Full cast of Machiavelli’s The Mandrake. Presented at Gallaudet University, Sept 15 - Oct 8, 2011. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
And not all of the company’s shows are Shakespeare. In fact, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlecchino are the company’s first Shakespeare plays. A romantic comedy called The Mandrake, by Machiavelli, who is most famous for authoring The Prince, was Faction of Fools’ first play in residence last fall at Gallaudet. Faction of Fools’ first big show in 2010 was based on a script from an archive of 290 existing “scenari” – essentially, fragmentary stage notes from working theater companies - from late 17th Century Naples. The cast improvised using the three-page comedic “scenario”, consisting of entrances and exits and basic plot points. Wilson said he hopes to stage another “scenario” in spring, 2013. Faction of Fools has performed at the Capital Fringe Festival, Arena Stage’s Edward Albee Festival in Spring 2011, and at the Kennedy Center Page-to-Stage Festival two years in a row. The company also serves as the coordinator in an annual festival dedicated to Commedia style, called Commedia dell’Arte Day. The festival, held every February 25th, is a worldwide event in which over 100 theatre companies and schools on all seven continents have participated.
Commedia dell’Arte
The story of how Faction of Fools’ creative director Matt Wilson first trained in Commedia Dell’Arte weaves back over a decade, to Italy and back. Wilson, who was working as an ensemble and Shakespearean actor in New York, went to Italy in 2001 looking for “new techniques for the old bag of tricks.” For the next two years, Wilson trained in Italy with Antonio Fava, one of the most important maestros of Commedia style in the world today. He was later invited back to teach on the faculty of The International School of the Comic Actor (Scuola Internazionale dell’Attore Comico) in Reg-
gio Emilia. He moved to Washington, DC in 2007 for the Master of Fine Arts program at the Shakespeare Theater and George Washington University’s Academy for Classical Acting. He and his wife liked the city so much, they decided to stay. But of all of the different theater companies in town, nobody was doing Commedia Dell’Arte. Wilson went around and asked if he would be stepping on any toes if he established a company. They said no, and so he did. “It has been amazing to see how this community of actors is willing to collaborate,” Wilson said. “I don’t think this company would have worked in New York. Nobody is that willing to commit to an ensemble.”
• • • • • • •
A diverse product line of quality beverages from all over the world One of the largest and most unique wine selections on Capitol Hill A friendly and knowledgeable staff Located just minutes form Downtown, DC and Alexandria, VA 1 block south of Eastern Market Metro on the vibrant Barracks Row Owned by the Williams Family since 1978; established before 1919
The best weekly wine tastings on “The Hill”- Sat (3-6pm)
A Space for Collaboration and Inclusion
Faction of Fools has worked with over 80 actors, and there are 24 who are associated actors with the company. The company’s residence at Gallaudet University came out of an invitation from the University’s theater arts department. Under the coordination of Faction of Fools’ Director of Access and Inclusion, Lindsey Snyder, the company had already collaborated with Gallaudet and held workshops there as guest artists. “We had been interested for a long time in sign language, gestural language – Commedia dell’Arte is a very physical form – and access is something that is important to us,” Wilson said. He said one of Faction of Fools’ professional cast members is legally blind, and the two student actors are deaf. “We think that theater should be a place for everybody to collaborate.” More information about Faction of Fools, as well as ticket information and information about ASL-interpreted performances, can be found on their web site: www.factionoffools.org H
capitalcommunitynews.com H 93