Mario Pirovano (born 20 April 1950) is an Italian theatre actor, translator and interpreter of Dario Fo monologues.
Biography Mario Pirovano grew up in Pregnana Milanese, a village just outside Milan. His father was a shoemaker and his mother a factory worker. At the age of 12, he worked in a shop and at 24 he moved to England, where he lived and worked for a decade. In 1983, he met Dario Fo and Franca Rame at a performance of Mistero Buffo at the Riverside Studios in London,Jessica Cribiù, Pregnana-Londra, andata e ritorno, Intervista a Mario Pirovano, Pregnana informazione, settembre 2009 an experience which inspired him to begin working in the theatre himself. Pirovano has been married twice; he now lives in Umbria and has two children.
Theatre
After meeting with Dario Fo and Franca Rame, Pirovano joined their acting company as a translator, walk-on performer, electrical assistant, stagehand, editorial material distribution manager, stage manager and assistant director. In the subsequent years, he followed the two actors on their international tours while collaborating with their son Jacopo Fo at the Free University of Alcatraz in Gubbio. After many years of working with, for and under the two actors, he became well-versed in their texts and acting rules. In 1992 he debuted his solo show, 'Mistero Buffo'.Fulvio Paloscia, Ecco Pirovano, l'uomo venuto da Fo, La Repubblica, 8 Agosto 1993
Both in Italy and abroad, he has performed some of the most famous Dario Fo monologues.Centro sociale S.G.A. di Arese, 1997Carcano 2004-2008, 2009-2011 Besides Fo's plays, he has performed some texts from other authors: in 2001, he performed 'Vino divino' by Marco Paoli, Vino divino of Marco Paoli in 2003, Le jeu de Robin et Marion Le jeu de Robin et Marion by Adam de la Halle, and in 2005, The pope cowboy: life, adventures and battles of Julius II by Marco Ghelardi.PrimaFila, Rassegna stampa, Giulio II: protagonista in teatro di un pezzo di storia, Marzo 2004 More recently, he has been performing choice verses from contemporary poets.Collection 7x11, the poetry of the artists
Translations After the adaptation from classical French to Italian of Adam de La Halle's Le jeu de Robert et Marion, he began translating two of Fo's texts: in 2002, Johan Padan a la descoverta de le Americhe (Johan Padan and the Discovery of the Americas) and in 2009, Lu Santo Jullare Françesco (Francis the Holy Jester).Nicolò Menniti-Ippolito, Semprevivo Mistero Buffo: il teatro-icona di Dario Fo, Il Mattino di Padova, 28-2-2012 Both texts were originally composed in a particular language, a mixture of dialects from Padania and certain expressions, sounds and neologisms which are specific characteristics of Fo's monologues. In 2009, Fo's text on Saint Francis was published by Beautiful Books.‘Francis the Holy Jester’ by Dario Fo, translated by Mario Pirovano, London, Beautiful Books Limited, 2009,
In 2011, Pirovano translated an unreleased text by Dario Fo and Jacopo Fo called La ballata di John Horse (“The Ballad of John Horse”), based on the victorious rebellion of the American Indian tribe, the Seminoles.eIndian
He has also translated into English four works from the Renaissance playwright Angelo Beolco called Ruzante, based on the rewriting of the texts by Dario Fo and presented them in Portugal during the European Union Grundtvig programme.Theatre Metalanguages from the XVI to the XXI century in Europe with Ruzante, Tavira, 10-19/12/2011
Plays in English and Spanish Under the patronage of the Italian Cultural Institute and the Dante Alighieri Society, Pirovano performs Dario Fo's most famous monologues all around the world. In the 1998-2003 editions of the Festival ‘Un puente, dos culturas’ in Argentina he performed Johan Padan en el Descubrimiento de las Américas.ad’e, Festival Italo-Argentino. Teatro y musica un ponte, due culture, Giornale Regione Marche, 1998 Ilda Cabrera, Los italianos no conocen bien la cultura argentina, Pagina/12, Buenos Aires, 26-10-2000, pag. 32 José Rovira Collado, De Isabel, tres carabelas y un charlatán a Johan Padan en el Descubrimiento de América, pag. 176 Also in 2003, Pirovano performed the Mistero Buffo (Misterio