Rehearsing “The Mandrake Root” is a unique chance to dig into the essence of the theatre. In fact La Mandragola is a comedy that offers not only an in-depth look into the world of Machiavelli and of the italian culture, but also a universal picture of the contradictions of the human nature.
The desire of each character is painted extremely clear in the piece and represents an excellent source for a plethora of comic jokes, tricks and amusing situations.
In my personal case, acting as “the lover” Callimaco is the best opportunity to live and show the contradiction of love.
Love is something that could be wonderful and horrible at the same time, as my character tests in all the story. Callimaco feels hopes, doubts and an abysmal tempest of internal emotions which he is not able to calm down. He is like “a vessel tossed by two conflicting winds, fearing all the more the closest it gets to port” (this is my favorite line).
And I have to admit that something in Callimaco belongs to me: sometimes I could be a desperate lover too. So fragile and pathetic, and for all these reasons comic.
Moreover it’s such a pleasure to play with the other actors of the company. The atmosphere is really creative and positive; we all trust our director and we are sure we are in the right path to perform something very funny.