Category: Nonna’s Trips & Events

Playwrights Write in Pontelandolfo!

by midgeguerrera, posted in Nonna's Trips & Events

Write Where You Are –

Pontelandolfo 2024 🇮🇹

SponsoreD by

Other Rooms founding artistic director, Jonathan Samarro, understands playwrights. Not only is he a produced and published playwright himself, but the organization he leads has been providing playwright support through a variety of initiatives. How do I know? Hey gang, you know I’m a playwright. (Check out my work on Next Stage Press and YouthPLAYS.) I’ve participated in and gained a lot from the resources Jonathan has created.

Accountable Sundays encourages writers – like sometimes lazy me – to commit to writing every Sunday. Write Where Your Are, a workshop that provides feedback during the creation of a new work, has been incredibly helpful. Other Voices is a reading series that features new completed plays. Retro Reads gives playwrights insights into the work of master playwrights through readings and discussions of classic plays. Seriously, we can all learn from the masters.

Jonathan’s latest initiative, Write Where You Are – Pontelandolfo 2024, offers playwrights the space, time, and community needed to move forward in their work. Those of you who follow this blog have already guessed why Pontelandolfo was chosen. It is my home town and where I do most of my writing. For those of you that are new – Pontelandolfo, nestled in the southern Italy Sannio hills, is a small village off the beaten tourist track. The Italian landscape and village life are a great catalyst for creativity.

Pontelandolfo – our favorite place.

Only eight playwrights were selected to participate in Other Rooms’ first retreat. Between October 14 – 23, 2024, the participants will be staying in La Locanda della Presuntuosa, an interesting villa built into a mountain and on acres of land. The villa provides an escape from the trodden tourist track of Italy’s big cities yet is minutes from Piazza Roma, the main piazza, and the center of Pontelandolfo life and lore. Cobblestone streets lead one to a medieval castle tower and cafés, ancient Roman churches and miniature works of art are hidden within an area steeped in history and culture.

Video is a wee bit too long but…

The week begins with a bar crawl to introduce everyone to village life. Hey, they are playwrights did you expect high tea? In addition to time for one’s own daily writing, the retreat offers master classes in playwriting, a stimulating array of traditional cultural activities, introduction to the province’s theatre community, opportunities to socialize with fellow writers and local people. They can even choose to eat lunch with a local family! YUMMMM!

Jonathan and his local team – gulp – which includes both Annarita Mancini and I, wanted to create a writer’s retreat that was different than the usual – meet around a table for a workshop. Chatting with Playwright and Professor Rosemary McLaughlin we decided to hold a master class, Writing Site Specific Work, at a site. The workshop will be held at Altilia, an excavation of a Roman Village in the town of Sepino – Area Archeologica di Saepinum.  How cool is that!

Rosemary is the head of the Playwriting Program at Drew University. She received her MFA in Theater Arts from Rutgers’ Mason Gross School and several writing fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Recent plays include Paterson Falls, commissioned by Writers Theatre of New Jersey, about the 1913 silk strike; A More Opportune Time, a contemporary adaptation of Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus; Pushing the River, a comedy about aging, memory and eminent domain; Seven Fishermen, about the deadly consequences of a Westerner’s determination to “save” uncontacted people; and D.O.H. (Dykes of Hoboken), set in the 1980’s, a comedy in spite of being about gentrification and AIDS. Rosemary is also a director, a member of the Dramatists Guild and a board member of the International Centre for Women Playwrights.

Sidney Rushing will be introducing the group to the VOTE method to viable and practical story telling. (Victory, Obstacles Tactics and Emotions) It is method to attack a sagging second act, an inactive protagonist  and mine for a more meaningful story. (I really can’t wait to participate in this workshop.)This user friendly process is something you can apply to any story telling medium without angst or trepidation. You will learn how this technique applies to other stories and do the work for your own narrative. We haven’t decided yet where Sidney will be conducting this workshop but know it won’t be in a classroom like setting.

Syd has penned various stage productions in both Chicago, Texas and Los Angeles. He also wrote and performed his one man show Brother’s Tellin’  in Los Angeles earning a NAACP Best Play nomination. It opened up for Lily Tomlin’s show, The Search for Signs for Intelligent Life in the Universe. Syd was then selected for the Mark Taper Playwright’s Program. He went on to a string of produced plays including Aberdeen and Netarine, Akashic Permutations, Zu’s Earth, Unsung Heroes and more. Rushing was honored to be a recipient of the Lorraine Hansberry Distinguished Achievement Award, The 21st Century Voices winner, The Inaugural August Wilson Fellow and a top ten finalist in the Screen Craft Pilot Screenplay Competition 2023. He has taught every grade level from K-12, Prep for College and at Texas State University — named teacher of the year three times in succession within public schools. 

Write Where You Are – Pontelandolfo 2024 will be an exciting program for both the participants and the citizens of Pontelandolfo. This year’s participants have been selected but Other Rooms has set up a waiting list. If you would like to be considered for the waiting list or are interested in any of the programs sponsored by Other Rooms, contact Jonathan Samarro –   jonathanjsamarro@gmail.com.
 

Ci vediamo prossima volta!