Bufo) in Spanish for the Festival of the Commedia dell'arte in Alcalà Henarez, Spain. In 2002, he recited in English Johan Padan and the Discovery of Americahttp://www.archivio.francarame.it/scheda.asp?id=027286&from=1&descrizione=JOHA at Riverside Studios in London and then, in 2003, in Australia.Sydney, Wesley Theatre, 28/10/2003 In 2004, he performed the same play in CanadaVancouver, Frederic Wood Theatre, 12–13 November 2004, archives 2004/2005 and, in 2005, in France,Salon Italia 2005-L’art de vivre Italien, 3-5 Juin 2005, Paris then in GreeceUn bellissimo evento culturale a Samothraki, Egeo del Nord, Lega italo-ellenica, 7 Luglio 2005 and finally in Hong Kong. In 2006, he took the Spanish version of Johan Padan to VenezuelaJohan Padan en el Descubrimiento de las Américas con Mario Pirovano llega a Barcelona, 29/09/2006 and in 2008 to Colombia.Barranquilla, 3° Carnaval de Las Artes
In 2009, he toured England with the English version of Francis the Holy JesterPresentation by the Italian Institute of Culture in London performing the play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival,Edinburgh Festival Guide, 2009 where he received high praise from critics.Press review synthesis on Pigrecodelta 2009
In the two years following, Pirovano promoted "Francis the Holy Jester" in Palestine,Anche Luciano Basso e Mario Pirovano a Gerusalemme per Time for responsibilities, perlapace.it, 8/8/2009 in Pakistan,Italian actor performs in an ‘afternoon for memory, The Express Tribune, 1/08/2010 Ethiopia,Settimana lingua italiana: Mario Pirovano ad Addis Abeba, agenparl.it, 21/10/2010 Kenya,A Nairobi arriva ‘Lu Santo Jullare’ di Fo, corriere.com, 27/10/2010, pag.1-2 England and Ireland.Enzo Farinella, Lu Santo Jullare Francesco: una commedia da non perdere, Irlandiani.com, 21 Novembre 2011
In 2012, he performed Francis the Holy Jester in Sweden and Norway,Gregor Flakierski,: En guda-benadad gycklare, Tidningenkulturen, September 17, 2012 then in the US, on an invitation from St. Bonaventure University, the oldest Franciscan community in the US.Tom Missel, Rousing performance at Bona, Olean Times Herald, October 4, 2012 The American tour included theaters and Universities like Princeton and Harvard.Princeton University, October 23, 2012Nicola Orichuia, Mario Pirovano brings Francis, Dario Fo to Boston area, Bostoniano, October 20, 2012 Since 2012, he has continued to perform widely and conduct theatre workshops around Europe, particularly in Portugal, the United Kingdom and Belgium.
Television and cinema In 1988, he acted in a recurring role in all of the episodes in Trasmissione Forzata,Photographs of Mario Pirovano during "Trasmissione forzata" a RAI3 adaptation written and directed by Dario Fo.
He appeared in the 1991 thriller by Alfonso Brescia titled Omicidio a luci blu.Cast of Omicidio a luci blu by Alfonso Brescia, 1991
Didactic work Aside from acting, Pirovano conducts many seminars and workshops in national and international theatres, schools and Universities, including in Islamabad,NCA theatre sails through ice and fire, NCA Departement of Theatre, 8/08/2010 Nairobi, Free University of Alcatraz in Gubbio (Italy),Grundtvig workshop Performa-training Pathways for actors, 14-23 Giugno 2011 Tavira (Portugal),reference n. 13 Hoga Kusten (Sweden),workshop at Hoga Kusten and Rochester, New York (USA).workshop 'The art of Story Telling' at the University of Rochester
Notes
Bibliography Marco Fazzini, a cura di, Canto un mondo libero, Edizioni ETS, 2012, pag.247 Maggie Rose, Sogni e incubi della ragione. Edimburgo, Hystrio, n.4, dicembre 2009, pag. 8 Mario Pirovano, La mia Umbria, Valley Life, n. 47, settembre 2008, pag. 28–31 Luca Pagni, Mario Pirovano: attore di studio, Eventi culturali, febbraio 2007, pag. 90–91 Tiziana Voarino, Giulio II: protagonista in teatro di un pezzo di storia, PrimaFila, n.104, marzo 2004, pag. 59 Silvia Mastagni, Arezzo: luoghi nuovi per un teatro nuovo. Il teatro e il sacro tra cripte e castelli, Hystrio, n. 4, dicembre 1993, pag. 37 Maria Pia Damiani, L’attore, Trend professioni, n. 9, ottobre 1992, pag. 12-13
Related entries Dario Fo Franca Rame Jacopo Fo
External links
Official site