DSF is very happy to welcome Barrymore-nominated artist Samantha Bellomo as the director of the 2013 Festival Production – The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Samantha is the Resident Director at People’s Light and Theatre Company in Malvern, PA. She is a multi-talented theatre artist, equally at home directing plays as she is choreographing fights and dances – all of which she will do on Two Gents.
We asked Samantha what excites her about working on The Two Gentlemen of Verona:
“It’s quite a ride. For me, this play is about two young passionate boys who hurl themselves heart-first through life. They adventure to new lands. They fall in love. They fall out of love. They revolt against authority. They are compulsive then thoughtful, tender then hard-hearted, devious and then completely truthful. They behave badly. And yet, it is also an innocent tale of love and friendship. There is no malice, no cynicism and no regrets. I look forward to exploring the mercurial nature of youth in a world in which we know good will triumph.
I am also excited to work on one of Shakespeare’s first plays in which we see the beginnings of many themes that occur in his later plays. For instance: There is a girl that disguises herself as a boy – Twelfth Night. Proteus’s behavior is recognizable in Romeo – Romeo and Juliet. There are four lovers in which one girl is favored more than the other – A Midsummer Night’s Dream. And of course there is Launce, the fool in Two Gentlemen of Verona, who paved the way for the Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice, Touchstone in As You Like It, and best of all, Feste in Twelfth Night.
This story is a rollercoaster ride. There is one simple story. One track. But that track has many twists and turns with surprises and laughs along the way. I hope this production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a joyful, exhilarating ride.”
