Salerno Theatre Hits New York With “Come un polpo nella chitarra”

“ For over 30 years, the Carisal Foundation has been a point of reference for the cultural development of the territory, investing with continuity and vision in artistic, educational, social and cultural initiatives that enhance young talents and promote the Salerno identity in Italy and around the world. The support for the ON Teatro Company is a concrete example of how the Foundation interprets culture: not as a simple sector of intervention, but as an indispensable strategic lever for the social and civil growth of the community ” declared this morning the President of the Carisal Foundation, Domenico Credendino , in the opening speech of the press conference to present the project of the ON Teatro Formazione Cultura theater company and their extraordinary success at the In Scena! 2025 Festival – Italian Theater Festival NY with the show “Come un polpo nella chitarra ”.

An important milestone for the Salerno theater and, more generally, for Campania and Italian culture, made possible thanks to the support of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio Salernitana, which believed in the cultural and artistic value of this project born in Salerno and which, crossing national borders, successfully landed in New York.

The event, moderated by the Director of the Carisal Foundation, Francesco Paolo Innamorato , was attended, among others, by the Board of Directors , Valerio Salvatore and the young actors of the show: Annachiara Castorino , Gerardo D'Amato , Francesco Del Gaudio , Sabrina La Regina , Paola Santamaria .

At the end of the screening of a short presentation video dedicated to the reality of ON Teatro Formazione Cultura, the interventions of Licia Amarante , Artistic Director of ON Teatro Formazione Cultura and director of the show, Marco Ziello , Artistic Director of ON Teatro Formazione Cultura, director, actor and author of the show and Chiara Giovannone , head of communications. A testimony of success with the story told by the protagonists of the adventure that led them to the first international performance in New York, staged on the stages of the NOoSphere Arts in Brooklyn and the Wow Café Theatre in Manhattan, and which, after an intense national tour, crossed Campania, Lazio, Sicily, Liguria, Basilicata and Emilia-Romagna.

The show “Come un polpo nella chitarra” landed in New York, already winner of the Best Dramatic Show Award at Roma Comic Off 2024, and which involved very young actors, deals with themes such as Alzheimer's, depression and the attraction to death with intensity and irony, telling the story of the implosion of a family that takes refuge in grotesque and repetitive habits to avoid facing pain. A poetic and bittersweet story at the same time, where dream and reality merge in an emotional spiral made of silences, memory and deafening everyday life.

Participation in the In Scena! festival – the only event that has promoted Italian theater in the five boroughs of New York since 2013 – represented for ON Teatro not only an opportunity for visibility, but a true cultural bridge between Italy and the United States, in line with the company's mission: to make theater a tool for exchange, reflection, and belonging.

The contribution of the Carisal Foundation has allowed to guarantee the presence of the Salerno reality in an international context of excellence. A concrete signal of how the investment in culture can generate real opportunities for the young artists of the territory and of how art can build bridges and strengthen the identity of the territory.