Dates: July 7–11
Location: Hazel Robinson Ampitheatre
Time: 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM (please bring a lunch)
Ages: 10–17 (PG-13 content; expect some Shakespeare-style sass and innuendo)
Larger-than-life characters. Acrobatics. Masked mischief. And the kind of over-the-top theatricality that makes theatre feel alive.
This week-long summer intensive is a crash course in Commedia Dell’Arte—a 500-year-old style of Italian physical comedy that’s fast-paced, ridiculous, and surprisingly relevant. Students will explore the core stock characters of the form, build improvisational timing, engage deeply with physicality, and learn how to “punch up” at power through playful satire.
This is an exploration-based week with no final performance. Students looking to take their skills to the stage will be invited to continue with the Level 1 or Level 2 Commedia troupes starting this fall.
