NAPOLI, BROOKLYN Teacher Information Packet

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NAPOLI, Brooklyn TEACHER INFO PACKET 2016-17 SEASON

go r d on ed el s t e in artistic director

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JOSH UA BORE NST EIN managing director

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NAPOLI, Brooklyn A WORLD PREMIERE

MEGHAN KENNEDY

BY DIRECTED BY GORDON EDELSTEIN

FEBRUARY 16 - MARCH 12, 2017 on the claire tow stage in the c. newton schenck II theatre

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Teacher Information Packet Compiled and Written by: madelyn ardito Director of Education eliza orleans Education Programs Manager barbara hentschel Resident Teaching Artist AYLA DAVIDSON, TRENEÉ McGEE Resident Teaching Artists JARED MICHAUD Dwight Hall Urban Fellow christine scarfuto Literary Manager & Dramaturg TEACHER INFORMATION PACKET LAYOUT BY CLAIRE ZOGHB

L O N G W H A R F T H E AT R E G R A T E F U L LY A C K N O W L E D G E S THE GENEROSITY OF OUR E D U C AT I O N S U P P O R T E R S ELIZABETH CARSE FOUNDATION Frederick A. Deluca Foundation THE GEORGE A. & GRACE L. LONG FOUNDATION Seedlings Foundation SEYMOUR L. LUSTMAN MEMORIAL FUND THEATRE FORWARD wells fargo foundation The Werth Family Foundation FOUNDING SUPPORTER OF LONG WHARF THEATRE’S VIDEO STUDY GUIDE AND SUPPORTER OF THE EDUCATORS’ LABORATORY THIS PROJECT IS SPONSORED IN PART BY AN AWARD FROM THE LAURENTS/HATCHER FOUNDATION AND THE EDGERTON FOUNDATION

GORDON EDELSTEIN Artistic Director

JOSHUA BORENSTEIN MANAGING Director

PRESENTS

NAPOLI, BROOKLYN MEGHAN KENNEDY Directed by GORDON EDELSTEIN by

Set Design Eugene Lee° Costume Design Jane Greenwood° Lighting Design Ben Stanton° SOUND Design FITZ PATTON°

Production Stage Manager Peter Wolf* Assistant Stage Manager Amy Patricia Stern*

Fight DirectorS Rick Sordelet & CHRISTIAN KELLY-SORDELET

hair & wig Design TOm Watson

Makeup Design Tommy Kurzman

DIALECT COACH STEPHEN GABIS Casting By CARRIE GARDNER World Premiere Co-Produced with Roundabout Theatre Company, New York, NY Napoli, Brooklyn was commissioned by Roundabout Theatre Company.

This project is supported in part by awards from: Laurents / Hatcher Foundation and Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards INDIVIDUAL Collaborating Sponsor

Ruby Melton & Gail McAvay

CAST IN OR D ER o f a pp e a r a n c e

Luda Muscolino Nic Muscolino

Francesca Muscolino Tina Muscolino

Vita Muscolino Connie Duffy Albert Duffy Celia Jones

Alyssa Bresnahan* Jason Kolotouros* Jordyn DiNatale* Christina Pumariega* Carolyn Braver* Ryann Shane* Graham Winton* Shirine Babb*

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States ° Member of United Scenic Artists, USA-829 of the IATSE This Theatre operates under an agreement between the League Of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

contents

ABOUT THE PLAY 8 Synopsis

9 Setting

12

Characters

THE WORLD OF THE PLAY 14

About Meghan Kennedy

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The Immigrant Experience

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The 1960 New York Mid-Air Collision

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Glossary

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Life in the Convent

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

Look for this symbol to find discussion and writing prompts, discussion questions and classroom activities!

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New Haven’s Little Italy

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The Current Refugee Crisis

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Understanding Domestic Abuse

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Sources

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Write a Review!

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For the First-Time Theatergoer

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Moments & Minutes Information

ABOUT THE

PLAY

SYNOPSIS What is the play about?

1960, Brooklyn.

The women of the Muscolino family are desperate to find a life beyond their four walls, hiding dreams, loves, and longings.

W

hen the play begins, we meet Luda, the matriarch of the Muscolino family. She and her husband, Nic, both came to America from Italy in the hopes for a better life. Nic, the angry, belligerent, and often violent patriarch, traveled on a boat as a stowaway.

Francesca Muscolino, the youngest, yearns for her true love, Connie Duffy. The two plan to run away to Europe together, knowing that love between two women is not accepted by either girl’s family. Tina Muscolino, the oldest daughter, yearns for confidence and friendship. She begins to find this in Celia Jones, her African-American coworker at the local box factory. Vita, the middle daughter who has been sent to live in a convent after disobeying her father, yearns for the chance to live the kind of life she pleases.

As each woman begins to get a grasp on their longings, a plane crash in the neighborhood will change everything. Nic, who just barely escapes death in the disaster, finds new hope and purpose. Despite this his daughters, particularly Vita, refuse to forgive the violence he has inflicted on Luda and the family.

