Stages of History: Performing 1970s Italy with Narrative Theater by Juliet Fara Guzzetta A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Romance Languages and Literatures: Italian) in the University of Michigan 2013 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Giorgio Bertellini, Co-Chair Professor Vincenzo A. Binetti, Co-Chair Associate Professor Lawrence M. La Fountain-Stokes Professor Stacy Wolf, Princeton University © Juliet Fara Guzzetta 2013 Dedication This work is dedicated to Joshua Yumibe and Stella Antonia Guzzetta Yumibe ii Acknowledgements When I was 25 and beginning to think about graduate schools, I envisioned staying on the East Coast in part so that I could be in close proximity to my mom with whom I was very close. She was my confidante, oracle (a game we played) and protector, one of my favorite people to laugh with, make fun of other people with, and chat with (like a best friend). Given that before I was born she had lost a daughter who was four, and that my father died when I was four, my mom and I cultivated a particularly intense bond. In my vision of zipping back to the City at any time from school, sparkling along the coast in an Alfa Romeo Spider (that I have never owned, nor do I drive stick, nor do I enjoy driving), I had no premonition that by the time it came for me to take those GREs my mom would have died (cancer in six weeks). Besides the obvious enticements of joining the graduate school at the University of Michigan, some of the appeal for me had to do with the idea of nestling in the middle of the country, which seemed secure and comforting. It is difficult to know the ways in which its geography impacted my work, but attending Michigan has been an amazingly rich and fortunate endeavor with far too many opportunities to count. I thank the Rackham Graduate School, the International Institute, and the Center for European Studies for their support. The Center for World Performance Studies was especially influential with its three semesters of course work and very generous funding over two summers. Those were when I learned of Narrative Theater and made contact with a iii founder of the genre, Laura Curino, who introduced me to the Italian theater scholar Gerardo Guccini. I thank him for meeting with me both early on and later in my studies. In addition to the department of Screen Arts and Cultures where I completed a certificate, my home department, Romance Languages and Literatures, was welcoming, encouraging, and compassionate. Many professors with whom I did not work officially were open to conversation and questions, and mattered to me in ways they probably never knew. Some of those people include Catherine Brown, David Caron, Jarrod Hayes, Cristina Moreiras-Menor, and Yannick Viers. Christi Merrill in the Department of Comparative Literature was particularly influential, and I enjoyed many conversations with EJ Westlake in the Department of Theatre and Drama about performance-related topics and otherwise. Alison Cornish, among my first professors at Michigan, is inspiring for her rigor and wicked humor. I was paired with Peggy McCracken as an early mentor and am grateful for the time she took to carefully advise me in matters academic and beyond. She was also a dear friend during my first few years at Michigan and someone for whom I deeply cared. The brilliance of Nadine Hubbs, first my professor and now my close friend, is obvious and astounding not only in her work, but also in the way that she can speak about anything with insight, clarity, and depth. I would also like to acknowledge my peers at Michigan. We, the members of the BCE (“best cohort ever”), had many great times whether decompressing at the Heidelberg or letting loose through DFT (“dance floor therapy”) and I look forward to continuing adventures and camaraderie in the years ahead of us. Simonetta Menossi was a particularly compassionate friend. I extend a special “thank you” to Ken Garner who is not only a good friend, but also a tremendous colleague having read and copy-edited this iv entire dissertation. Lesley McWilliams, who I met studying abroad in Perugia during college, was almost immediately a one of my best friends, and I love that our lives once more converged in Ann Arbor. I am grateful for the time spent with her and her family during these years. Meaningful relationships also include some of my mom’s close friends who have shown me a particular kindness over the years. Thank you: Ann McCoy, Letizia Randaccio, Alan Heller, Chris La Monte, Carole Andre-Smith, and especially Pam Ostrager, who has treated me with great affection. I am also indebted to my amazing and overall awesome NY friends. I especially thank Will Cullinan, Molly Kidder, Monja McKay, and Luke Rosen for their love and laughs, and in particular Amélie Baudot. I <<heart>> my committee and am aware of how lucky I am in that. Larry La Fountain-Stokes, with his boisterous laugh and sharp intellect blew into an introductory class my first year at Michigan to share some of his work and I immediately thought: I want to work with him! I met Stacy Wolf first through her writing and was completely taken with her gorgeous (and sometimes quite humorous) prose. Later I was thrilled to be able to bring her to Michigan for a talk and a workshop, and then to continue a relationship. I never thought I would be so lucky as to have her on my committee, but lucky I was. I have so enjoyed the many hours over the years working with my co-chair Vincenzo Binetti, who is gentle and perceptive. It is a very special person who can be utterly supportive and encouraging while simultaneously dismantling your work and then helping you to reassemble it. My other co-chair Giorgio Bertellini has worn many hats in my life: mentor, advisor, professor, confidante, fellow New Yorker (at heart), match- maker, and friend. He has guided my work as a film studies student, and an Italianist. He v and Vincenzo are among the most generous scholars, and people, that I have had the privilege to work with and know. I thank them for much more than I can articulate here, with tanto affetto. It is strange to look back on all these wonderful moments and recall how the shadow of my mother’s death still cast a harsh darkness over much of those early years of my graduate career. On the heels of a particularly low point towards the end of my third year, I got a lucky break. The collision of three exciting events all within several weeks resulted in an energy that sustained me until I was able to find sure footing in a long-term way. I thank the Hopwood committee for an award in Graduate Nonfiction, the Fulbright Commission for an incredible year-long grant to Italy, and most importantly, the Space Matters conference organized by Giorgio Bertellini, where I first spied, and later spoke with, and later saw much of the person whom I quickly understood was my great love, Joshua Yumibe. After a fantastic summer in Ann Arbor, I embarked on a glorious year and a half in Turin, and it has been flying times ever since. I thank my dear Torino, my wonderful friends from Piazza d’Armi (particularly Luisa, Katia, and Monica), Ale & Gloria, Robi & Simona, Barbara & Lorenzo, and especially Laura Curino who welcomed me into her city, her home, and her life. Those eighteen months marked a turning point for me with so much great fortune, adventure, and love. The highlight was an event that is somehow wound into Turin, but occurred in New York: my marriage to Josh. Finally, I thank my family. My step-father Paul Levesque has always been supportive of my endeavors and wanted the best for me. Similar to how my mom was first my mom and later my best friend, my two best friends were first my best friends, vi and later my sisters. Franny Sullivan and Elissa Crum are two of the dearest people on the planet to me, and I adore them tremendously. My little pup Stellina is a daily, hourly even, source of sheer joy (occasionally frustration). She is affectionate and hilarious and has been a part of my life since two weeks into graduate school, tromping around with me all over Western Europe and the US. She has been by my side for the good, the bad, and the beautiful. Ultimately, with his love, wisdom and wit, Josh mended my broken heart. He is peace. I cherish our many adventures and our quiet moments alike as all time with Josh is wondrous time. I would say he brought a happy ending to my story, but rather, he brought a new beginning. vii Table of Contents Dedication ........................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... x List of Appendices ............................................................................................................. xi Abstract ............................................................................................................................. xii Introduction: Distinguishing Narrative Theater .................................................................. 1 The Poetics of Narrative Theater ................................................................................. 4 Genre, Quasi-Genre, and Epic Theater ........................................................................ 8 The Lingering