Founded in Boston in 2016, ImproNati is a non-professional theater company that performs mainly in Italian. The actors, who come from widely different backgrounds, such as medical science, computer science, the humanities, and mathematics, found in theatrical acting an exciting way to express their creativity and love for the Italian culture, tell stories, and nurture critical thinking. During their first year of activity, ImproNati has experimented with improvisational theater and performed improv comedy shows at the Center for Life Science (Longwood) and at I AM Books (North End), gathering a large crowd of Italian speakers. The group meets every Tuesday in Longwood and is open to new members and theater lovers.
Actors and musicians performing Luigi Pirandello’s La Giara:
Chiara Durazzini – Zi’ Dima
Chiara 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.
Mauro Tedeschi – Don Lolò
Native of Perugia in Umbria, Italy. He studied Engineering in Perugia/Bologna. He moved to Boston in 1999 and since then working at the Research & Development department of Nuance Communications Inc, a Boston based speech technology company. He had his first theatrical experience with Impronati when he played the role of Gastone in Questi Fantasmi.
Riccardo Sangermano – Mpari Pe’
Riccardo is a native of the region of Campania, Italy. He studied Medical Biotechnology in Naples and since 2018 he’s been living in Boston, where he works as a Research Fellow at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear, focusing on inherited retinal disorders. He joined Pazzi Lazzi/ImproNati and participated to De Filippo’s comedy Questi Fantasmi in November 2018.
Pietro Artoni – Fillicò
Pietro moved to Boston in 2015 and joined ImproNati in 2016. A physicist by training, he is a postdoctoral fellow in neuroscience at Boston Children’s Hospital, where she conducts research on neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and Rett Syndrome. When he is not studying the human brain, Pietro likes building robots, acting, and baking.
Andrea D’Amico – Tararà
Andrea is from the little town Staffoli near Pisa. He moved in Boston in 2016 after obtaining his PhD from “Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna” in Pisa. Currently, he a Post-doctoral researcher in the Ocular Genomic Institute at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI). In 2018 he played one of the porters in the ImproNati production of Questi Fantasmi.
Laura Ingallinella – Gnà Tana
Born in Sicily, Laura specialized in medieval literature at the “Scuola Normale Superiore” in Pisa and then moved to Boston, where she worked at the Medieval Academy of America. She now teaches medieval Italian literature at Wellesley College, spending her days among medieval monks and pretty manuscripts from the 1250s. In 2016, Laura joined ImproNati and Pazzi Lazzi, where she plays a conceited princess, a vengeful wife, and a lustful old man with an impressive mustache. All roles fit her seamlessly.
Rossella Mancullo – Trisuzza
Rossella moved from Naples to Boston in 2016, after finishing her high school diploma. She is currently attending Bunker Hill Community College and is taking theatrical Improvisation classes at ImprovBoston. During the Summer of 2017 she worked as an entertainer with the Swiss Animation company Life Entertainment in Rhodes, Greece.
Carmen Marsico – Carminella
Award winning Italian vocalist, composer and dancer, Carmen hails from the mountainous and wild region of Basilicata and she is currently best known as lead singer and front person of the Mediterranean/Italian World Music group Newpoli. She was a winner of the 2015 Independent Music Award for Traditional World Music, finalist in the USA Songwriting Competition in the World category (2015, 2018) and in the “Premio Nazionale Città di Loano per la Musica Tradizionale Italiana” (2015, 2019).
Luca Troncone – Mulattiere
Neapolitan researcher in Cardiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital with training experiences also in Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center of Boston and Mount Sinai Medical School of New York. He acted during High School where he played different roles in modern and classic comedies.
Michael Weiner – Nociarello
Michael is attending 8th grade and is a high-level gymnast. In 2018 he played Armida’s youngest son in the ImproNati production of Questi Fantasmi.
Dan Meyers – Recorders
A versatile multi-instrumentalist, Dan Meyers has developed a reputation as a flexible and engaging performer of both classical and folk music; his credits range from premieres of new chamber music, to the Newport Folk Festival, to playing Renaissance instruments on Broadway for Shakespeare’s Globe. Since 2016 he has been a musician with Pazzi Lazzi, providing musical accompaniment for performances and workshops as well as for the one-woman show Isabella Unmasked with Chiara Durazzini. He also frequently performs southern Italian folk music with the award-winning band Newpoli.
Björn Wennås – Guitar
Swedish born Björn Wennås is an award winning Boston based guitarist and composer. He is currently the Music Director for Newpoli, an Italian world/folk ensemble. He is one of only a handful of people outside of Italy that plays the 10 stringed Chitarra Battente.
Fabio Pirozzolo – Percussion
Fabio is a highly in-demand drummer, percussionist, and singer. His extensive performing experience includes drumming for a long list of internationally recognized performers including Newpoli. His theater credits include The Revels (2017) and Yerma (2019).
Nicola Spiniello – L’avvocato Scimè
Nicola is from Genoa, Italy. He studied Computer Science in Genoa and then moved to Boston in 2009. He works in technology – Industrial Automation and Product lifecycle Management field in the Boston area, currently for a french company.
His first theatrical experience was with Impronati where he played Improv sketches and then the role of Alfredo in Questi Fantasmi.
