The Heroine’s Journey of Laura Malaterra

What is the best thing that I love about my work as storyteller?

I love completely losing the sense of time that passes, as I write, and live another time, in another space, in another life. I wrote many scripts for the theater, which then became shows which I directed.

I published 4 books:

http://www.lauramalaterra.it/libri.htm

Io Golf, Tu Jane! Manuale breve di sopravvivenza per le mogli di giocatori di golf https://www.ibs.it/search/?ts=as&query=io%20golf,%20tu%20jane&filterProduct_type=&query_seo=io%20golf,%20tu%20jane&qs=true

100 Ultime Sigarette Ovvero le 99 volte che avete ricominciato a fumare

https://www.ibs.it/100-ultime-sigarette-ovvero-99-libro-laura-malaterra/e/9788867402830

Ricordi di cibo, il cibo dei ricordi

https://www.ibs.it/ricordi-di-cibo-cibo-dei-libro-laura-malaterra/e/9788867405220

Pensieri fioriti

Pensieri fioriti

Then I have my blog L’ovodipiero https://lovodipiero.wordpress.com/

of surreal photographic stories where I love to combine writing and photography. The name of my blog is dedicated to the famous egg painted by Piero della Francesca in the Pala di Brera.

I write on Artwort mainly about photography

www.artwort.com/author/laura-malaterra

What is my idea of happiness?

Me acting, in the center of an illuminated stage. Not seeing the audience but hearing the breaths, the laughter, the applause of the people who are there for me. Every time I transform myself, forgetting about me and finding myself again at the end of the performance. But my work as a director also gave me emotions that made me aware of the relationship, I could define it a magical one, being created between director and actors, even with the unavoidable tensions … My latest direction was the show “Donne che cucinano la vita” (Women who cook life) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXtvlFFyVKQ

freely taken from the stories of the “Concorso Lingua Madre” (Mother Language Competition), which I reduced for the theatre.

What is my greatest fear?

Losing the joy of living and doing.

What is the trait that I most deplore in myself?

It’s rather a desire: I would like to be less anxious.

Which living persons in my profession do i most admire?

I most appreciate Frances Louise McDormand as an actress, Simonetta Agnello Hornby as a writer, Letizia Battaglia as a photographer.

What is my greatest extravagance?

Always thinking of being young and always wearing bright red lipstick, fully sharing the words of the legendary Coco Chanel “If you are sad, put on a little more lipstick and go on the attack”.

On what occasion would I lie?

To avoid giving an heartbreaking displeasure.

What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work?

Talking on the phone.

When and where was I the happiest, in my work?

On the stage of all the theaters where I have performed, from the most famous in Italy and abroad to the small but fascinating ones that I discovered along my career. When I write and when I photograph.

If I could, what would I change about myself?

Maybe to open up more with others and not keep too many thoughts inside…

What is my greatest achievement in work?

Founding a professional theater company, the Compagnia del Bagatto, just after my graduation in architecture, and throwing myself headlong into that wonderful adventure that theater is. Theater taught me everything, an authentic school of life. Actress, director but also writer, then I started photographing theater rehearsals and another passion was born. A mix of experiences that made and make sparkling my life.

Where would I most like to live?

In New York in a house overlooking Central Park where I would take long walks hoping to meet Woody Allen.

What is my most treasured possession?

My creativity.

What is my most marked characteristic?

Irony and curiosity.

What is my most inspirational location, in my city?

I live in Genoa, a seaside city, and I like to get lost in its wonderful historic center, walking aimlessly through the narrow alleys where you can always glimpse a piece of sky and then, suddenly, a fragment of the sea always appears. But I love the fog at night in the squares of Turin, my hometown.

What is my favorite place to eat and drink, in my city?

The Italian Yacht Club of Genoa overlooking the marina, delights for the palate and the eyes.

What books influenced my life and how?

“La Storia” (The Story) by Elsa Morante who admirably traces the characters of Ida and her son Useppe in a Rome that is experiencing the war and the slow recovery of the post-war period. It taught me to tell stories …

“Romanzo di figure” (A novel of pictures) by Lalla Romano who accompanied me to the reading of an image, on the details and hidden feelings, on the relationship between photography and words.

“Le Deuxième Sexe” (The second sex) by Simone de Beauvoir which made me a convinced feminist.

You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day?

All of Gustav Mahler’s music, the favorite is Symphony No.1.

Heartbreaking and poetic to leave this world in beauty.

Who is my hero or heroine in fiction?

Scarlett O’Hara of Gone with the Wind. Passionate, voluptuous, feminine woman, ambitious, effervescent and brilliant, courageous and fickle.

Who are my heroes and heroines in real life?

In this particular period where Covid-19 has changed our lives, doctors, nurses and all the people who take care of the sick.

Which movie would i recommend to see once in a lifetime?

“Babette’s Feast” written and directed by Gabriel Axel, based on the homonymous story by Karen Blixen. Poetry and spirituality seasoned with the voluptuous foods prepared by Babette.

What role play stories in my life and work?

A fundamental role. My work as a director always makes me see my own and everyone else’s stories as moments that unfold on a stage. I set up Minimi Set http://www.lauramalaterra.it/Foto/FotoMinimiSet/index.htm

where I tell stories.

What do the words ‘You are the storyteller of your own life’ to me?

In all my books I have told a little about myself, especially in “Ricordi di cibo, il cibo dei ricordi” (Memories of food, the food of memories) where food is the red thread that connects the moments of my youth, yearning for the past but also irony of games and spites of us three sisters.

Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime?

My husband Andrea, precious help and first reader of my writings, first spectator of my performances and first viewer of my photographs. Balanced and optimistic, he always supports me by calming my concerns. Always proactive and critical only if necessary. His judgment is always fundamental. He an engineer and I an architect, a beautiful encounter, sometimes a clash, between numbers and equations to balance our lives.

Which people or companies would I like to work with in 2021?

La nave di Teseo http://www.lanavediteseo.eu/

Racconti edizioni https://www.raccontiedizioni.it/

Earth Day Italia http://www.earthdayitalia.org/

Centro Sperimentale di Fotografia Adams https://www.csfadams.it/

Alessia Glaviano

Which people in my profession who can make a real difference in my creative career would i love to meet in 2021?

Francesca Mannocchi, writer

Emma Dante, producer

Luisa Briganti, photographer and director at the “CSF-Adams” Experimental Center for Photography

What project, in 2021, am I looking forward to work on? Where can you see me or my work in 2021?

In 2021 I hope to finish my fifth book and publish it with a major publisher.

Find foreign publishers to publish “Io Golf, tu Jane!” (Me Golf, you Jane!)” and “100 Ultime Sigarette” (100 Latest Cigarettes)” abroad!

Make a photo exhibition of my project “Journey around my room” ” which tells the story of my lockdown. Continue the photographic project “The PlasticK World”.

Create many photographic portraits.