The Caetani family has been iconic in the Greater Vernon community for many years.
The heartbreaking and inspiring story of youngest daughter and the Caetani Cultural Centre’s benefactor, Sveva Caetani, is one that resonates throughout the community and beyond.
Sveva’ story and her art are garnering national and even international attention as a number of writers, artists and filmmakers have worked on or are working on projects about Vernon’s own royal family of Italian nobility.
The latest is in Vernon to partake in Okanagan College’s Kalamalka Press writer-in-residence program at the Caetani Cultural Centre.
B.C. playwright and author Janet Munsil is at the centre for the month of October to research and write a full-length play about Sveva Caetani’s life and art for a future production to be staged at Vernon’s Powerhouse Theatre.
“2017 marks the 100th birthday of Sveva Caetani, and the community is invited to take part in this endeavour to record these stories,” said Caetani centre manager Susan Brandoli.
Munsil’s project will combine three theatrical worlds: first-person storytelling, dramatizations of the stories, and epic visual theatre that suggests and explores the world of Caetani’s paintings.
She is working with director Geoff Ewart to shape and develop the script.
“While I’m in Vernon this month, I would love to hear from anyone with a Caetani story, from personal friends or students of Sveva Caetani, to casual encounters around Vernon and area that you (or your family) might remember,” she said.
“This can include anecdotes told to you by someone else, to local legends, speculation, or even ghost stories. I am interested in the truth and the myth, and in how the story is told by the people who live here.”
Born in Seattle and raised in Port Alberni, Munsil is a graduate of the University of Victoria’s theatre program.
In 1992, she joined the staff of Intrepid Theatre, producers of the Victoria Fringe Festival, Uno Fest, Winterlab, OUTstages and other presenting and development programs.
This year, she celebrates her 25th year as an artistic director and producer, having produced more than 50 arts festivals.
Her plays have been produced internationally, including the National Arts Centre, Theatre Calgary, Alberta Theatre Projects, The Tarragon, Soho Theatre (London), Prague Fringe, Citizen’s (Glasgow), Belltable Arts Centre (Ireland), the West Yorkshire Playhouse (Leeds) and elsewhere. She has been in residence at the Banff Centre Playwrights Colony, and in 2012 was part of the Stratford Festival Playwrights Retreat.
Those who wish to help Munsil with her project can e-mail her at jmunsil@shaw.ca.
Stories can also be posted via caetani.org/caetani-stories.
For more on Munsil, visit janetmunsil.com.