April 2007 - Middle schoolers worked with teaching artist-in-residence Jean Berry on this Commedia dell'Arte production. Commedia is an old Italian art form originally played in marketplaces and relies heavily on improvisation. Actors played stock characters from this 16th century theatrical form. The masks were created by the 8th grade art classes and many costumes were created by the 7th grade Life Skills classes, so this was definitely an all-school project. The cast and crew was made up of 30 students, with representatives from all three middle school grades. (page 1 of photos) |