In the quest for happiness, each of these women fights to find her voice. They struggle to hold on to them and to each other. Napoli, Brooklyn is a poetic and beautiful play about sisterhood, freedom, and forgiveness.

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SETTING Where does the play take place?

W

hen we meet the Muscolino family, they are living in Park Slope; a neighborhood in northwest Brooklyn, New York City.

The neighborhood takes its name from its location on the western slope of neighboring Prospect Park.

In the 1800s, Park Slope developed into a bucolic residential area. Victorian mansions were built along Prospect Park West to take advantage of the park views. By the late 1870s, with horse-drawn rail cars running to the park and the ferry, bringing many rich New Yorkers in the process, urban sprawl dramatically changed the neighborhood into a streetcar suburb. The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1893 encouraged even more housing and economic development. The 1890 census showed Park Slope to be the richest community in the United States.

By the 1950s, many of the wealthy and middle-class families fled for the suburban life and Park Slope became a rougher, more working-class neighborhood. It was mostly Italian and Irish in the 1950s and 1960s, though this changed by 1970s as the black and Latino population of the Slope increased and many of the Italian and Irish population began to relocate.

Those that did not relocate reacted violently to the ethnic changes to the neighborhood; for example, white residents of Park Slope attempted to bar African-Americans from participating in after-school programs at William Alexander Middle School in 1966. After this failed, white teenagers engaged in firebomb attacks on African-American homes on Fourth Street. In 1968, a street fight between Italian and African-American gangs occurred at Fifth Avenue and President Street, using bricks and bottles as weapons; in the aftermath of the fight, fourteen African-Americans and three Italian-Americans were arrested, but two of the arrested ItalianAmericans were quickly released. This mix of racial tension and white flight was epitomized in the 1970 film The Landlord.

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setting

continued

But the Muscolino family used to live in Naples (Napoli), the third largest city in Italy.

Naples has long been a major cultural center with a global sphere of influence, particularly during the Renaissance and Enlightenment eras. Naples is home to many historic sites, like the Palace of Caserta and the Roman ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In terms of cuisine, Naples is synonymous with pizza, which originated in the city.

Naples was the most-bombed Italian city during World War II. Much of the city’s 20th-century periphery was constructed during Benito Mussolini’s fascist government and reconstruction efforts after the war.

In the Classroom

The city has experienced significant economic growth in recent decades, and unemployment levels in the city and surrounding Campania have decreased since 1999. However, Naples still suffers from political and economic corruption, and unemployment levels remain high.

Discussion: Have you ever found yourself in an environment that was completely foreign to you?

This could be a country where you did not speak the language, a new school where you did not know anybody, or a place where you felt unwelcomed. Discuss these experiences and feelings as a class.

Naples, 1947

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characters Who are the People in the Play?

LUDOVICA (LUDA) MUSCOLINO Female. The mother of the family.

40s. Italian.

FRANCESCA MUSCOLINO Female. The youngest daughter.

16. Currently in school. Italian American.

CONNIE DUFFY Female. 16. Irish American.

NIC MUSCOLINO Male. The father of the family.

40s. Italian.

TINA MUSCOLINO Female. The oldest daughter. 26. Works in a factory. Italian American.

ALBERT DUFFY Male. A butcher. 40s or 50s. Irish American. Connie’s father.

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MUSCOLINO CAROLYN BRAVER VITA Female. The middle daughter.

20. Staying in a convent as punishment. Italian American.

CELIA JONES Female. 26. Works in the same factory as Tina. African American.

THE

world of T H E

PLAY

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A B O U T meghan k ennedy Napoli, Brooklyn turns on a crucial event during Meghan Kennedy’s mother’s adolescence in Brooklyn that changed the nature of her neighborhood and her family.

“I’m using that moment in time, in the winter of 1960, and building the story around it. It’s also a very personal play.

There’s a lot of Italian spoken in it. A lot of Italian food. I’m always hungry when I work on it. It makes me ache for my grandmother’s meatballs.”

–Meghan Kennedy, Roundabout Theatre Company Blog

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THE WORLD OF THE PLAY

In the early 1960s, the nation was on the precipice of great social change— the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and the rejection of the social conformity of the 1950s would soon rock the country to its core. Meghan Kennedy’s new play Napoli, Brooklyn is set in Brooklyn, NY in 1960 and in it, you can feel the beginnings of these momentous changes taking their course.

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apoli, Brooklyn is, in many ways, a quintessentially American story. The play revolves around the Muscolinos, an Italian immigrant family and their three American-born daughters, trying to survive—and even thrive—in a world that’s simultaneously bursting with possibility and rife with obstacles. They are a family like so many other immigrant families living in New York during the last century—jobs are scarce, money is tight, and the ever-elusive American Dream acts as a beacon of hope.

