October
24, 2008
"Paradise by the River" revisits
Internment of Italians in
The
ANNOTICO Report
While
it took a long time for the Internment of Italian Americans during WWII to come
to light, the Italian Canadians took even longer, but
Tandem
By
Donya Abdulhadi
October
26, 2008
Italian-Canadian
playwright and actor Vittorio Rossis drama, Paradise by the River, which
is about the internment of Italians in Canada after World War II, received
rave reviews and has been a topic of great inspiration for the
Italian-Canadian community leaders in Canada.
The plays
assistant producer, Grace Stanisci, a first
generation Canadian of Italian descent, talks about Paradise by the River, the
hardships that Italian-Canadians suffered during the internment, and reminds us
that being Italian is not just about pasta, pizza, and soccer.
What was Vittorio Rossis
objective when writing the play?
I think he really just wanted the event to be told. The play really
shows the Italian-Canadians energy when they came to this country and
their will to just do the best that they could and how a lot of this went away
when
What makes
Firstly, it is performed in three languages: Italian, English and
French. Secondly, it is relatable to everyone and it also speaks to a lot of
nationalities; it wasnt just Italians that were
persecuted after World War II, there were persecutions toward other
nationalities as well.
Can you
tell us more about lead character Romano Dicenzo?
Romano
is the main character of the play who comes from
The concept of the estranged family comes out vividly in Rossis play.
Why did he choose this theme?
I am Italian, and I can tell you from experience that Italian culture
is a very family-oriented one! My father, for example, always used to tell me
that the family is the one you identify with first and foremost. In the play we
see that Romanos wife Maria really tries to help protect the family in any
way she can. Vittorio Rossi shows the Italian community in its most authentic
state, and family is a core value of Italian culture.
Who was the target audience
for this play?
Well, weve made this play super
accessible to everybody. This play is for the Italian-Canadian community. It is
for those of my generation and younger; it is for those people that saw it or
lived it and feel it wasnt done any
justice.
How long have you worked on
this project?
Our artistic producer, Alex C., started about a year ago with a grant
application to The Ontario Trillium Foundation. Upon receiving the grant the
project started right away, and as soon as I heard about this project I jumped
[at the opportunity]. That was on May 1 and from then weve been working on the casting and the play, which is set
to debut in November.
If you were to write a play about Romano Dicenzo in
The first is retaining the language. The second is battling
the stereotypes such as anyone who is Italian is from
Are you hopeful
for the Italian-Canadian communitys restoration and unity?
Absolutely.
Story Location: http://www.tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=8690
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