Sicily has long been known as a place of myth and legend. Hephaestus forged weapons for the gods on the island of Vulcano; Daedulus built a temple to Apollo near the river Belice after Icarus flew too close to the sun; and Odysseus navigated the Strait of Messina, evading the dual threats of Scylla and Charybdis. There are few other locales more apt for folktales and lore — as homegrown hero Leonardo Sciascia noted, “All of Sicily is a dimension of fantasy.”

Fantasy and the power of imagination is the lifeblood of the performing arts, so it is apropos that Sicilian-American Mariagrazia La Fauci established the Trinacria Theatre Company in Pezzolo, Sicily, in 2016. Since then, the growing troupe has reenvisioned myths like Hades and Persephone, toured internationally, and most recently, recorded an audiobook of their production Colapesce.