The last commedia dell’arte character on my list is commonly known as IL DOTTORE, “The Doctor.” His real name is “Il Dottore Balanzone” and he’s from Bologna. He’s part of the older generation of characters, “I Vecchi,” (The Old Ones) …

00032: IL DOTTORE DI BOLOGNA Read more »

If I ever doubted that Bergamo doesn’t recognize Arlecchino, I only need to go to Villa d’Almè. Villa d’Almè is about 30 minutes from Bergamo and is the entry point from the north (coming from Switzerland) to the first major Italian …

00031: VALLE BREMBANA; TERRA D’ARLECCHINO, PART II Read more »

 By the time some of you read this entry I will be at the airport. Or maybe I will be on cloud nine, or perhaps I will already be in Venice, trying to recall my rusty Italian language, one I …

00010: UP, UP AND AWAY!!! Read more »

When I first started my career in theatre, and I mean, going to school for it, I had no idea what “commedia dell’arte” was. When I first encountered it, I didn’t quite grasp its true meaning and didn’t think much …

0009: THAT’S WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT! Read more »

I don’t know if you ever saw the TV show “What Not To Wear.” It was a reality series where to fashionistas ambush a person nominated by a family member. This person had its own unique fashion but in the …

0007: WHAT NOT TO WEAR Read more »

My sabbatical trip to Italy comes with many different stops and visits to different cities and towns. To help me organize my thoughts and visualize the trip, I bought a planner. The last time I used one of these was …

0005: PREPARING THE SABBATICAL TRIP Read more »

I am creating this blog series as a means to document my sabbatical work, which is divided into two parts:  1: A trip to Italy in relation to Commedia dell’arte and its characters and  2: the writing of a new …

0001: THE SABBATICAL EXPERIENCE Read more »