Where's my favorite Commedia dell'Arte character/Why is Harlequin so weird?
i Sebastiani specializes in recreating a certain period in the early history of Commedia dell'Arte, roughly "the beginning" (c. 1550) until about 1610. Several of the Commedia dell'Arte characters that are well-known today (Pulcinella, Pierrot, and Columbina) weren't created until after our area of focus. The sweet, somewhat surreal clown, Harlequin, grew out of our own foolish and bestial Arlecchino.

You're an improv troupe?
Not really. We produce full-length plays in three acts. Our performances often include dance pieces, musical interludes, and other practiced physical and verbal bits of stage business. These bits are referred to as "lazzi". Unlike modern improvisational comedy, we don't perform several unrelated skits in the course of an evening, and we're not dependent on audience suggestions.

So, it's a scripted play then?
Not really. Each of the actors knows his or her character's history, needs, and relationship to the other characters. All of the characters know the scenario, a written plotline, generally 3 to 4 pages long for a three act play. All of the dialogue, the specific interactions, and sometimes even physical bits (fights, dances, or romance) are improvised.

You're trying to tell me all this is really "improvised from the thinnest of outlines"?
Yes, that's what we're trying to tell you.

So tomorrow's show could be completely different from tonight's?
Not completely different, no. But pretty different.

Wow. You must be pretty good!
We're The Greatest Commedia dell'Arte Troupe in the Entire World. We've been together in one form or another since 1990. In that time we've given nearly 100 performances of over 50 different shows. We've played across the north-east as far north as Montreal, Canada and as far south and west as Austin, Texas. In addition to actors, the troupe consists of musicians, singers, dancers, historical costumers, calligraphers, metal workers, acrobats, jugglers, astronomers, historians, archaeologists, and mathematicians. At one time or another, we've brought all of these disciplines to the stage.