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Anita Adcock, a professor for the Visual, Media, and Performing Arts Division of Pasadena City College, is undertaking one of her greatest projects in her fourteen years of teaching: directing a live production of Carlo Goldoni’s “Servant of Two Masters,” which is set to debut in late April.

This must-see event has student actors performing amazing acrobatic tricks, such as tumbling and jumping off high points, as well as enchanting the audience with their whimsical charm.

“The Servant of Two Masters” is a complicated yet rather amusing play centered on a servant, Truffaldino, working for two masters, Beatrice and Florindo. Beatrice had just arrived to the city, Venice, disguised as her dead brother to find her lover and the person who killed him, Florindo.

Challenges arise when Truffaldino runs through town performing errands for his two bosses, and he is almost uncovered on several occasions. People are constantly handing him money and letters without specifying whom to give it to. To make matters worse, Beatrice and Florindo happen to stay in the same hotel and are searching for one another. The problem eventually gets so bad that Truffaldino develops a stammer, which leads many people to have further speculations.

“It’s a Renaissance Italian theater style that’s larger than life,” Adcock said. ”Everything’s larger than life. It’s very physical. It gave us the word slapstick comedy.”

“There’s a lot of skills that [I] need from the actor, but the important thing is that they understand the style,” added Adcock. “They have to understand that this is huge energy. They can’t be laid back, modern film acting.”

As of right now, Adcock is holding rehearsals three to four of times a week, but as April approaches, the actors will meet everyday of the week. Adcock needs committed students who are just as dedicated to the play as they are with their schoolwork. In fact, everyone who gets casted will have to enroll in a Rehearsal and Performance class, for which they will receive a grade.

“It is hard work and it can get tiring, but I love what I do because I get to live out a story and make people laugh,” said Naomi Celements Gettman, a radio television major. “I feel like I am at home when I am on stage; I feel confident.”

Another actress, Gabrielle Coulson, an English Literature major said she wanted to be part of the play “because I love storytelling and the energy we as actors receive from putting on the show.”

The showtimes for the play are: April 24, 25, and 30 at 8 p.m., May 1 and 2 at 8 p.m., April 25 at 2 p.m., and May 2 at 2 p.m. The location is at CA 135, and tickets will be available at the Box Office one hour prior to showtime.

“People should come see the show because it is light hearted and designed to make people laugh; it is not there to make a specific point about society,” Adcock said.

 

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