A Presentation of Herself: Laura Curino's Passions in Everyday Life

Abstract

Laura Curino (born in 1956), author, actor, and theatre instructor as well as one of the founders of teatro di narrazione, or narrative theatre, shows that confronting what has touched us and remained lodged in our memories over the years has radical potential to shift ways of understanding the collective past. I wish to examine how Curino uses her own personal history as a conduit through which to explore and better make sense of national identity in a quickly industrializing society amidst a growingly diverse coexistence of regional cultures. By analyzing how Curino places herself within the subaltern stories that she explores, I aim to show the extent to which this still evolving theatre practice is deeply rooted in the revolutionary spirit of the time and place that spurred its birth: 1970s Italy.