Introducing IFCAP RAW RESIDENCY ARTISTS Gianna Cioffi + EMIT Theatre Company
Gianna and the EMIT Theatre Ensemble
GIANNA TELLS US ABOUT HERSELF:
I am a teaching artist. I have worked as an actor, choreographer, and director for a variety of theatre companies in New York City. In 2011, I graduated with a dual degree in Theatre and Communication Disorders. I have my M.S.Edu in Theatre Education from the City College of New York and am a New York State certified K-12 theatre teacher.
I strive to have EMIT be a sustainable company that is able to conduct research on the impact of experiential theatrical experiences and learning; that we are able to reach many different types of learning populations; and that we create works that impact emerging language learning.
GIANNA TELLS US ABOUT EMIT and their RAW RESIDENCY:
The biggest question at the center of our work is How can we design a theatrical experience that uses interactions and immersion to impact students’ comprehension and engagement? We seek to set up environments that encourage experiential learning and help students feel empowered.
The Parlour is beautiful and extremely well-suited for our needs as an immersive theatre company and our new production of The Tempest; audience members are easily able to “choose their own adventure” and engage directly with the characters and storylines that they find most compelling. There is a wonderful balance of openness in the space, allowing students to easily move throughout the space, and intimacy, allowing students to have interactions with cast members that empower them as participants in the story.
I founded the Educational Mobile Immersive Theatre (EMIT) with Amy Frey, Jo’Lisa Jones, and Amanda Urban, from a desire to create immersive theater that held education at its core and could be easily shared in order to impact as many people as possible. The company seeks to make our productions as accessible as possible by creating a mobile, flexible format, including elements of site-specific theatre which allow us to adapt to whatever space that we are given.
We believe that theatre should be for everyone, regardless of age or ability.
We feel beyond grateful to have received an IFCAP RAW Residency. We were seeking a space that could give us flexibility to create a truly unique learning experience for children. We cannot believe how open and supportive IFCAP has been for EMIT. We would not be able to reach as many students without the IFCAP Raw Residency.
CATHERINE ASKS GIANNA SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:
What are your special and/or secret talents?
Getting children in a circle, pasta making, interpretative dancing, and throwing a spiral with a football.
What is your favorite…
Snack? Sour Sweet Tart Chewies and Takkis - The official EMIT rehearsal snacks
Book? Love in the Time of Cholera, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Color? Red
Fruit? Apples
Nap Location? On the R Train in the little orange seats that run perpendicular to the window
What is your Spirit Animal? A flying squirrel
If you were a shoe, what kind of shoe would you be? A sandal that you can walk in but still wear to dinner
If you could live anywhere, you’d live? Belfast, Ireland
Who are some of your Bigtime Artistic Influences that inform/explain why you do what you do?
Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival: The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival was my first real exposure as audience to a professional Shakespeare company. I loved and still love how they use their space to create something really magical.
The Alexander Technique/ Jocosa Wade: As a sophomore in college I was introduced to Jocosa Wade, a brilliant Alexander Teacher. Like all good teachers, she changed my whole perspective on acting and how I live my life. I use many of the movement based exercises she taught me during our rehearsal process to help create authentic connections between the characters.
Gary Izzo/ The Sterling Renaissance Festival : Gary Izzo is the Artistic Director of The Sterling Renaissance Festival and the author of The Art of Play: The New Genre of Interactive Theatre. I was lucky enough to be an actor at the sterling renaissance festival and learn from him. His practice on creating immersive work, and interactive characters is at the core of our work at EMIT. I use his book as a model for our process.
Who is your Artistic Crush?
Matthew Bourne
GIANNA ASKS HERSELF SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:
1. Can everything get done?
2. Should I do my laundry?
3. Am I going to pack my lunch or buy it tomorrow?
CATHERINE TELLS US ABOUT GIANNA and EMIT:
What struck me when I first met Gianna and this earnest group of young artists was how powerful their commitment is to bring accessible productions of Shakespeare to New York City students. This mission of accessible Shakespeare is shared by many theater companies in NYC, but EMIT and Gianna had a fresh energy to their striving that was palpable. For all of NYC Theater’s lip service at being a supportive community, it can often be challenging for a young company to find its way in this saturated, expensive city. It is a privilege to host Gianna and EMIT as RAW RESIDENCY artists, providing not only space for their work but also a sense that their work matters, is worth attention and support, and that they can thrive. In surveying the ensemble of EMIT, IFCAP can proudly say,
“O, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in't!”
--The Tempest, Act V, Scene 1
