Speakers:
Laura Caparrotti has a Master Degree in Performing Arts, Cinema and Theatre History from the University “La Sapienza” in Rome. She also studied with Nobel Prize Dario Fo, among others. After ten years of professional theatre in Italy, she relocated to New York, where she continues to direct and/or perform. She is the Founding Artistic Director of the main Italian Theater Company in NY Kairos Italy Theater and of In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY, the first Italian Theater Festival to take place in all 5 NY Boroughs. In 2019 Laura will inaugurate On Stage! the first American Theater Festival in Rome as a associate director.
Silvio Alessandro Di Gioia is a researcher. Alessandro joined the Engle Lab in 2014 to study the genetic and mechanistic bases of the congenital cranial dysinnervation disorders (CCDDs). He earned his MS in Medical, Molecular, and Cellular Biotechnology from the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy in 2007 and his PhD in Genetics from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland in 2013. As a PhD student in the lab of Carlo Rivolta, PhD, Alessandro identified mutations in FAM161A as a cause of a recessive form of retinitis pigmentosa and published seven papers. Outside of the lab, Alessandro is Co-President of the Boston Children’s Hospital Postdoctoral Association, performs with the professional comedy company Pazzi Lazzi, and directs an Italian improvisational theater company, ImproNati.
Chiara Durazzini is a native of Florence, Italy, and she is the co-founder and artistic director of the Commedia dell’Arte troupe Pazzi Lazzi for which she performs, teaches and directs. She obtained her Master’s degree in Art, Music and Theatre at the University of Bologna.
IDEA Boston is an Italian-inspired festival celebrating authors, books and culture, and organized by independent bookstore I AM Books, situated in Boston's North End neighborhood.
