L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 5 Master of Monologue: Massimiliano Finazzer Flory brings Futurist Leaders to Life On Tuesday, May 27, 2014, award-winning Italian theater actor Massimiliano Finazzer Flory stopped off at San Francisco's Legion of Honor on his latest American tour to per- form his self-directed Gran Serata Futurista—a tribute to thought leaders of the early 20 th century philosophical movement captained by Filipo Tommaso Marinetti and Giovanni Papini, among others. The performance was an eloquent and impas- sioned reenactment of Marinetti's famous monologues, including signature tuxedo, punctuated by thunderous music and a mesmerizing contempo- rary dance performance by Michela Lucenti. Given Marinetti's dense, deliberately chaotic language and incendiary wit, Flory's seamless, nuanced delivery of the complex poetry was all the more impressive— the monologues showcased the actor's ability to share emotion with the audience through incredibly subtle, fluid shifts in tone and body language. In fact, the performance may have been less a tribute to Futurism as it was to Marinetti himself, who Flory calls "unbeatable." The show ends with a grand finale speech from Giovanni Papini, who defends Marinetti's ideals, and encapsulates for the audi- ence the sum of the evening. It is no surprise that Flory's fervor has proved catching—Gran Serata Futurista has recently announced that it will encore in Los Angeles and New York before finishing out the North American tour. There is no doubt that the prevalence and social conscious- ness of Futurism were much more eminent in France, Italy and other Western European countries in the early 1900s than in the United States—indeed, the youth and industrial modernity of the U.S. easily lend them- selves to being symbols of Futurism for countries with much longer histories; it is pre- cisely the homage to these histo- ries that supporters of Futurism sought to cast off in favor of speed, invention, and other man- ifests of urban landscape. Still, the concept is relatively obscure for many Americans, and no one is better positioned to enlighten us than Flory himself. Here, five questions with the Master of Monologue about the Futurist movement and his passion for this performance: (Translation by Silvia Simonetti.) L'Italo-Americano: How have the goals of Futurism changed from 100 years ago? Massimiliano Finazzer Flory: Nothing has changed, as the objectives are inside us: desire and hope against pessimism and nostalgia. One hundred years are nothing for us who have been standing on the eter- nal promontory for centuries. There is a future for Futurism, and it is the sense of the big city. There is a future for Futurism, Krista Dossetti and it is ubiquity. IA: How has Futurism suc- ceeded? (In Italy, across the world?) MFF: Its dissemination is among us—through the Internet. Marinetti's wireless imagination is exactly the same communica- tion we use in the present time. Futurism is a revolutionary movement, and as such it can't but be global. Google is a work- shop in the sky that was anticipated by Marinetti. Unfortunately in Italy conserva- tive forces prevailed. In the U.S., which I love, they didn't! IA: It used to be that Futurism centered on cars, air- planes, speed, industrializa- tion—what are the new, mod- ern symbols of Futurism? MMF: SMS, Facebook, Twitter are just a few exam- ples. But I also think of nan- otechnologies and touch screens, which were anticipated by Futurists as well. Actually, none of this could be possible without the love for danger, risky, unat- tempted and untried things, and mostly for young people. They are our symbol. IA: Describe what the mono- logues mean to you, and what you get out of doing them/ showing them to others. MMF: Monologue is an exer- cise of memory associated to body movement that must express the habit of energy, the bridled strength, the beast's instinct, but also the passion for a project, for a possible and nec- essary revolution. On the stage I suffer and I rejoice at the same time, I chomp at the bit and I am held back. The best theater is that of slight contradictions. IA: How does physical move- ment play a role in a theoreti- cal concept? MMF: In the relationship between the space of the stage and our inner space, the latter wins thanks to small movements that, being associated to very strong words, have an impact, [sic] and end up among the peo- ple in the audience who must feel, and almost fear my arrival because I speak about their body. IA: What is your favorite quote/idea from Filippo Tommaso Marinetti or Giovanni Papini and why? MMF: About Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, I'd say that he taught us that the progress of our country is more important than the progress of the individ- ual citizen; that we can easily switch from serious to pleasant activities; that if we love and want, (we can have) all kinds of freedom except for the free- dom of being coward, retrograde and parasite. In Papini, I'd say that there is a praise of (the type of) man who doesn't yield to butter(ing) up powerful people, who refuses to rent out his pen and to coerce his own soul. Massimiliano Finazzer Flory performing in his self-directed "Gran Serata Futurista" Massimiliano Finazzer Flory

• Cover