Midge Guerrera

Books and plays make great gifts!

consider gifting a work of mine. Thanks!

When is Buffalo not Buffalo?

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo, Nonna's Trips & Events

When “buffalo” means Buffalo Mozzarella! Who knew that the creamiest of mozzarella cheeses came from a water buffalo? I didn’t. Did I just admit a lack of knowledge on something edible and Italian?

About 20 years ago, Jack, my Aunt Cat and I drove through the valleys of Compania searching for buffalo. Silly me imaging the bison that ruled the plains were nestled in the Sannio Hills. Oooops – classic mistake. Can you imagine milking a two-story tall mammoth bison? Thanks to Martenette Farms, a group of ten farm to table foodies will see the buffalo for themselves.

Fattoria al Tavolo With Martenette Farms*

Ace organic farmers Andrea and Tony of Martenette Farms in Hillsborough, New Jersey wanted to share their love of farming and good eating with others. They created a super culinary and farm adventure that takes place in my home town, Pontelandolfo, from October 17 – 24, 2020. Guess what it includes? A visit to a buffalo farm!

Participants will explore, eat and live in a small southern Italian village. Becoming part of village life, they will gain a cultural understanding of what lies behind great Southern Italian dishes. This farm to table experience is for those of you who want to see a part of Italy that is off the crowded tourist trail, see where the local food comes from and taste dishes that go back generations.

For example, the group will eat in private homes and at agriturismos – farms that serve food. Visit working farms, hear lectures on herbs, look for edibles in the Sannio Hills, learn the ancient sport of cheese rolling – La Ruzzula, and of course visit olive groves and taste great wine after trekking through vineyards.

Check out their website for details – Martenette Farms

I can’t wait to meet this group of culinary adventurers! Ci vediamo!

*Regretfully, there are no special dietary considerations. Since you will eating in people’s homes, not restaurants, accommodations cannot be made for allergies or preferences. This medieval village has charming cobblestone streets, but it is not handicapped accessible. The adventure and experience in the home of local families requires the ability to climb stairs, walk on uneven streets and feel comfortable in a hilly mountain environment. The calendar of events may change but will be similar.

They Came to Cook and Conquered a Village

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo, Nonna's Trips & Events

In a small town, like Pontelandolfo, everybody knows your name. Tweens in a dark alley getting into something that they shouldn’t, don’t think it is such a good thing. “Second act’rs” like Jack and I living in a new place, find it magical. Whenever we go into the piazza we know we’re home. Folks say salve – hi, come stai – how are you, smile and wave. When we first started staying long-term in Pontelandolfo, going to the piazza was kind of like going to the high school cafeteria on the first day of school.  Who would I sit with?  Who would talk to me?  I don’t know how it happened but we too became part of the fabric of life here.   What struck me this past Saturday, was that every time a group of adventuresome cooks come to Pontelandolfo to be part of Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo they too quickly become part of our village’s life.

For three years the homes, citizens and businesses of Pontelandolfo have opened their doors and hearts to strangers looking for a different tourism experience. These strangers aren’t strangers very long.  Relationships are formed in nanoseconds. I know that the relationships are strong because I see the tears when folks depart. I read the FaceBook posts as connections are kept.  Love – the feeling of love is everywhere.

This latest group jumped right into village life with that first night “bar crawl.” They met bar owners, bar goers, politicos and curious folks. Pontelandolfese out for their evening passeggiata got a look at them. What troupers, having snacks and drinks at not one but all three bars on our piazza. It was obvious to all who met them that they were really interested in Pontelandolfo, our home town.

Tourists often pop in and out of Piazza Roma, take a picture of the iconic tower and dash off. The seven day commitment that both these latest and our past Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo participants made,  meant that the visitors wanted to have a meaningful encounter with not only the food of Pontelandolfo but also the community. They became regulars at the bars, chatted up everyone, played with the children, cooked and ate with families, visited with our baker, cheesemaker, butcher, listened intently as an elder craftsman talked about weaving fabrics as his great grandfather did – all this endeared them to the community.

Now if you know me, you know I wear my emotions on my sleeve and tear up often. When something really touches my heart, I not only tear up but am speechless – cause talking is impossible. There were many times during our cooking programs when I couldn’t speak. I have seen love crossing economic lines, ignoring politics and breaking down cultural barriers.

Some of our guests have had a root of their family tree here in Pontelandolfo.  They came not only to learn traditional Pontelandolfo cooking but to discover more about their past.  Our first group, three years ago, visited the Contrada (little village) of their ancestors and felt the connection that only blood returning to its source can bring. One of this past week’s women had ancestors from Pontelandolfo.  At the B&B she discovered a couple that knew her  distant cousin.  They embraced her and took her to see where her family was from. She was full of stories and felt the spirit of Pontelandolfo.

The women who open their homes to these strangers are so warm and loving that it is impossible not to feel welcome.  They have been touched as these strangers, who are strangers no more, have bought them gifts from their home states or made them something special.  A young female ship’s captain just presented each teaching cook with little dream catchers she knotted and wove from one long piece of ship’s string. Those little catchers will be holding a lot of love.

