h I ' v e p r a c t i c a l l y b e c o m e m y g r a n d m o t h e r now! In a little while I'll be walking around dressed as t h i s c h a r a c t e r . I l o v e h e r because it's a character that allows you to play with the audience and there is a lot of improvisation. When did you realize that being on stage had to be your future? First, when I started imi- tating my grandmother, and then also at school. I think it fully struck when I saw Anna Marchesini and her charac- t e r s . W h e n I s a w t h e Solenghi-Lopez-Marchesini trio I went crazy for them, I k n e w a l l t h e i r s h o w s b y heart. On vacation at Lake Vico, when I was a kid, they w o u l d a l w a y s c a l l m e o n stage to play Marchesini, and together with a friend of the g r o u p w e w o u l d d o t h e i r s k e t c h e s . I u s e d t o g o o n stage without any theater experience but I loved doing it. Performing always came naturally to me, I always had a certain ease and natural- ness to it. SILVIA NITTOLI I t a l i a n a c t r e s s a n d c o m e d i a n P a o l a Minaccioni visits Los Angeles Paola Minaccioni (above) was on stage in New York and Los Angeles (Photo: Francesca Lucidi) LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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