2025 Signature Lecture Series

Dentro (INSIDE).
A TRUE STORY, IF YOU THINK SO

Dentro. Una storia vera, se volete.

March 20, 7:30 p.m. Wharton Center Pasant Theatre

Related Events Feb. 25 & March 18 & 21 (see below)

A Theatrical Performance:

Written by Giuliana Musso
Starring Giuliana Musso and Maria Ariis
In Italian with English supertitles

Public $10, Students $5

Photo Credit: Federico Sigillo

In her U.S. debut, internationally renowned Italian author and actor, Giuliana Musso, explores the traumatic effects of silence when abuse occurs at home in this ground-breaking theatrical production.

Additional Information

Running Time: Approximately 90 Minutes (no intermission)
On-Site Childcare & Counselors:
This event offers free childcare and trained counselors on-site. To RSVP for childcare visit go.cal.msu.edu/dentroWHARTON.

Content Warning:
Age recommendation: Age 16+; discusses sensitive topics, including sexual violence of a minor and strong language. Therapists and volunteers will be available on-site during the performance.

For Questions or Additional Information:
Please email dentromsu@gmail.com or contact Juliet Guzzetta.

Related Events

Feb. 25 at 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
East Lansing Public Library

Kick-off Event: “Reading in Translation” with Juliet Guzzetta

Come listen to an immersive reading of the award-winning Italian author and actor Giuliana Musso’s Dentro (Inside): A True Story, If You Think So, in which she confronts the social effects of taboo in contexts of domestic and sexual abuse. Excerpts of the play will be read by American translator and Associate Professor Juliet Guzzetta, co-starring Associate Professor Helen Veit.

To RSVP and for childcare visit go.cal.msu.edu/dentroRSVP

March 18 at 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.
Graduate Hotel, East Lansing, Shadows Ballroom

Giuliana Musso in Conversation with MSU Experts: “Certain Things Cannot Be Said” Roundtable Discussion

Giuliana Musso interviews four MSU professors who will offer their perspectives on domestic and sexual abuse from across the diverse fields of psychology, law, human medicine, and theater studies. In this experimental roundtable, Musso demonstrates her own research methods as an artist, while also inviting us to reflect upon the speakers’ insights together as a community. Panelists include: Jennifer E. Johnson, Ph.D.; Alytia Levendosky, Ph.D.; Barbara O’Brien, JD, Ph.D.; and Ann Folino White, Ph.D.

Moderated by Valentina Denzel, Ph.D. Introductions by College of Arts & Letters Interim Dean Yen-Hwei Lin, Ph.D. and Juliet Guzzetta, Ph.D.

To RSVP and for childcare visit go.cal.msu.edu/dentroRSVP

March 21 at 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
MSU STEM Teaching and Learning Facility Room 2201

“Metabolizing Truth: A Post Performance Writing Workshop” with Giuliana Musso & Juliet Guzzetta

Join Giuliana Musso and Associate Professor Juliet Guzzetta as they lead a discussion on “Metabolizing Truth” to process and parse the themes of the play, with writing activities that explore the power of theater in representing trauma, sexual
violence, and the social contracts that bind and liberate us.

To RSVP visit go.cal.msu.edu/dentroRSVP

Trained counselors will be on-site for all events.

On-site childcare is available (excluding the Post-Performance Writing Workshop).
RSVP to reserve your seat and secure childcare (if needed) at go.cal.msu.edu/dentroRSVP.

About the Signature Lecture Series

Originally founded as the Celebrity Lecture Series in 1998 by the College of Arts & Letters and the Dean’s Community Council, the series was later renamed the Signature Lecture Series in 2007.

The Signature Lecture Series enables opportunities for notable public figures to interact and engage with MSU faculty, students, staff, alumni, and greater community through conversations and wide-ranging discussions of contemporary ideas, social issues, and creative achievements in the arts and humanities.

Support for this series has come from sponsors within the College of Arts & Letters, Michigan State University, the MSU alumni community, and local and state communities. This generosity has helped us bring to campus some of the most illustrious scholars, critics, novelists, poets, film producers, and creative artists of our time.