And yet, the nation—and the world—are about to change forever, and the myth of the

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meghan k ennedy

continued

American Dream is about to become exposed. As the Muscolino daughters come of age, so they too become awake and aware of the inequalities in the world, and the tremendous effort it will take to overcome them.

important role in the play. What strength do these women find in spirituality? Why is it so vital to their existence?

A: There’s a Mary Oliver quote I like a lot, “Attention is the beginning of devotion.” I think for these women prayer is, at least in one sense, attention being paid to their innermost selves. It is the beginning of devotion to who they are and who they might become. The act of praying is different for each of them—for one it’s a conversation, for another it’s a battle, for another it’s a passageway. In such an oppressive environment, they are searching for a way out and a way in at the same time and prayer becomes a vital part of that search.

Long Wharf Theatre’s Literary Manager Christine Scarfuto sat down with Meghan Kennedy to ask her a few questions about the play: Q: What was your impetus to tell this story? Where did the idea for the play come from?

A: Napoli, Brooklyn is loosely based on my mother’s adolescence. She grew up in a big, Italian Catholic, immigrant family. I grew up hearing stories about the plane crash in December of 1960, which happened close to her apartment, and that image always stayed with me—a girl witnessing a giant plane crash in the middle of her small, Brooklyn neighborhood. At the same time I was also interested in how the struggle in immigrant families is passed from generation to generation, particularly among girls. They had to fight so hard to find their voices, and even harder to keep them intact.

Q: How do you feel the play resonates with the present moment? And why do you feel these stories are vital for us to bear witness to right now?

A: With the new presidential administration, I’m happy this play is going into production right now. I think we need to see a stage full of women who are fighting for survival. This is a story about women and immigrants, two groups that need as many spotlights on them as possible right now. At a moment in history when our rights are at stake and our voices are being threatened... I think it’s the perfect time to make some noise.

Q: The Muscolino daughters are raised Roman Catholic, and prayer plays a tremendously

In the Classroom ACTIVITY: Meghan Kennedy used her own family history as inspiration to write Napoli, Brooklyn. Think of an event or person from your own life that you might like to dramatize. Make a list describing the images, sounds, smells, or feelings surrounding this. Be as elaborate as possible.

GOING FURTHER: Explore writing a scene based on this piece of family history. Decide where it takes place, the people involved, and a possible problem or conflict they might face.

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the immigrant e x perience Assimilation

the process of adapting or adjusting to the culture of a group or nation, or the state of being so adapted.

Immigrant

a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.

I grew up in an immigrant neighborhood.

We just knew the rule was you’re going to have to work twice as hard. – Lin-Manuel Miranda 17

the immigrant e x perience

continued

E x cerpts from

What Sets Italian Americans Off From Other Immigrants?

By Vincent J. Cannato | HUMANITIES, January/February 2015 | Volume 36, Number 1

I

talian immigrants began arriving in large numbers in the late 1800s as relatively unskilled labor that helped fuel a booming industrial economy.

These Italian workers seemed unlikely new Americans. Most of those early arrivals were young men leaving a semifeudal Italian South that held little in the way of opportunity.

Each immigrant group possesses its own strategies for survival and success. For Italians, theirs rested upon two pillars: work and family.

Italian immigrants helped provide the labor for American factories and mines and helped build roads, dams, tunnels, and other infrastructure. Their work provided them a small economic foothold in American society and allowed them to provide for their families, which stood at the core of ItalianAmerican life.

Little Italy, 1950s

“American” stew. As political scientist Peter Skerry writes, assimilation “has typically meant that immigrants have adapted and changed in disparate domains, rejecting their immigrant past in some ways (forgetting their parents’ mother tongue and speaking English, or learning to tolerate individuals with sharply different values) and holding on to other aspects of their heritage (ethnic cuisine, specific religious holidays, family traditions from the homeland).” It is a process that spans generations and involves a fair share of ambivalence. The loss of traditions and a psychic sense of displacement mix with the benefits of becoming a middle-class American.

There are always two sides to every bargain.

Even in the 1950s and 1960s, however, Italians encountered prejudice and negative stereotypes.

Much of that was related to the Mafia. Often victimized by organized crime, Italian Americans also found their collective reputation tarnished by organized crime, even as they climbed the socioeconomic ladder.

Assimilation has never meant a “melting pot” where everyone “melted” into a homogenous

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THE WORLD OF THE PLAY

“I was a stowaway.”

– Nic in Napoli, Brooklyn Between the 1890s-1940s, immigration into America through Ellis Island was at an all-time high, with more than 12 million people passing through Ellis Island during that time. In the year 1907 alone, over 1 million people immigrated through Ellis Island. Though immigration laws fluctuated greatly during this time, the Naturalization Act of 1795 set the initial rules of naturalization declaring that “free, white persons” who had been in residence for five years or more could become American citizens. U.S. legislation set up a stowaway concept in 1850, and in 1891, required the boat to pay the return travel for people not admitted into the U.S. (which usually occurred because people were carrying contagious diseases, had mental or physical disabilities, or were children travelling without an adult accompanying them). In 1910, 474 alien stowaways arrived in the U.S., and 528 arrived the next year. In 1917, new legislation was passed defining a list of excludable aliens including stowaways. Also in 1917, a literacy test was introduced, excluding aliens who could not read 30-40 words in their native languages. https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2015/januaryfebruary/feature/what-sets-italian-americans-other-immigrants

Ellis Island

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the 1 9 6 0 new yor k mid - air collision

O

n Friday, December 16, 1960, a United Airlines Douglas DC-8-11, bound for LaGuardia Airport in New York City, collided with a TWA Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation descending into the city’s Idlewild Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International airport).

