Black Box Series offers a comedy written and directed by undergrad

Pantalone (Benjamin Shiffrin '03) looks on as El Capitano (Craig Divino '04) mistakenly woos Columbina the maid (Elisa Jillson '03) in The Knave of Hearts, an original commedia dell'arte play that opens Friday, Nov. 10, at the Cornell Center for Theatre Arts. Charles Harrington/University Photography

The Knave of Hearts tells the comical story of the scheming servant who must unite two lovers -- if he can. Hilarious obstacles hinder our hero's progress in this story, written and directed by Cornell student Alan Rosenberg '01 in the commedia dell'arte style.

Performances will be held in the Black Box Theatre of the Center for Theatre Arts beginning Friday, Nov. 10, at 4:30 p.m. Performances continue Saturday, Nov. 11, and Sunday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, only $2, can be purchased at the CTA box office, Monday through Friday, from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. or at the door one hour before performances. Call 254-ARTS for information.

Commedia dell'arte is the physical, bawdy telling of a story popularized as improvisational street theater in Renaissance Italy and the courts of France. This form has influenced the comedies of Shakespeare and Moliere up to today's farces and slapstick comedy. The Knave of Hearts borrows from this tradition and spins a tale filled with the zaniness of its predecessors but very much of the present day.

In addition to author and director Rosenberg, the production features Cornell students Antonio Anagaran '01, Benjamin Shiffrin '03, Elisa Jillson '03, Ashleigh Nankivell '03, Jordan Rider '01 and Craig Divino '04.

Four times a year, the Black Box Series offers students valuable opportunities to assume commanding directing, design and acting roles in small-budget projects. The series allows the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance to feature its finest young talent in an experimental environment and is made possible through the generosity of Cornell alumni Leah Shampanier Gould and Harold Gould.