Event Details
Wed, June 25, 2025
21:00 – 22:30
TEATRINO
Villa La Pietra
Via Bolognese, 120
50139 Florence, Italy
NYU Tisch Commedia dell’Arte Performance
Drafted and writted by this year’s Commedia troupe, based on the play by Molière.
8 days of rehearsal, 1 Seventeenth Century French farce, 4 directors, 1 costume designer, 25 costumes, 16 actors, 97 costume changes, 41 masks, 6 songs, 17 scenes, 7 gardeners, 2 dream sequences, a money bag, a clarinet, a cartwheel and a trombone. Phew! What could go wrong?
This year’s Commedia Company presents a Commedia dell’Arte reimagining of Le Médecin malgré lui, (The Doctor in Spite of Himself.) The plot centers around Sganarello, a lazy and unpredictable gardener who upsets his wife, Martine. Of course, Martine seeks revenge. When Martine meets Valere and a group of Puccinellas searching for a doctor to cure their boss’s daughter, the plot is set into motion.
The Zannies —> Our storytellers
Sganarello & Martine —> A gardener & his wife
Pantelone —> Father of Ricciolina, Ricciolona & Tartaglia
Louis —> Pantelone’s (rich) best friend, engaged to Ricciolina against her will
Valere—> Pantelone’s trusted butler & confidant
The Pucchinella’s —> Valeres crew of helpers, employed by Pantelone
Rosalba —> The nona, also known as Pantalone’s mother. She can’t hear very well.
Arlecchino —> A new guy in town, falls in love with Ricciolina at first sight
The Capitanos —> The Capitanos
Featured Biographies
NYU Commedia dell'Arte
THEATER COMPANY
Since 2000, Jim Calder has brought undergraduate students to NYU’s Florence campus to study Commedia dell’Arte. The Commedia dell’Arte workshop at La Pietra is an exciting and rigorous program that teaches drama students, through the vehicle of the Commedia stock characters, what it feels like to believe in something, to want something, and to go after it. Students take an array of physical acting classes with Jim and Master Teacher Jacob Olesen. They also learn mask-making with Joan Harmon. Each summer the program invites other renowned drama faculty members to guest teach. This year our program included: a verbatim class with Scott Illingworth and Shakespeare scene work with Mark Wing-Davey.
Top Row: Amitai Vales, Johnny Ricotta, Thomasin, Khairi
2nd Row: Michael Pruski, Jamie Houghton, Marisa Caputo, Mimi Pietila, Sawyer Evans, Liam Restivo
3rd Row: Nina, Grace Church Mihalik
4th Row: Elena Stern, Mia Goldammer, Davey Fried, Anna Grace