Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughsAbout the lilting house and happy as the grass was green,The night above the dingle starry,Time let me hail and climbGolden in the heydays of his eyes,And honored among wagons I was prince of the apple townsAnd once below a time I lordly had […]
For a Green Summer: Fern Hill by Dylan Thomas Read More »
Commedia dell’Arte troupes crisscrossing the country to perform are often at the mercy of events they have no control over, like difficult audience members and bad weather. In the midst of rain and misery, the kindness of an unexpected patron in a small village becomes a welcomed gift. Food, wine, and local stories fuel the
From The Innamorati: The Libertini Create New Work in the Midst of Feasting Read More »
The Commedia dell’ Arte in the 16th century was a vigorous form of theater, and a largely improvised theater, with established stock plots and bits of commedic exchange that employed a free flowing rehearsal — a chance to invent and reinvent the plays so the performances remained fresh and current to their audiences. For the
Excerpt from The Innamorati: The Libertini Rehearse I Read More »
I am uncertain where this piece of information came from originally — I neglected to write down the cite perhaps already transforming it into a scene I myself might write, while metally putting it into the “truth is stranger than fiction” category. “A troop of Mattacini (masqueraders) came to celebrate a bridegroom’s wedding and invited
A Deadly Performance Read More »
This is a complicated moment in the novel when several threads come together, all for the purpose of resolving Anna’s terrifying possession. Having accepted the maenad’s mask, and now in its spell, Anna throws herself into the bloody revels of the maenads following Bacchus. Two men with separate interests in Anna have been searching for
Excerpt from The Innamorati: Anna’s Return Read More »
Anna’s personal journey into the maze has to do with her belief that her anger at lost love incited her miscarriage. Within her own body she “feels” the curse like the twisting of thorns which keeps her in constant pain and makes it impossible for her to create the masks she loves. She believes, as
Excerpt from The Innamorati: Anna Surrenders Read More »
Very early in the novel I sought to establish a fantastic relationship between Anna Forsetti and the Commedia masks she creates. It had to do with the idea that art and creativity have a fertile capacity when we dig deep and pull the unexpected from ourselves. (Writing this novel was a constant source of surprise
Excerpt From The Innamorati: Anna and The Masks Read More »
This excerpt is taken from Chapter Eight in The Innamorati when Erminia finds herself in the piazza, watching a performance of the Commedia troupe, the Libertini. She is stunned by the magic of Anna Forseti’s masks. And their power incite in her the longing to be fully the fantastic creature that she is, threatening to
Excerpt from The Innamorati: Erminia’s Song Read More »
In this “climatic” scene, Lorenzo begins by fiercely resisting to recall the poet in himself while Erminia fights to liberate Lorenzo from his denial and at the same time, satisfy Orpheus’ demand that she must first make Lorenzo a poet again before he returns the Sirens’ voices to them. Her plan — something along the
Excerpt from The Innamorati: Erminia’s Embrace Read More »
This is was fun scene to write as it provided me a chance to get back at that wretched Orpheus after reading all the mythological shenanigans he did to harm the Sirens and get away with it. Well, only to a certain extent. There was that unfortunate incident with the maenads, but even from that
Excerpt from The Innamorati: Erminia and Two Poets Read More »
