Friday,
December 08, 2006
Actor Tony Nardi,
Takes Stand vs Italian Stereotypes, Risks Career
The
ANNOTICO Report
Canadian
actor Tony Nardi deserves the FULL and Active support
of the Entire Italian Canadian/American Communities.
He
RISKS his Career to Fight Negative Italian Stereotypes, by Refusing Roles that
perpetuate Negative Italian Images, and Assails
those Prospective Producers and Directors for their Laziness in accepting
Mediocrity in material, that relies so much on either Bathroom Humor or ANY
offensive stereotype, that they are either oblivious to, or willing to embrace
in pursuit of profits, ignoring that they hit far below the belt.
Nardi also takes a shot at Italians who limit their knowledge of
Italian Culture to the Food or the Azzurri Roster.
Talented
Actor, Tony Nardi, Takes a Stand Against
Mediocrity
Nardi's "Two Letters" biting
commentary vent frustration with writers who resort to the three M's of Italian
stereotypes - mommas, macaroni and the mafia, and the use of any culture as a
"punchline".
Infamous
Agitator or Society's Conscience ??
Tandem
By John Hanan
Dec 10, 2006 - Dec 17, 2006
Tony Nardi may be talking his way out of show business.
Not that the award winning actor is worried about the repercussions from his
one-man, two-part "act of theatre" entitled Two Letters. Unlike many
within
Then again, he might just become this country's most infamous agitator outside
of Don Cherry.
Early on in his opening monologue, Nardi confesses he
chose his craft as a young man, as a means of exploring greater truths in
society.
Two hours later, his message is clear. He wants to see more actors in this
country striving to raise the bar, rather than remaining silently complicit in
the steady stream of offensive, outdated and mediocre material that is
routinely produced for Canadian audiences, said Nardi
over coffee at Grano Ristorante,
just hours before he was to perform at the midtown establishment.
If you ha p! pened to miss Nardi's Two Letters during the past month, consider
yourself fortunate the veteran actor has just added two additional
performances, which ironically will also serve as a fundraiser for some of the
same Canadian thespians he spends more than two hours tearing a strip off in
his opening act.
Don't dismiss this performance as a long-winded rant from a middle-aged actor.
Certainly large parts of the opening letter serve as a chance for him to vent
his frustration with "doormat Ital-Quebec" writers who resort to the
three M's of Italian stereotypes - mommas, macaroni and the mafia.
Interspersed with
the anger and frustration are moments of cutting insight and hilarity on Canuck
culture. Performed at a kinetic pace, Nardi's opening
Letter serves as a stinging indictment of the nation's theatrical soul.
But first, without spoiling the show, some context as to why Nardi is seemingly intent on committing career suicide.
Not too long ago, Nardi was asked by the producers of
a Canadian sitcom to audition for the role of a stereotypical Italian character
- certainly not the first time in his career, as Nardi
reminds the audience of being asked to "scratch himself like an
Italian" by a previous director - but this particular script, and one
particularly disturbing line of dialogue, was so offensive he rejected the role
and began writing a 17-page missive to the show's producers.
Nardi, who considers himself as much a writer as an actor,
continued writing his damning report on Canadian cinema. However he isn't
presenting himself as a martyr for the Italian-Canadian community. He also
rallies against Canadians of convenience ("|ber-Italians...who
despite a Canadian home and passport" don't identify themselves as such)
and the younger generation, whose ancestral knowledge is limited to the Azzurri's World Cup roster.
From
Throughout the opening Letter, Nardi is visited by
drama-liturgical ghosts (based on living friends within the industry) who he
believes have come to represent the "dead ideas" that permeates
Can-content, suffocating it from producing anything noteworthy.
The second half, Letter Two, began as a long essay to a couple of prominent
theatre critics in
Demonstrating his commitment to leaving no stone unscathed, Nardi
has even incorporated remarks made by his own co-producer and publicist into
the show.
But perhaps he's putting too much pressure on Canadian talent - whether actors
or writers - who are usually, hungrily looking for work and rarely in a
position to turn down a paycheque, no matter how
offensive the material.
"Since they're in the same field as I am, they should be just as concerned
as I am," he said, adding. "You have to become a mirror for society
that normally doesn't have the time to think about such things."
Certainly he holds his professional colleagues up to very high standards,
standards in an age of instant-celebrity that may be rapidly changing.
Similarly, society's funny bone has seemingly moved from h i!
gh-brow
to somewhere far below the belt, but isn't one man's offensive stereotype
another's punchline?
Context
is the key, argues Nardi, and the problem is clichid characters that merely mimic our often shallow
culture.
"Trendy too often passes for originality," he says near the end of
the Letter One. Conversely legendary filmmakers like Martin Scorsese or Spike
Lee, create authentic characters that "create masks to reveal, not
conceal." Intentionally provoking an audience, to reveal a larger theme
isn't what got his blood boiling, but the wafer-thin characters who unknowingly
offend, whose lack of originality means a reliance on using ignorant
stereotypes by default.
While the theme of mediocrity and how it relates to Canadian drama, onstage or
onscreen, has left many with their jaws-dropped and others in tears, Nardi says that many in attendance have walked away from
the monologue with their own particular interpretation. A lawyer sees parallels
to the world of justice, while another sees connections to the media in this
country. Whatever the end result - ! Nardi isn't sure
what he'll do with Two Letters once the run is over- the intent was to stir a
reaction from what he views as a normally apathetic English Canadian audience.
And unlike many bearer of bad news, Nardi stands
around afterwards, fielding questions from an often stunned silent audience.
Exactly what has been the reaction from directors, producers, casting agents
and all those who could potentially keep him from working as retribution? Nardi says he hasn't received much feedback from those
within Canadian theatrical circles (which he hopes will change with the
upcoming benefit performances) and while his critique is sure to create
animosity and resentment, the important thing for him are the ideas contained
within: that culturally, we need to strive for originality, rise above our
current mediocrity and stamp out the scripted racism we so often turn a blind
eye towards.
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