One plane crashed on Staten Island, the other into Park Slope, Brooklyn, killing all 128 people on both aircraft and six people on the ground. The accident became known also as the Park Slope plane crash. On Staten Island, it became known as the Miller Field crash. At the time the death toll was the highest for a commercial aviation accident.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_New_York_mid-air_collision

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THE WORLD OF THE PLAY

In the Classroom Activity: Make a list of historical events that have happened during your lifetime. Have any of these had a profound effect on your life?

Going Further: Ask this same question of your parents. What historical events have impacted them the most?

Do they remember where they were when any of them happened?

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glossary ASCOLTAMI – the Italian phrase for “Listen to me.”

BAMBINA – the Italian word for “child.”

BASTA – the Italian word for “Enough!”

BE BOP A LULA – “Be-Bop-A-Lula” is a rockabilly song first recorded in 1956 by Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps. “Be-Bop-A-Lula” has been covered by numerous and varied artists. The Everly Brothers released a version only two years after Vincent’s, on their 1958 self-titled debut album, and they included it as part of the setlist at their Royal Albert Hall reunion concert in 1983. English rocker Cliff Richard covered the song for his own debut album, Cliff, in 1959.

Vincent’s rockabilly colleague Jerry Lee Lewis recorded it for the 1971 album Monsters, and Carl Perkins offered his own take in 1996 on the album The Man & The Legend. The Beatles played the song regularly during their early years.

Well, be-bop-a-lula, she’s my baby Be-bop-a-lula, I don’t mean maybe Be-bop-a-lula, she’s my baby Be-bop-a-lula, I don’t mean maybe Be-bop-a-lula, she’s my baby love My baby love, my baby love

CHA CHA – a dance of Cuban origin.

CONEY ISLAND – a residential neighborhood, beach, and entertainment destination on the Coney Island Channel, which is part of the Lower Bay in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn, New York City.

It is well known for Nathan’s hotdog stand, the beach, and its amusement park.

THE CYCLONE – The Coney Island Cyclone (better known as simply the Cyclone) is a historic wooden roller coaster that opened on June 26, 1927, in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, New York City. On June 18,

Coney Island

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THE WORLD OF THE PLAY

The Cyclone 1975, Dewey and Jerome Albert—owners of Astroland Park—entered into an agreement with New York City to operate the ride. Despite original plans by the city to scrap the ride in the early 1970s, the roller coaster was refurbished in the 1974 off-season and reopened on July 3, 1975. Astroland Park continued to invest millions over the years in the upkeep of the Cyclone. After Astroland closed in 2008, Carol Hill Albert, president of Cyclone Coasters, continued to operate it under a lease agreement with the city. In 2011, Luna Park took over operation of the Cyclone. It was declared a New York City landmark on July 12, 1988, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 26, 1991.

FEAST OF SEVEN FISHES – the ItalianAmerican celebration of Christmas Eve, with a feast of fish and other seafood.

Seven Fishes

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GLOSSARY

continued

HEATHEN – a person who does not belong to a widely held religion.

JITTERBUG – a popular dance in the twentieth century, often associated with various types of swing dancing.

Rosary

MANGIA – the Italian word for “Eat!” MERENGUE – a Caribbean style of dance music typically in duple and triple time, chiefly associated with Dominica and Haiti.

MI DISPIACE – the Italian phrase for “I’m sorry.”

MIDNIGHT MASS – a traditional mas attended on Christmas Eve. NUNNERY – a building or group of buildings in which nuns live as a religious community; a convent.

ROSARY – a series of prayers counted on a string of 55 or 165 beads.

SAINT ANTHONY – the patron saint of lost things.

STOWAWAY – a person who stores themselves in a particular place in order to say hidden or unseen.

Saint Anthony

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LIFE IN THE CONVENT

A

Catholic nun is a member of a religious community of women, typically one living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. A nun is a religious woman who lives a contemplative and cloistered life of meditation and prayer for the salvation of others. Nuns commit themselves to the daily recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours throughout the day in church, usually in a solemn manner. The Liturgy of the Hours is the official set of prayers “marking the hours of each day and sanctifying the day with prayer”. It consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns, readings and other prayers and antiphons. Together with the Mass, it constitutes the official public prayer life of the Church.

