The NYU undergraduate Commedia Troupe presents the rollicking comedy of the original military braggart who swaggers his way through high society, wars, and quarreling lovers until falling for the beautiful Lucinda. Presented in full physical buffoonery, the company undertakes one of the great comedic writers of Ancient Rome.
Featured Biographies
NYU Commedia dell'Arte
Cast
For fourteen years, Jim Calder has brought undergraduate students to NYU’s Florence campus to study Commedia dell’Arte. In the last few years, the program has blossomed tremendously with the incorporation of Master Teacher Jacob Olesen and Music Director Nolufefe Mtshabe, and the support of Ellyn Toscano and the entire staff at La Pietra. The Commedia dell’Arte workshop at La Pietra is an exciting and rigorous program that teaches drama students, through the vehicle of the very forward Commedia stock characters, what it feels like to really believe in something, to want something, and to go after it. Students take class with Jim and Jacob, working through various physical exercises and Commedia lazzi, make large scale puppets and props with visual artist Joan Harmon, and learn music in Xhosa and Zulu with award winning Choir Director Nolufefe Mtshabe.
Jim Calder
Director
For fifteen years, Jim Calder has brought undergraduate students to NYU’s Florence campus to study Commedia dell’Arte. In the last few years, the program has blossomed tremendously with the incorporation of Master Teacher Jacob Olesen and Music Director Nolufefe Mtshabe, along with the support of Ellyn Toscano and the entire staff at La Pietra. The Commedia dell’Arte workshop at La Pietra is an exciting and rigorous program that teaches drama students, through the vehicle of the very forward Commedia stock characters, what it feels like to really believe in something, to want something, and to go after it. Students take class with Jim and Jacob, working through various physical exercises and Commedia lazzi, make large scale puppets and props with visual artist Joan Harmon, and learn music in Xhosa and Zulu with award winning Choir Director Nolufefe Mtshabe.
Jacob Olesen
Master Teacher
Jacob Olesen has been acting in Italy and abroad for more than thirty years. His distinguished, lengthy artistic career began in 1978-79 at “Clownskolan” in Stockhom, in Sweden, where he was born. He went from there to Paris where he spent two years at the Ècole “Jacques Lecoq”. Then, in 1981, he founded the Donati Olesen Company, with whom he performed more than 2500 shows in Italy and around the world over the course of thirty years. With six languages at his command – Italian, English, French, German, Danish and Swedish – he has been able to work in throughout Europe, in North Africa, South America, and Asia as well as in numerous short and feature-length films. He has presented many well-received theatrical performances in which he was not only the lead or supporting actor but also author and director. He has also written and performed in many television and radio programs. Finally, in 2002, he acquired a teacher’s diploma in the Feldenkrais Method® in Rome, where he has been living for 24 years.
Nolufefe Mtshabe
Music Director
NOLUFEFE MTSHABE holds a Senior Teacher’s Diploma with University of Transkei, Performer’s Diploma in Music, BMus Hons from University of Cape Town. She has been working with Jim Calder and NYU first year Master’s students on the Agrarian Project since 2011 to date. She is the Director of Heavenly Voices Choir, which holds many Championships in South Africa. A former high school teacher. Founded the Simon Estes Music High School and chaperoned a group of 40 students on a foreign exchange program between 1998 and 1999 in Iowa, where she had the pleasure of performing with Ray Charles and holding concerts in other States in the US. Worked as a Chorus Master trainee at Cape Town Opera. Worked as a vocal coach at Isango Portobello and Magnet theatre and also worked at The Spear Performing Arts Festival. Invited by UNESCO with a female chorus of 30 to the commemoration of Hiroshima bombing. Translated Bizet’s Carmen and Bongani Ndodana’s Opera Winnie into Xhosa. Adapted the Magic Flute Opera into Xhosa as I mpempe Yomlingo and the Christmas Carol for Isango Poetobello. Recorded and performed the Big Brother Song for Shoprite Checkers with Mad Dot. Adjudicated school choirs at national level.