By Blair Mlnarik
Rome, April 24 – On Monday night, the students of JCU’s Italian Theater Workshop class presented “Visioni
di Roma,” the culmination of their semester-long work in Italian 305.
The original theater presentation
was a combination of short monologues interspersed with music, dancing,
running, with some wrestling thrown in for good measure.
Beginning with shaking noisemakers and words shouted in the dark, the interpretive and passionate performances consistently earned laughter from the packed and appreciative audience in JCU's Aula Magna hall.
The student-written monologues
were based on their own experiences, stories, and reflections on Rome. Also included were selections of poetry by Pier Pasolini and JCU faculty
member Maria Basile. These selections functioned in collaboration
with the monologues to express the theme of changing perspectives and
shifting viewpoints within personal life.
This year’s theme, a vision
of Rome, covered a wide range of aspects from market shopping and the city's famous monuments
to nightlife and gypsy camps. Each one presented a unique insight
into study-abroad life amidst Italian culture.
According to director Rosa
Filardi, the four year-old program allows the students to author their
own pieces. Then, the rest of the semester is spent coaching and
transforming those initial works into a cohesive theatrical production.
Filardi was particularly impressed
by this group’s willingness to take risks with their acting.
For many, it was their first theatrical performance.
Considering the sixteen students’ inexperience and the extreme individuality of each person’s account of Roman life, actor Regina Gesicki said she was actually “shocked by how seamlessly it all came together.”
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