Crash of Rhinos, the endangered little theater company, announced today that it would celebrate Commedia dell’Arte Day this year with a staged reading of a new comedy written by Mario Baldessari and Tyler Herman – to be held at 7:30 pm on Commedia dell’Arte Day Eve, Monday, February 24.
The play, “The Good Devil, in Spite of Himself,” follows the comic travails of a 17th Century Commedia troupe slapped with a royal decree of censorship forbidding them from using dialogue in their plays. The restriction sends the troupe on a rollercoaster ride of comic invention as they seek to successfully skirt the rules while putting on their play.
The staged reading, which is free to the public, will be held at 7:30 pm in the black-box theater at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. Seats can be reserved by sending an email to bossrhino@crashofrhinos.org and providing the patron’s name and the number of seats desired. Doors open at 7:00.
The reading features Doug Wilder as the Royal Messenger and the Devil; Vaughn Irving as Signor Spittitucci, Pantalone, Il Dottore and Lelio; and Liz Dutton as Signora Spittitucci, Isadore and Colombina. The reading is directed by Tyler Herman. Herman is a company member of DC’s Commedia aficionados, Faction of Fools Theatre Company. Baldessari teaches classes in Commedia for the Conservatory.
The Conservatory is located in the heart of Georgetown, at 1556 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Detailed directions here: www.theconservatory.org/directions.html.
More information on the reading is available here: www.theconservatory.org/rhinos.html and www.facebook.com/crashofrhinosproductions.