If she, and the order, determine that she may have a vocation to the life, she receives the habit of the order (usually with some modification, normally a white veil instead of black, or a veil without the full habit, to distinguish her from professed members) and undertakes the novitiate, a period (that lasts one to two years) of living the life of the religious institute without yet taking vows. Since the candidate is not a formal member of the institution at this stage, it is easier for a man or woman not fully certain about religious life to re-examine his or her intentions and commitment before entering the novitiate.

Likewise, should the person be determined to be

The Process of Becoming a Nun In general, when a woman enters a convent, monastery or abbey, she first undergoes a period of testing the life for six months to a year called a postulancy. The length of time that a prospective candidate remains a postulant may vary depending on the institution, or the postulant’s individual situation. Among active religious institutions, it typically lasted 4–6 months. At present, many monasteries have a candidate spend 1–2 years in this stage. During this time, the postulant generally participates as fully as possible in the life of the community, joining the novices and professed members for work and prayer

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convent

continued

unsuited to the life, a postulant can be dismissed by an institution without the need for any formal procedure.

of the community’s mission and charism, and to foster human growth. The novitiate experience for many communities includes a concentrated program of prayer, study, reflection and limited ministerial engagement.

Upon completion of this period she may take her initial, temporary vows. Temporary vows last one to three years, typically, and will be professed for not less than three years and not more than six.

Finally, she will petition to make her “perpetual profession”, taking permanent, solemn vows-”deliberate and free promises made to God about a possible and better good.”

In many orders, the conclusion of postulancy and the beginning of the novitiate is marked by a ceremony, during which the new novice is accepted then clothed in the community’s habit by the superior. In some cases the novice’s habit will be somewhat different from the customary habit: for instance, in certain orders of women that use the veil, it is common for novices to wear a white veil while professed members wear black, or if the order generally wears white, the novice wears a grey veil. Among some Franciscan communities of men, novices wear a sort of overshirt over their tunic; Carthusian novices wear a black cloak over their white habit.

The Novitiate helps the Novice better understand her vocation to a particular Congregation. Novices experience the manner of living, the culture of the Congregation. This period helps form the minds and hearts of the Novices in the spirit of the Congregation so that their intention and suitability are tested.

The Abbess A nun who is elected to head her religious house is termed an abbess if the house is an abbey, a prioress if it is a monastery, or more generically may be referred to as “Mother Superior” and styled “Reverend Mother”. The distinction between abbey and monastery has to do with the terms used by a particular Order or by the level of independence of the religious house. Technically, a convent is any home of a community of sisters — or, indeed, of priests and brothers, though this term is rarely used in the United States. The term “monastery” is often used by communities within the Benedictine family, and “convent” (when referring to a cloister) is often used of the houses of certain other institutes.

In the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church, the novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious institute undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether she or he is called to vowed religious life. It often includes times of intense study, prayer, living in community, studying the vowed life, deepening one’s relationship with God, and deepening one’s selfawareness. It is a time of creating a new way of being in the world. The novitiate stage in most communities is a two-year period of formation.[1] These years are “Sabbath time” to deepen one’s relationship with God, to intensify the living out

Religious Habit In the typical Roman Catholic or Anglican orders, the habit consists of a tunic covered by a scapular and cowl, with a hood for monks or friars and a veil for nuns; in other orders it may be a distinctive form of cassock for men, or a distinctive habit and veil for women. Some wear a white wimple, which “encircles” the face and a veil, the most significant and ancient

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THE WORLD OF THE PLAY

aspect of the habit. Some Orders—such as the Dominicans—wear a large rosary on their belt.

Benedictine abbesses wear a cross or crucifix on a chain around their neck. Modern habits are sometimes eschewed in favor of a simple business suit. Catholic Canon Law requires only that it be in some way identifiable so that the person may serve as a witness to Gospel values.

After the second Vatican Council, many religious institutes chose in their own regulations to no longer wear the traditional habit and did away with choosing a religious name. Catholic Church canon law states: “Religious are to wear the habit of the institute, made according to the norm of proper law, as a sign of their consecration and as a witness of poverty.”

In the Classroom Discussion: In Napoli, Brooklyn, Nic sends his daughter Vita to live in a convent as a punishment after she hurts him physically in a fight. Vita was trying to protect her younger sister; Nic feels that as the patriarch of the family, he has the right to do as he pleases. Is this an appropriate punishment for a 20-year-old girl?

Activity: Write a letter as Vita or as Nic to the other character, explaining how you feel about the situation.

