Making its U.S. debut, “Dentro (Inside): A True Story, If You Think So” explores the traumatic effects of silence when sexual abuse occurs at home. The play, by acclaimed Italian playwright, actor and director Giuliana Musso, is a dramatized account of real-life conversations, Musso’s research on the topic, and her own attempt to bring awareness to the complexities of accountability in cases of sexual violence.
In its fourth season, “Dentro (Inside)” stars Musso and actor Maria Ariis and has been performed in theaters across Italy. The U.S. performances provide a creative way to raise awareness and increase prevention around issues of sexual violence and run March 13-15 at the University of Pennsylvania, March 20 at Michigan State University, and March 24-25 at Ohio State University.
“I believe in a theater that moves us from our moral comfort zone and helps us build new questions about ourselves,” Musso said. “This story shows us how certain acts of violence are often not recognized and consequently the experiences of survivors are hidden, misunderstood. Finding empathy for those who cannot see survivors, and cannot see the violence, means discovering that we, too, have the same fears, the same limits. And then we can begin to overcome them.”
“Dentro (Inside)” will be performed in Italian with English supertitles March 20 at the MSU Wharton Center for Performing Arts in East Lansing, Michigan. This play is recommended for ages 16 and up based on discussions of sexual violence of a minor, incest and strong language. Volunteers from the MSU Center for Survivors will be available on-site, and childcare is also available at no extra cost.
Juliet Guzzetta, associate professor in the departments of English and Romance and Classical Studies, helped bring Musso, her troupe and “Dentro (Inside)” to campus as part of the Signature Lecture Series led by the MSU College of Arts and Letters. Guzzetta is also the American translator of the play into English.
“Sexual violence is a universal issue,” Guzzetta said. “‘Dentro (Inside)’ is a story in which everybody means to do well by the survivor. You see how all the doctors, psychologists, lawyers, everyone is rooting for Chiara’s recovery. Everybody believes her. Despite all this, the family is still shattered.”
Guzzetta thought it was especially important to bring “Dentro (Inside)” to MSU and to plan programming around the performance that would help foster community, provide space for discussions, and use art and the humanities to support broader healing.
“As a community, the topic of sexual abuse still resonates here,” Guzzetta said. “I have thought of this project as something of a prayer to survivors. It’s a way to say you’re not forgotten. Your narratives are still present. There are people here who want to support you.”
One space for discussion prior to the play will be March 18 at the “Certain Things Cannot Be Said” roundtable. Musso will interview a panel of MSU faculty who will offer different perspectives on domestic and sexual abuse from the fields of psychology, law, human medicine and theatre.
Panelists include Jennifer E. Johnson, a licensed clinical psychologist and C.S. Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health in the College of Human Medicine; Alytia Levendosky, a clinical psychologist and professor in the College of Social Science; Barbara O’Brien, a professor of criminal law in the College of Law; and Ann Folino White, a theatre artist and an associate professor in the College of Arts and Letters.
For Levendosky, the silence around sexual abuse resonates with her work and research as a psychologist, as well as a professor and director of the clinical sciencedoctoral program in the Department of Psychology at MSU.
“When we experience a piece of art, including this play, we are moved in different ways and have insights that we may not get in reading about something,” Levendosky said. “As a clinical psychologist who works with survivors of sexual violence, I really appreciate the opportunity for people to experience this though an art form so they can both keep it at a distance but also be moved and thus metabolize the impact in new ways that can help us all heal.”
The hope is that “Dentro (Inside)” and related events like the roundtable discussion at MSU can help break the taboos that surround sexual violence and abuse.
“If we can talk about sexual violence and abuse, if we can articulate it, if we can practice the language together, that’s when we can start to create healing opportunities as a community,” Guzzetta said. “With this play, we can peel back the shame, the embarrassment. We can see how unfortunately common it is and then work toward prevention.”
Several community events were planned to take place prior to and after the performance. Upcoming events include the March 18 roundtable discussion and a creative writing workshop March 21. Volunteers from the Center for Survivors will be on-site for the performance and all related events. You can learn more at the College of Arts and Letter’s 2025 Signature Lecture Series web page
About the MSU Signature Lecture Series
The Signature Lecture Series provides opportunities for notable public figures to interact and engage with MSU faculty, students, staff, alumni and the 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 and Letters, Michigan State University, the MSU alumni community, and local and state communities.
The 2025 performance of “Dentro (Inside)” and related events are sponsored by the College of Arts and Letters in partnership with the Department of English and Creative Writing Program, Department of Romance and Classical Studies, and Department of Theatre. Other partners include the C.S. Mott Department of Public Health and College of Human Medicine, Department of Psychology and College of Social Science, College of Communication Arts and Sciences, College of Law, Michigan Humanities, Regione Emilia-Romagna, and ATER Fondazione.
