i Firenzi performs at the National Women’s Theater Festival! June 23 & 30!
Midsummer Night’s Commedia
Co-Written by Lara Coutinho-Dean and Dr. Dina Ternullo
Historically informed commedia dell’ arte in sixteenth century Italian style with masks, improvisation, and classic stock characters makes Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream even more exciting and hilarious! Arlecchino replaces Puck as the servant to Capitano Oborono, and we find out who the child of the Votress of Titania’s Order really is.
Comic fights, off-label love potion use, and blackmail all lead to true love, but the course never did run smooth!
Who: i Firenzi, The Triangle’s only historically informed commedia dell’ arte troupe!
What: “Midsummer Night’s Commedia” a mash up of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream with 16th century Italian commedia dell’ arte
When: June 23 at 8:00pm and June 30 at 7:30pm show is approx. 90 minutes
Where: Kennedy-McIlwee Studio Theatre 2241 Dunn Avenue Raleigh, NC 27695
Buy Tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/midsummer-nights-commedia-tickets-625835760607
BUT WHAT IF I CAN’T COME IN PERSON ON THOSE DATES!?!
You can buy a ticket for the “livestream” option of our shows. You will receive a YouTube viewing link to watch the show’s recording starting July 1 at 12:00noon US Eastern time. Viewing links will remain active for 48 hours after that.
Buy tickets for the in-person or recorded shows at this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/midsummer-nights-commedia-at-wtfringe23-2250689?aff=odclrlmctfte
Content Warnings: Mentions/alludes to romantic or sexual intimacy and graphic violence. Characters are drugged without consent or knowledge, sexual attraction is displayed, and comic stage fights are loud.
Accessibility: Due to the improvisation used in this play, hearing impaired audience members may have some trouble following the story. Auto-captioning will be used.
This project by i Firenzi is part of the WTFringe 23 and the 2023 National Women’s Theatre Festival!
Below is the program for our show:
Commedia dell’ Arte is an Italian, improvised, street comedy theater style that began in the mid-16th century. I Firenzi creates historically informed theater in the style of 16th century commedia including archetypical stock characters, half face masks, and common story tropes. These common tropes, including young lovers rebelling against their parents for the sake of true love, magic, and everyone getting happily married in the end are concepts seen in early commedia that also happen to show up in Shakespeare’s works. I Firenzi mashes up Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream with commedia characters and concepts for tonight’s play.
For the National Women’s Theater Festival, we added gender fluidity to some characters, the option for same gender marriage, and a definite feminine empowerment theme throughout. These concepts would not have been seen in 16th century commedia. We hope you will enjoy the mix of historically informed theater and modern inclusivity.
For more information about commedia and i Firenzi, see our website at https://ifirenzi.com
Cast for Midsummer Night’s Commedia for the National Women’s Theater Festival FringeFest 2023!
Duke Pantalone – Brian Towey
Queen Hippolyta – Kacey Reynolds Schedler
Flavio – Nathan Violette
Flaminia, daughter of Dottore – Amanda Lee Anderson
Oratio – Lara Coutinho-Dean
Isabella, daughter of Pantalone – Ingrid Towey
Peaseblossom – a fairy – Kacey Reynolds Schedler
Capitano Oberono – Scott Vaughan
Queen Vittoria – Chris Keffer
Arlecchino, servant to Oberono – Nancy Kramer
Brighella, adopted child of Vittoria – Veronica Yoshida
Dottore, a physician and alchemist – Scott Dean
Forest Fairies: Diva Yoshida, Malcolm Schedler, Aidan Reading, Elodie Reading, Marigold Reading
Understudy: Ben Nichols
Scenario co-written by Lara Coutinho-Dean and Dr. Dina Ternullo
Directed by Lara Coutinho-Dean Technical Director – Scott Dean