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supplemental

materials

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SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

new haven’s little italy The 1890s was the decade agents to Italy to recruit Excerpts from of the Italians, who surged into Greater New Haven’s “Most workers. “The boat bringing Connecticut in ever growing Italians from New York City to Italian” Roots Run Deep numbers. They settled largely New Haven literally stopped

by David Holahan in the booming industrial cities at Sargent’s,” Anthony Riccio in the southern, central and said, a New Haven resident western portions of the state, although some whose grandparents immigrated from rural sought out rural suburbs where there was land Campania. “The first stop was its employment to farm. Almost immediately they beckoned office right by the Long Wharf pier, and when relatives and friends still in Italy to join the great they got to the Wooster Street neighborhood, migration. someone would be waiting to get them an The 1890 Census showed 2,300 Italians in apartment.” the city, but that number more than tripled in New Haven’s and the region’s Italian-American a decade to 7,780. By 1930, fully a quarter of identity, while clearly not what it once was, is the state’s population was either Italian-born or still evident. There are Frank Pepe’s and Sally’s native-born Italian-Americans. It hasn’t changed Apizza, to be sure, along with many cultural and much: They still represent the largest single civic organizations that host events, such as the component of Connecticut’s population, 662,128 Processione Di Santa Maria Magdalena. strong, according to a 2014 U.S. census report.

Perhaps the best barometer of what ItalianThe combination of political and economic Americans have meant to New Haven and beyond turmoil in Italy in the second half of the 19th has been their contributions to civic life. In century and America’s relentless industrial 1945, William Celentano became New Haven’s growth attracted Italians here. For example, first Italian-American mayor, and three others when Sargent & Co., manufacturer of locks and followed him. In 1975, Ella Tambussi Grasso hardware, set up shop in New Haven in 1864, became governor of Connecticut, and Rosa Luisa Italy was not yet a unified nation and was riven DeLauro has been representing New Haven and by sectional conflicts. its suburbs in the U.S. Congress since 1991.

Before long, Sargent’s was not only employing more than 2,000 people, but also was sending http://www.courant.com/new-haven-living/features/hcnhl-new-haven-so-italian-20160423-story.html

Pepe’s Pizza in New Haven, 1959

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the current refugee crisis

I

n 2015, more than one million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe. This has become both a political and cultural phenomenon, as the world grapples with how to respond. Most of these refugees are fleeing the extreme violence in war-torn countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.

The United States’ 2016 presidential election saw the issue of immigration enter the spotlight, as Donald Trump declared his intention to “build a wall” to stop illegal immigrants from coming into the country and “stealing our jobs.”

In 2016, citizens of the UK voted to enact a “Brexit,” meaning the Britain would exit the European Union. This election is thought to reflect a resurgence of populism – a party claiming to represent the common people.

Following Brexit, the world saw the election of President Donald Trump in America, the rise of conservative leader Marine Le Pen in France,

The journey to asylum in Europe can be a treacherous one, with many migrants and refugees traveling for long stretches on foot without food or water. In 2015, a boat carrying refugees capsized off the coast of Libya, killing 800 people.

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supplemental materials

and the defeat of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Italy. These conservative candidates run on anti-immigrant platforms.

Donald J. Trump

In the Classroom ACTIVITY: Analyze the three quotes below from European leaders about the refugee crisis. What do you agree or disagree with?

If Europe fails on the question of refugees, if this close link with universal civil rights is broken, then it won’t be the Europe we wished for. – Angela Merkel, German Chancellor.

I don’t think there is an answer that can be achieved simply by taking more and more refugees. – Former British Prime Minister, David Cameron.

If we would create ... an impression that ‘just come because we are ready to accept everybody,’ that would be a moral failure. The moral, human thing is to make clear: Please don’t come. – Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban.

GOING FURTHER: Why are conservative political leaders on the rise in both America and Europe?

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UNDERSTANDING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

I

n Meghan Kennedy’s Napoli, Brooklyn, Luda and Nic Muscolino have a passionate and sometimes violent marriage. There are several disturbing scenes where Nic physically abuses Luda, and we learn that their daughters have also been victims of this kind of abuse. Nic’s threats and insults can also be categorized as emotional abuse.

We see abusive relationships in real life as well as onstage. In 2009, singer Chris Brown was accused and later pleaded guilty to punching his ex-girlfriend, singer Rihanna, multiple times in the face. This incident caused a public outcry and brought the issue of domestic violence into the pop-culture consciousness.

Later, when there were rumors of the two of them reuniting, more debate and outcry from the public followed.

Rihanna and Chris Brown

It is important to recognize the many different kinds of abuse that can occur in all kinds of relationships:

touching/kissing, rape/attempted rape, unwanted rough or violent sexual activity, or pressuring someone to perform any kind of sexual act or to engage in sex.

• Stalking: stalking is a repeating pattern of behavior; one that makes you feel unsafe and can make you feel anxious. Stalkers tend to follow or harass an individual. Each state is different with their legal definition of stalking.

Stalking can include showing up at your home, work place, and/or school, sending you flowers or unwanted gifts, continuously calling, and possibly destroying property.

• Financial abuse: when your partner withholds money from you, gives you very little money to spend, or does not let you work. Financial abuse places a victim in a position of being financially dependent on their partner.

• Digital abuse: when a partner uses technology to harass, embarrass, bully, stalk, or intimidate you via social media, texting, sexting, phone calls and check-ins.

