Silvia Girardi an Italian, naturalized American performer and director based in Verona. Her works are performed in theaters, museums, dance, and visual arts centers internationally. Drawing upon classical and contemporary theatre, performance, visual art, dance, she leads original works with a particular interest in devising processes and the interrelation of different artistic disciplines. Her practice spans anthropology, science and poetry.
Career and Background
- Graduated in 1998 at Scuola Civica di Teatro Paolo Grassi in Milan
- Performed as actress with main national theater companies
- Lived in San Francisco from 2000 to 2012, collaborating with theatre companies, art collectives, and cultural foundations
- Founded SGArt, a curatorial platform promoting contemporary Italian art in North America (2006–2012)
- Relocated in Milan in 2012 producing solo original theatre works
- Faculty member at Scuola di Teatro Paolo Grassi in Milan, teaching Devised Theatre and acting training programs
- Started her personal Yoga and Zen meditation practice in 2000. She is a certified Yoga instructor since 2012 and founder of Casa Yoga studio in Milano and Verona.
Latest Projects
Silvia’s theatre pieces engage with ecological, scientific, and poetic narratives in interdisciplinary formats:
- L’oscura materia, l’universo e io (2025), an immersive theatre piece inspired by cosmology and theoretical physics
- Alberi (2018), a multidisciplinary physical theatre exploration of tree life, photosynthesis and mythology; later adapted into an award-winning environmental documentary (2021) won the first prize for Best Documentary at Festival del Cinema Italiano
- Umanità > trilogy (2014), a multi-part project investigating themes such as immortal jellyfish (Libro I), urban light pollution affecting fireflies (Libro II), and the physical gesture of painting (Libro III)
- All I Wanted To Say (2012), a multimedia performance on digital communication, blending theatre, dance, film, and digital art
Awards and Residencies
- Best Documentary at Festival del Cinema Italiano 2021 for Alberi
- Premio Upnea Milano 2014; Premio Salicedoro Danza Out 2013
- Early recognitions: New Actress UBU mention (2000), Hystrio jury mention (1999), and Prova d’Attore Award for Best Actress (1998)
- Residencies include prestigious institutions such as The Garage (San Francisco), Kunst‑Stoff Arts, and various creative labs across Italy
Poetic Work
In 2021 she published her first poetry collection titled “Sparizioni” and has contributed translations to MediumPoesia, deepening her interest in poetic forms alongside theatrical expression. She often describes her theatrical practice as poetic spatial compositional writing, where movement and synthesis of text become expressive tools—her shift into written poetry felt like a natural extension of her stage work.
Teaching and Influence
Since 2000, Silvia has taught acting, theatre training and devised theatre techniques internationally: Scuola Civica di Teatro Paolo Grassi, Actors Space Berlin, Kunst‑Stoff Arts, and the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. Her pedagogical style merges European, Japanese, and American training—encouraging creativity, presence, and collaborative theatre-making.
Contact
+39 345 9898 651
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