Ennio Marchetto

Ennio Marchetto
Ennio Marchetto photographed by Greg Gorman
Born	(1960-02-20) 20 February 1960 (age 57) Venice, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Occupation	Stage comedian
Years active	1980s - Present
Website	http://enniomarchetto.com/

Ennio Marchetto (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɛnnjo marˈketto]; born 20 February 1960 in Venice) is an Italian comedic live entertainer whose performances feature quick-change artistry, impersonations and his trademark bi-dimensional paper costumes. He is also known as The Living Paper Cartoon. In his one-hour show he goes through more than 50 costume changes, at times in front of the audience without hiding behind drapes or screens and without any assistance by stage hands. In the last 25 years Marchetto has performed in over 70 countries and has been seen by more than one million people. His shows were honoured with numerous awards and highly praised by international critics.

Marchetto was born next to Carlo Goldoni's home. Inspired by cartoons, especially those by Walt Disney - he used to cut paper figures for his sister and decorations for the Christmas tree based on them -, modern dance performances like those choreographed by Pina Bausch and the mime performer Lindsay Kemp, his career began during the 1980s with various performances during the Venetian Carnival.

Back then Ennio worked in his father's company, a repair shop for espresso machines. Everyone was convinced that he would carry on the family tradition, but Ennio didn’t want to. While working there, he was lost in daydreams and in one of these he saw Marilyn Monroe before him - all dressed in paper. On the same day he created his first paper costume, which he showed to friends, family and amused people on the streets during the Carnival. In 1988 he received the Golden Lion prize from the Venice Entertainment Festival for his creations.

In subsequent years, he created more and more paper figures. With just a few costumes, Marchetto presented his show at the Zanzara d'Oro (the Golden Mosquito), an annual competition for young comedians. Marchetto was awarded the first prize and soon started appearing on television and in cabaret shows. He developed more and more characters and began to think about his own theatre show.