• Emotional/ verbal abuse: includes nonphysical behaviors, insults, humiliation, intimidation, isolation, stalking, excessive texting, or constantly checking in with you. This can also include blaming your actions for their abusive behaviors, calling you names, putting you down, or yelling at you.

• Physical abuse: includes unwanted physical contact by a partner. The abuse does not always leave a mark or a bruise. For example, pulling your hair, biting, scratching, pushing you, grabbing your face/other body parts, forcing you to have sex or perform sexual activities, or using a gun/ knife.

• Sexual abuse: forcing you to perform or engage in sexual activity against your will. This can also include when one person controls another’s sexual activity or even restricts the ability to use condoms or birth control. Includes unwanted

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supplemental materials

Equity Wheel for Teens O NONVI LENCE NEGOTIATION AND FAIRNESS:

COMMUNICATION:

Seeking mutually satisfying resolutions to conflict.

Accepting changes.

Being willing to compromise.

Willingness to have open and spontaneous dialogue.

Having abalance of giving and receiving. Problem solving to mutual benefit. Learning to compromise without one overshadowing the other.

SHARED POWER:

NON-THREATENING BEHAVIOR:

Talking and acting so that she feels safe and comfortable expressing herself and doing things.

RESPECT:

TEEN EQUALITY

Listening to her non-judgmentally. Being emotionally affirming and understanding. Valuing her opinions.

TRUST AND SUPPORT: Supporting her goals in life. Respecting her right to her own feelings, friends, activities, and opinions.

Taking mutual responsibility for recognizing influence on the relationship. Making decisions together.

HONESTY AND ACCOUNTABILITY: Accepting responsibility for self.

Acknowledging past use of violence.

Admitting being wrong.

Communicating openly and truthfully.

SELF-CONFIDENCE AND PERSONAL GROWTH: Respecting her personal identity and encouraging her individual growth and freedom.

Supporting her security in her own worth.

NONVIOLENCE

teenwrc.org Adapted from: Domestic Abuse Intervention Project 202 East Superior Street Duluth, MN 55802 218.722.4134

Produced and distributed by:

4 6 1 2 S h o a l C r e e k B l v d . • A u s t i n , Te x a s 7 8 7 5 6 512.407.9020 (phone and fax) • www.ncdsv.org

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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

continued

Teen Power and Control Wheel VIOLENCE

l a c si y ph PEER PRESSURE: Threatening to expose

ANGER/EMOTIONAL ABUSE: Putting her/him down.

Making her/him feel bad about her or himself.

Name calling. Making her/him think she/he’s crazy. Playing mind games. Humiliating one another. Making her/him feel guilty.

someone’s weakness or spread rumors. Telling malicious lies about an individual to peer group.

ISOLATION/EXCLUSION:

Controlling what another does, who she/he sees and talks to, what she/he reads, where she/he goes. Limiting outside involvement. Using jealousy to justify actions

SEXUAL COERCION:

Manipulating or making threats to get sex. Getting her pregnant. Threatening to take the children away. Getting someone drunk or drugged to get sex.

USING SOCIAL STATUS:

TEEN POWER AND CONTROL

ys

ic a

Making and/or carrying out threats to do some thing to hurt another.

Threatening to leave, to commit suicide , to report her/him to the police.

Making her /him drop charges. Making her/him do illegal things.

l

Treating her like a servant.

Making all the decisions.

Acting like the “master of the castle.” Being the one to define men’s and women’s roles.

INTIMIDATION:

Making someone afraid by using looks, actions, gestures. Smashing things.

Destroying property.

Abusing pets. Displaying weapons.

MINIMIZE/DENY/ BLAME:

THREATS:

ph

se xu al

Making light of the abuse and not taking concerns about it seriously. Saying the abuse didn’t happen.

Shifting responsibility for abusive behavior. Saying she/he caused it.

se

x

l a u

VIOLENCE

teenwrc.org Developed from: Domestic Abuse Intervention Project 202 East Superior Street Duluth, MN 55802 218.722.4134

Produced and distributed by:

4 6 1 2 S h o a l C r e e k B l v d . • A u s t i n , Te x a s 7 8 7 5 6 512.407.9020 (phone and fax) • www.ncdsv.org

34

WRITE A REVIEW!

T

here is a lot of truth in the old saying that “Everyone’s a critic.” But to write a review, it takes more than a strong opinion – it takes an open mind, a way with words, and a sense of honesty, intelligence, and balance. A critic’s primary goal is not merely to pass judgment, or to explain what a work fo art means, but to note how a production works and why it was successful.

With that in mind, writing a review is very different from typical journalism or essay writing, and reviewing theatre in particular is distinct from any other kind of art form. To create your own review, there are a few steps you should take for a successful approach.

The first step is to watch the show in an open, active frame of mind. Remember that professional critics are journalists first, and that comes with great responsibility to put aside their own unique tastes to see through to the heart o the work, rather than getting hung up on personal preference. How does the play function? Who would enjoy this play, and why?

