Rita Mazza

Rita Mazza (Rita/they) is a Berlin-based performance artist, artistic director, and sign language choreographer in visual sign performances for Deaf and hearing audiences. Born in Turin, Italy, Mazza attended the University of Music, Performing Arts, Film, and New Media in the same city. However, due to the limited communication possibilities in sign language, they decided to leave, and travel to Europe instead, independently gaining experiences on stage. Participating in several festivals, performances, and short films, they established themselves as a well-known artist in the sign language community in Germany, Italy, and France. When Rita Mazza was chosen to perform the leading role in the award-winning piece “Children of a Lesser God” by Mark Medoff, they managed to gain some initial experience in working for professional theaters in the hearing world.

In 2020, Rita Mazza was one of the artists-in-residence of the project “Making a Difference.” During this residency, they researched how to enrich sign language by combining it with dance movements, thus inspiring the modes of expression of the Deaf community. As an expert in sign language access in the performing arts, they served as guest curator for sign language art and Deaf culture at the Theaterformen Festival in 2023. As artistic director, visual-sign choreographer, and performer, Rita Mazza has led several visual sign performance projects like “Space 1880,” which premiered at Sophiensæle in 2021, “Matters of Rhythm” (2023), which was selected for and presented at Tanzplattform Deutschland in Freiburg in February 2024, and “The Voice,” which premiered at Tanz im August, in August 2024.