Punchin loves to play Merlin, employing his big, magical nose as a wand to control Rosetta’s stick horse as she plays young Arthur. Columbine and Arlequin join in the fun to bring us Lancelot, the king, Guenevere, and even an ogre guarding the castle! As always, the players revel in creating much onstage merriment with witty word play, teasing, and wigs flying off!

Commedia dell’arte, Italian for “comedy of the professional artists,” was a popular form of improvisational theatre that began in Italy in the 15th century and continued in its appeal for centuries. At that time, all performances were unscripted and held outdoors, with only simple props and no scenery. The influence of commedia dell’arte is evident in much of our contemporary comedy, most notably in the great commedia artists of the 20th century, the Marx Brothers.

When presented today, the commedia players — such as Arlequin, Punchin, Rosetta, Pantalone and Columbine — are portrayed as poor travelers who have made all their props from objects they’ve found. Their costumes, with the commedia diamond pattern always evident, are partly hand-made and partly inherited from wealthier people who either tired of that fashion or thought better of it. The various talents of the actors’ acrobatics, dance, music, quick wit and insight into human nature, all make the plays as entertaining and relevant today as they were to the people of Renaissance Europe, when commedia dell’arte was at its height of popularity.