Vanda Monaco

Biography

Actor, director, and writer Vanda Monaco is known for the depth and transformation she brings to both her life and artistic work. Her theatre practice spans classical and contemporary drama, from William Shakespeare to Jon Fosse and Craig Lucas.

Not Being, But Becoming

Vanda Monaco was born in Naples, Italy. She lives in Stockholm and works internationally in Sweden, Italy, and the United States.

She studied at the French school in Naples, where she developed a strong passion for music and dance, studying both classical piano and dance from an early age.

Drawn by the desire for a wider artistic life, she moved to Rome and began acting with the acclaimed Italian actor Gian Maria Volonté while studying drama at La Sapienza University of Rome. During this period she also pursued academic work, publishing books and essays on Italian theatre, Jerzy Grotowski, and Italian opera, and eventually earning a PhD.

After several years in academia, she chose to leave her university career and Italy itself, despite her deep attachment to the country. She moved north to Sweden and, together with her husband, the logician and philosopher Dag Westerståhl, traveled and lived in the United States, China, Brazil, and other countries.

In Sweden, she was mentored by Erland Josephson and Gunnel Lindblom, two leading actors closely associated with the films and theatre of Ingmar Bergman. During this time she founded Tensta TeaterEnsemble, the first multi-ethnic theatre ensemble in Sweden.In the United States she co-founded Emotion Theatre (EMTH) together with scientist Federica Raia, physician Mario Deng, and playwright and director John Henry Davis. The EMTH explores the role of emotions in the relationship between doctors and patients in an increasingly technological medical world.

For the EMTH, playwright Craig Lucas wrote The Catherine Wheel, in which Monaco created the character of The Donor. John Henry Davis wrote Waiting Room, where she created the character of The Conductor. Both plays were staged by Davis in New York (Off-Broadway) and Los Angeles.

Characters, language, narrative, and dramatic text form the core of the theatre she loves.

Voice work remains central to her practice. She continues to study at the Kristin Linklater Voice and Language Center in New York, one of the most influential approaches to voice training in contemporary theatre.

As Monaco explains:

“If I give a voice too early to the character I am creating, I lose it — and it will not come back to me.”

Outside the theatre she trains in boxing at Hammarby Boxing Club in Stockholm with coach and personal trainer Joel Grandell.

The Third Millennium

Monaco is currently working on the project Technology, Spoken Theatre, Emotions in collaboration with Tekniska Museet (The National Museum of Science and Technology) in Stockholm.

She serves as Artistic Director of the non-profit foundations:

• Mega Things Theatre, Stockholm
  
  

• Relational Medicine Foundation, Los Angeles
  
  

She is also Artistic Director of the international project Italy–Sweden 2-2, in which she both performs and directs.

In 2013 she directed the project “Stadsteater between Art and Science – Acting in the Neuroscience Era” at Stockholm Stadsteater.

Academic Work

Earlier in her career, Monaco held academic positions as Associate Professor of Acting and Drama at:

• Università Orientale di Napoli
  
  

• Università di Bologna
  
  

• Università di Ferrara
  
  

• Università Suor Orsola Benincasa (Naples)
  
  

She has also been a Visiting Professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

Vanda Monaco is the author of numerous essays, two plays, and several theatre scripts.