Simona Rodano is dressed as a fairy, her petite white wings studded with sparkles.
In this costume, Ms. Rodano, 53, has played the role of the Italian Fairy for years, bringing multilingual musical programs to students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
“Language,” she said, “is a source and resource of dialogue and communication that connects different people, cultures and traditions, planting seeds for a better world.”
Ms. Rodano, a singer and entertainer who has performed at Carnegie Hall, starred in a five-day-a-week variety television show in her native Italy, where she also recorded albums and had roles in numerous stage productions.
After her 12-year run on TV ended in 2010, Ms. Rodano settled in Astoria, Queens. She began teaching Italian to Manhattan toddlers, and one father gave her the fairy nickname.
“For me, every day as the Italian Fairy is a performance,” Ms. Rodano said. “I don’t do it for the applause. I do it to inspire and uplift people. That’s what drives me.”
She lives in Astoria with her cat, Stellina, and her husband, Luigi Rosa, 53, who is an assistant vice president at Amtrak.
Ms. Rodano recently spent a Wednesday with The New York Times to share her busy teaching day.
This interview has been condensed and lightly edited.
COUNTER CAT I’m up by 7 or 7:30. I always set the alarm clock, but I usually don’t need it. I’m so excited to start each day that I wake up before it rings. My husband travels a lot, so I often begin and end my day with my 7-year-old cat, Stellina. I named her Stellina — it’s Italian for Little Star, but I also call her Little Tiger. She was found in someone’s backyard when she was a kitten. I saw her in a cage as I walked by a vet’s office in Astoria and adopted her on the spot, carrying her home in a cardboard box. She’s my baby. She sits on the kitchen counter to eat breakfast. I feed her first, then give her a couple of tastes of my yogurt and granola.
GETTING IN COSTUME It takes me about 30 minutes to transform myself into the Italian Fairy. I wear theatrical makeup and a red, white and green costume I designed myself that represents the Italian flag. It’s a full-length gown made from my wedding dress. I have two hats: One’s a three-foot-tall cone made of paper with ribbons spilling out of the top like spaghetti, and I like it because it’s something children can make. It’s not easy to dance in, though, so I have another smaller, flatter hat that looks like a pancake. I have my own float in Manhattan’s Columbus Day Parade, and for that I bring a huge Italian flag that took me a week to make. It takes six people to carry it and looks like it’s floating in the sky.
DRIVING TO SCHOOL My time schedule at P.S. 242 the Young Diplomats Magnet Academy, in Harlem, varies, but generally it’s noon to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. I also go every week to P.S. 112 Lefferts Park Elementary School in Bensonhurst, which is the first public school in the city to have a dual-language Italian program. And both of them have a dual-language program in English-Italian from prekindergarten through the fifth grade.
I pack my recording equipment and wings in my 2018 Kia Sorento and leave about 10 a.m. to try to beat traffic. I wear the costume while I’m driving because when I get to the school, there are children walking in the halls, and I don’t want to spoil the illusion.
FAIRY TIME At P.S. 242, I’m working with children in third, fourth and fifth grades. Each grade comes in separately, then all 100 of them return at the end of the program to perform together. I started out doing programs in Italian, but I have expanded to French and Spanish because I can sing in those languages, too. Sometimes, I bring other artists with me. I teach the kids simple vocabulary and choreography. They learn much more than language. They learn to follow instructions, and the memorization stimulates their minds so much that they remember the words to the songs from one year to the next.
A TRIP BACK TO HIGH SCHOOL When the program’s finished, I drive back to Astoria, where I teach drama to the high school kids at St. John’s Prep. Jumping to a different age group requires a different set of skills, a different approach. But I enjoy the stimulation and challenge of the rapid transition.
PUTTING SIMONA FIRST By 5 p.m., I’m home and ready to start working on my own projects. Every year, I put on a bilingual or multilingual musical production for schoolchildren at various theaters in the tristate area. The latest one, “Pinocchio,” opens next spring. This year’s production, “Treasure Hunt: Caccia al Tesoro,” played in seven theaters for 4,000 kids. I’m a team of one — I produce, direct and write the shows. I also drive the truck with the costumes and props. I’ve always financed these shows with my own money; it’s a big risk on my shoulders, so at the end of last year, I opened a boutique foundation to help with the costs and to create a legacy.
SLEEP? WHO, ME? I work, work, work through the rest of the night until I’m sleepy. I don’t eat lunch, and most of the time I’m so into my work that I forget to eat dinner. If I do take a break, I have soy or oat milk with cookies. I don’t cook, but when Luigi is home, he makes Mediterranean Italian dishes to keep me on track. We don’t eat much meat, so it’s lots of vegetables and fruits and barley, rice and quinoa. This may not be healthy, but I love my work.
NIGHT SCHOOL I’m more tired by the end of the week, and there have been times when I’ve been so tired that I crash in bed without even taking off my fairy costume. Once I do get in bed, I start studying. I’m working on my master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, with a focus in theater pedagogy, taking online courses from Southeastern Oklahoma State University. I’ve always wanted to earn a degree in America, so this is like a dream come true for me. Right now, I’m reading a textbook on how to produce plays, and one on putting on shows with kids. Stellina sleeps at the foot of the bed. When I’m done studying, I put my laptop on the floor so I’m ready to start all over again the next morning.
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