How the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre Partners with Communities

HowlRound: Rural towns of 200 to 1,000 people have a lot in common with Blue Lake, California, whose population is 1,200, and the base of Dell’Arte International since 1974. As rural artists we think of the regional rural community network as part of our own extended community. In our early years, Blue Lake alone couldn’t support more than a couple of performances of a Dell’Arte Company show, but we realized that if we were mobile, the extended community could support a tour. By touring we could both serve the network of small towns, while honing our work through multiple performances.