Marco Calvani

Italian born, Marco is an award-winning writer and director. Trained as an actor since he was a teenager, he made his debut as a playwright in 2002 with Quasi, commissioned by the European Social Forum. Le mani forti was his first play to be performed to great acclaim throughout Europe (among others, at Grec Festival 2007 directed by Marc Martínez). Commissions from Todi Art Festival, Phoenix Theatre of London, Teatro di Roma, Théâtre de la Ville of Paris, La MaMa Theatre of New York and Grec Fundació de Barcelona followed. Other plays include: Oil (Teatro India, Rome; Robert Moss Theatre, NYC), The City Beneath (La MaMa Theatre, NYC; Ubud Festival, Indonesia; The Actors Studio, NYC), Penelope in Groznyj (Kunsthaus Tacheles, Berlin; Napoli Teatro Festival, Italy; Teatro Vascello, Rome), Nails (Fringe Festival Madrid; Galleria Toledo, Naples), Things Of This World (Spoleto Festival; Fringe Festival Madrid; La MaMa Theatre), I Am Dracula (Teatro Fabbricone, Prato), The Second Time (Biennale Venice, La MaMa Theatre) and After The Dark (Sala Beckett and La MaMa Theatre, NYC, as part of the AdA Project). With Neil LaBute he created the international project AdA – Author directing Author, which reached its third edition in 2016. He is a member of the Literary Board at the National Theatre of Scotland, of the Dramatists Guild of America and of the Playwrights/Directors Unit at The Actors Studio. He was the winner of the 2011 S.I.A.E. Prize for Best Playwright, of the 2013 Outstanding Playwright at Planet Connections Theatre Festivity Awards and of the 2015 Calcante Prize. He was also the recipient of the 2015 Writer Fellowship at the Edward F. Albee Foundation. He recently wrote and directed his first film, The View From Up Here (US/France 2017), starring Melissa Leo and Leila Bekhti, based on his homonymous play. Marco currently lives in New York.