Rise Up - An Evening of Melodrama

Melodrama is a heightened, musical style of theatre where unbridled passions reign, and where the forces of good in human nature triumph over terrible obstacles. Come join students of Dell’Arte’s Professional Training Program as they perform short melodramas of their own devising in Rise Up! - An Evening of Melodrama, Thursday – Saturday, March 28 - 30 at Dell’Arte’s Carlo Theatre. All student performances are pay-what-you-can.

A popular theatrical style which originated in Europe and America in the nineteenth century, Melodrama at its best conveys the sufferings and struggles of characters who are tested by terrible adversity, so that, when all seems lost, the enduring human values of love, justice, compassion, and courage may triumph. This rousing and inspiring style of theatre finds particular resonance today in our divided times.

Rise Up! - An Evening of Melodrama is comprised of short, original dramas performed by Dell’Arte’s 1st Year Ensemble, featuring students from Italy, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and the US. These stories of passionate struggle and human triumph are performed in a style both physical and poetic, and heightened by music (melo-drama's original meaning is "music-drama"). Following five weeks of intensive study with Dell’Arte Master Teachers, this international ensemble of young actors brings you an evening of powerful theatre fueled by the force of their beliefs.

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