At the same time, it’s important for the critic to experience the play as any other audience member would, by being receptive emotionally as well as intellectually. Theatre is rooted in the exchange of emotions, not only onstage, but between the performers and the audience. Along with an open mind, your gut reaction is your most important critical tool. Don’t eliminate your impulses – take stock of yourself honestly after a performance to see how your feelings were inspired.

The foundation of a review follows a basic formula:

3. The body of the review provides evidence to illustrate your claims as they unfold. Keep in mind your particular audience of readers.

Are you writing for frequent theatergoers, a particular age group, or the general public?

You should shape your language to help your readers follow you, but you don’t need to pander to their tastes.

Don’t overlook one essential component – the basic information about the show. Names for the play, its major artists, and the theatre are standard.

As the review progresses, be sure to include the names of the actors as you mention each character for the first time – give credit where credit is due! A very short summary of the play may help to clarify your review, but don’t reveal any big surprises!

Use the playbill as your primary source for names, spelling, and other information.

It’s important to be honest, but it’s equally important to avoid being nasty. It can sometimes feel gratifying to put down a production, but it is possible to give negative feedback without being aggressive. Keeping an open mind will help you be specific in addressing shortcomings and how they affected their final product, rather than disparaging their efforts.

A review is a lasting record of your theatrical experience, one that expresses a unique perspective from the audience. The best reviews focus on the work of art itself, and the result is the greatest benefit for audiences and artists alike.

1. The “lead” or opening statements. Here, readers should get the gist of where the rest of the review will go. At the same time, it’s important for the writer to “hook” readers into the following discourse, which begins with: 2. The “thesis” introduces the main idea of the review, which acts as a through-line or “spine” For the entire piece. It should be outlined early and briefly, and everything else that follows should illustrate your idea. If you liked (or disliked) the show, this should provide the reason why.

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supplemental materials

SOURCES http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34131911 https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7142/6523096045_73287029e9_b.jpg http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/the-boy-who-survived-a-1960-midair-crash/?_r=0 http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/22/chris.brown.hearing/index.html http://time.com/3879354/airplanes-collide-above-new-york-december-1960/ http://time.com/4010504/neapolitan-novels-history/ http://www.teenwrc.org/ http://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2015/09/voices-from-the-migration-crisis/403813/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Slope https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naples

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FOR THE FIRST-TIME THEATREGOER the major consideration to keep in mind is that your actions can be distracting not only to the rest of the audience, but to the actors on stage as well. Behavior that is acceptable in other public settings, like movie theatres, ballgames, or concerts, is out of place when attending the theatre.

The following tips should help you get acquainted with some DOs and DON’Ts for first-time theatregoers.

DO arrive early. Make considerations for traffic, parking, waiting in line, having your ticket taken, and finding your seat. If you need to pick up your tickets from the box office, it is a good idea to arrive at least twenty minutes early. Generally, you can take your seat when “the house is open,” about half an hour before the show begins. Late seating is always distracting and usually not allowed until intermission or a transition between scenes, if it is allowed at all. Follow the old actors’ mantra: To be EARLY is to be ON TIME. To be ON TIME is to be LATE. To be LATE is UNFORGIVABLE.

DO turn off your cell phone. Phones and any other noise-making devices should be switched off before you even enter the theatre: you won’t be allowed to use them anyway. Texting during a performance is also rude. The intermission is a good time to use your phone, but remember to turn it off again before the next act begins.

DON’T leave your garbage in the theatre. Food and drinks are usually not permitted in the theatre at all, with the exception of bottled water. If it is allowed, be sure to throw out your trash in a garbage can or recycling bin in the lobby; don’t leave it for the house manager or ushers at the end of a show.

DO watch your step. Aisles can be narrow, so please be considerate when finding your seat. Avoid getting up during the performance whenever possible, since it can be very distracting. You can use the restroom before the show and during intermission. Also, be careful not to cross in front of the stage, as it will break the illusion of the show. Don’t step on or over seats, and never walk on the stage itself.

DON’T talk during the performance. Chatting is extremely rude to the actors and the audience around you. Everyone is trying to pay attention to the play and those nearby will be able to hear, so please be quiet and considerate.

DO get into it! Actors feed off of the audience, just as the audience feeds off of the actors. Don’t be afraid to laugh, clap, or cry if you are so moved. However, there is a line that can be crossed. Please be respectful, and don’t distract from the work of the professionals on stage. After all, people paid good money to watch the show, not you. Just enjoy the experience and let yourself have an honest response.

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& s t n e m monutes mi

SAVE THE DATE! FRIDAY MAY 19 @ 7PM

A SPOKEN WORD AND VISUAL ARTS FESTIVAL FOR connecticut 3rd YOUTH UAL ANN

WHAT IS IT? An evening of brand new spoken word poems and visual artwork created by students from all over Connecticut!

SUBMIT YOUR WORK! This year’s theme is: what do you wish for?

Apply at longwharf.org/moments-minutes-festival 38