Dell’Arte
International is expanding its Online Season by adding a series of
student performances to the schedule, including the annual Tragedy,
Clown and Thesis Projects. While sheltering in place, students have
creatively and collectively adapted these culminating performances of
their school year to online media.
“While
we can’t offer the space in the Carlo Theatre for these last
performances of the school year, we also can’t bear the thought of
not offering them to our greatest supporter, our community,” says
Founding Artistic Director Michael Fields. “Our students have
worked tirelessly in adapting their work to online platforms with
potent results.”
And
what is a show without an audience? We’re thrilled to stay
connected in this way until we can reconnect face-to-face and
elbow-to-elbow.”
Show
descriptions and dates are as follows. Note that some shows are
happening live through Zoom, while others will be available to view
online. In lieu of ticket sales, donations are requested to be made
through the Dell’Arte website.
TRAGEDY
– Video
to be available May 1–6
The
Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre presents “Lily
in the Desert,”
an
original tragedy devised by Dell’Arte’s second-year MFA Ensemble,
under the guidance of faculty member Sayda Trujillo. The story pits
Lily Milton, an ambitious pastor with miraculous powers, against the
very people she serves. Through song, text, and movement, the play
delves into our relationship to God, to the unknown, and to our own
belief. Departing from the traditional live performance of tragedy at
Dell’Arte due to Covid-19, “Lily in the Desert” was filmed
entirely by the ensemble, while observing social distancing and
safety protocols for all cast members.
Tragedy
at Dell’Arte is an eight-week study in which actors are challenged to
embody the powerful physical and metaphysical forces stirred by this
ancient theatre form. Pitting the rational, ordered world against the
cosmic forces of destruction and chaos, tragedy allows us, through
the hero’s journey and fall, to glimpse the most shocking aspect of
the human condition: our powerlessness. Unique in its capacity to
awaken feelings of awe in an audience, tragedy is, finally, a
life-affirming theatrical form, a cry of the human spirit. In the
time of the pandemic, “Lily in the Desert” brings audiences
to the heart of an ensemble grappling with forces greater than
themselves, and daring to create a cry in the wilderness.
CLOWN
– Performances
on Zoom May 7–9, 8 p.m.
The
Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre presents
“Clown!” Please join us for a weekend of raucous performances
celebrating the buoyant spirit of the clown, a glimpse into the
worlds of 18 clowns as they shelter, laugh, dance, slip, and pratfall
in place. With the guidance of faculty members Joe Krienke, Stephanie
Thompson and Lauren Wilson, a new crop of Dell’Arte clowns have come
into the world, just when we all need a good belly laugh.
Details
and Zoom links for the three performances will be available on
Dell’Arte’s website starting Monday, May 4. Expect a national and
international audience in attendance, as alumni, community members,
family, and friends from around the world gather online to laugh with
the clowns.
THESIS
FESTIVAL
– Performances
on Zoom May 14–17, and May 21–24, 8 p.m.
The
Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre is excited to
announce its 2020 Thesis Festival. This year’s Thesis Festival
features three new works created by members of the graduating MFA
class, who have adapted to the current circumstances by making their
projects available to audiences online. The online Thesis Festival
marks the culmination of three years of graduate study by an
international ensemble of theatre artists from Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe,
and the United States.
There
will be an opportunity for a talkback with the artists on Thursday,
May 14, and Saturday, May 16, on Zoom after the show. Here are this
year’s Thesis Projects:
“Once
Upon a Time I Was Addicted to You,”
Created by Veenadari Lakshika
Jayakody, Jayampathi Guruge, and Nipuni Sharadahra. Performed by
Veenadari Lakshika Jayakody.
Description: Don’t we all love to listen to fairy tales that begin with
“Once upon a time” and end with “Happily ever after”? Not all
stories are fairy tales, and not all stories have happy endings.
However, we become addicted to what is familiar and then feel like we
need it to survive. But does that mean we are happy? “Once Upon a
Time I Was Addicted to You” is the result of an ensemble working
for 10 weeks to create a one-act play online between Sri Lanka and
the United States. The international production is inspired by true
events.
“Disparities”
Created and performed by Delilah Stowers, Dionna Fletcher, and
Everson Ndlovu.
Description: Everyone is caught in a dream of ideas that don’t accept,
respect and honor the diverse complexion of Mother Earth. Oppressors
have created a longstanding color of law and culture to separate,
isolate and dehumanize People of Color mentally, physically and
spiritually. Domesticated by the oppressive human hierarchy, these
second-class citizens experience and express the lack of humanism and
social justice which has tainted their existence. It is disquieting
to desire to navigate the system and a powerless paradox while facing
it. How do they continue transforming this darkness into light?
“Boo
Boo: The Big Ouchie.”
Created and performed by Andrew Lupkes,
Abigail Maguire and Joël Vining, with provocation from Erin Crites.
Description: Inspired by current circumstances, “Boo Boo: The Big Ouchie”
examines how the drudgery of a day-to-day office existence becomes a
little more lively as Death starts to hang around.
CLICK TO MANAGE