Everyone always pitches in as meals are being created, parties started or excursions planned.  I can see men and women of all ages flicking tablecloths, setting places and carrying dishes.  I also saw them carry wood from outside for wood burning ovens, making brooms from the sambuca tree and washing hundreds of dishes. This May, a female Broadway sound engineer, even fixed the butcher’s sound system. That meant that music flowed during our last night party. All of these actions felt like the actions of family members not recent strangers or guests.

Some of our visitors have even made sure that children’s books in English were added to our community library.  Since everyone must study and pass an English proficiency test this was a fabulous and thoughtful gift.

Children, twittering with stage fright,  who in traditional dress, performed stories from the town in English, have been cheered like movie stars.  Our guests have loved the challenge and work that these little actors put into sharing stories about their town.

I thank all the culinary tourists over the years, for bringing a tear to my eyes and silence to my mouth. I thank them for being willing to experience a small southern Italian village. I thank them for accepting us for who we are. I thank them for being who they are. I thank them for making me understand that love and food break down barriers!

Huzzah to those who came, cooked and conquered our hearts!

Cooks 4 sessions

It Takes A Village to Learn Italian!

by midgeguerrera, posted in Nonna's Trips & Events

Valerio Ponte

Intermediate and advanced students of Italian, here is your chance to burst your ability to speak up a notch.  How?  Through crowdteaching in Pontelandolfo this spring!  WHAT???? Here is the back story –

Gli dico ma.. I was in Pontelandolfo’s library having a conversation with some of my wee English students when like a flash-choir three of them blurted out, “Direi – usa condizionale.”  Huh, I replied to the ten year olds who corrected my Italian.  One tyke rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders.  Glielo direi ma, I corrected my sentence – (I was trying to say “I would tell him but…” but had said “I tell him but.”)

Jack and I have been staying longer and longer in Pontelandolfo.  When we first visited my Italian was barely there.  I was great with gestures, acting out what we needed and generally making everyone from shop keepers to small children in the piazza giggle at my attempt to speak la bella lingua. Over the years my Italian improved and just recently I figured out why – CROWDTEACHING.  Hey, if one can have crowdsourcing or crowdfunding – why not crowdteaching? As we became fixtures in the community, more and more people corrected my Italian.  Marilina, in Bar Elimar, made me repeat Caffè shakerato a pazillion times this summer.  If I wanted a decaf espresso shaken over ice and lusciously turned into a summer drink, I had to stop saying decaffeinato shakerooooo or shakirito or shaken not stirred.

Crowdteaching.  Hmmm.  Why not share this concept with other students of Italian and combine it with life in a Southern Italian village?  That thought has turned into Leap into Language Immersion in Pontelandolfo.

Students of Italian who are currently at the intermediate or advanced level, have the opportunity to experience the language in its natural setting, take formal classes and be corrected everywhere and by lots of people.

You will eat lunch in private homes, play cards with the guys in the bar, roll cheese with the Ruzzola Team and improve your conversational skills. Every home that you visit and every social or cultural activity that you attend will include native speakers correcting your speech.  Imagine an extended family of native speakers helping you improve your language skills.  There will be laughter, friendships will be built and you will leave with an increased capacity for conversation.

Included Highlights:

  • Transportation from the Benevento train station.
  • 7 nights, single or double room, with television, refrigerator and breakfast. Five rooms in this cute B&B have private baths.  A two-room suite shares a bath.  Unless it is requested, the last 2 people to register will share a room.  The shared room will be very large. Il Castello
  • 8.5 hours of formal classes and 7 full days of immersion.
  • Welcoming apertivo and snacks.
  • Pranzo at an agriturismo. Tour the property, play with the animals and perhaps hear a tall tale or two.
  • borgo-cerquelle
  • Four (4) meals in local homes. Eat, drink and swap stories with a family in their natural environment.  They will want to know all about you and you will want to know all about them.  Conversation will swirl.  Two participants will be dining in each household.
  • pizza1
  • Wine and artesian food tasting at a local vintner.
  • Pontelandolfo Day – open air market, tasting of locally produced products, and other activities.
  • Explore the Sannio hills with Mario! He has walked the mountain hunting truffles, asparagus, mushrooms and more.  This is a unique opportunity.
  • After a morning of exploring the mountain, pizza pranzo at B&B Calvello.
  • Learn the ancient sport of cheese rolling – La Ruzzula!

Thank You Zorrotropa For Their YouTube Video Ruzzola del Formaggio.

  • Drink beer and chat with the men who sit in front of the bar daily, play cards and hand games like a native.
  • Lecture and tour of the historic church, San Salvatore.
  • Italian movie night and discussion.
  • Lecture “I Gesti.” Before you leap into the local fray, learn the sign language.
  • Learn the traditional folk dances of the town from dance company Ri Ualanegli.
  • Excursion to Altilia Roman Ruins.
  • Lecture on the history of Pontelandolfo.

Date: Friday, April 20  through Friday, April 27 2018

This cultural adventure is limited to 8 people.  For more information e-mail us at info@nonnasmulberrytree.com

Crowd-learning – who knew that it would take a village to teach me Italian!

Ci vediamo!