Rosa Campagnaro with Antonio Fava, 2010

Performance

Both performers make clear sense of the traditions of Commedia dell'Arte by expressing them with infectious vitality in sparkling performance. They have the confidence, flexibility and wit to improvise with impressive spontaneity and abundant humour. (Click here to read the entire review)

Susan Sandow, Stage Whispers

Make A Scene presented a very polished performance of Pantalone's Inn to an audience with an age range from Year 2-Year 9. This was a particular challenge and the actor's ability to read the audience and tailor the work accordingly was most impressive. Staff and students thoroughly enjoyed the play. Additionally, the performance was supported by an excellent set of educational resources which were emailed well before the performance. This company are very professional and I was impressed by the way in which they had to present a slightly shorter version of the show at very short notice, due to a last minute event taking place at our school. I cannot recommend this group more highly!!

Deborah Farago, Bialik College

The students were entranced as the actors changed from character to character. The humor translated well with lots of current references which were appreciated by the girls. All in all a great experience which we will definitely be repeating in the future.

Michele McNamara, Head of Drama, Firbank Grammar

...saw Patalone's Inn at Glen Waverley Secondary College. Two excellent performers held 170 Year 7's spellbound. Great work!

Karen Keegan, Shows for Schools

On behalf of the Year 5 & 6 teachers and students I would like to thank you for your wonderful performance. The students thought it was 'funny as'. As for the teachers we thought you were very entertaining and that as actors you were absolutely wonderful.

Gloria Puopolo, Head of LOTE, Keilor Views Primary School

The students of Christ Church Grammar were delighted to welcome back Make A Scene for a third year in a row. It can be a real challenge to find a performance that equally engages all primary year levels but Pantalone's Inn did this to perfection. In all my many years of teaching I have never seen a performance that so captivated the students attention.

Christine O'Brien, LOTE Coordinator, Christ Church Grammar

We would like to thank you for coming to perform Pantalone's Inn. The students were enthralled with your performances, and both our Italian and Drama courses were entriched by having you perform. You definitely helped our students comprehend Commedia dell'Arte at a deeper level. The students particularly enjoyed the energetic nature of the performance and the fact that both actors frequently transformed characters seemlessly. They learnt about audience involvement, dramatic elements and non-naturalistic techniques.

Emma Jones, Head of Drama, Gladstone Park Secondary College

Pantalone's Inn' is a fun-filled performance that offers students great examples of Commedia conventions in a modern setting. I'd highly recommend it!

Sean Collins, Drama Teacher, Emmanuel College

My students thoroughly enjoyed Pantalone’s Inn. The actors had the students cry with laughter and cheering for more. The show was interactive, educational and so engaging! We can’t wait to have them back next year!

Jenna Lo Bianco, Italian & Drama Teacher, Emmanuel College

We loved the show and we thought it was very clever. The students gave us lots of positive feedback.

Marie Prolisko, Head of LOTE, Keilor Secondary College

Wow! Pantalone's Inn was performed brilliantly...they used different voices and accents for the various characters and exaggerated movements. It was wonderful to see how the actors kept improvising. They were really quick thinkers and responded effectivley to each other and to the audience. The play taught me many different things which I hope will improve my skills in comedy.

Year 8 Student, Firbank Grammar

Our Year 9 students were 100% engaged and couldn't stop raving about Pantalone's Inn.

Sonia McHugu, Performing Arts Teacher, Creekside K-9 College.

Your performance was absolutely fantastic. The students were engaged and even the teachers couldn't stop laughing. The question time at the end was very beneficial and the way you answered the students was great. Thank you again for an entertaining and enjoyable show.

Maria Cudo, Grade 5/6 Italian Teacher, Westmeadows Primary School

A most engaging, high energy performance. It made me feel like a child again!

Caroline Graley, Padua College, Rosebud

Absolutely appropriate for all ages! Annie Curran, St Paul's College, Kew

The performance was sensational. It is appropriate for Primary to VCE. It was one of the most entertaining pieces I have ever seen. Excellent audience participation, energy and brilliant fun. Thank you so much for bringing this art form alive. Bianca Kawalec, Mount Scopus Memorial College

I'm one of the Italian language assistants at Salesian College and I enjoyed your show a lot. It really looked like the real one I am used to watching in Italy! I come from Naples, the Commedia city, famous for Eduardo De Filippo who played Pulcinella. I can truly say that you have entered into the spirit of this art. It was fun and it has a good sense of irony. The mix between Italian and English was really well done!

Michela Genovese, Language Assistant, Salesian College, Rupertswood.

What a wonderful experience! We all loved your performance. Both teachers and students were highly engaged and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Grace and Linda, LOTE Teachers, St John's Primary School, Heidelberg

Our students were totally engaged in the performance - from the enthusiastic and accepting Year 6's to the slightly harder to entertain Year 9's! The energy and presence of both Rosa and Fabio and their proficient performance of a range of Commedia characters made for very entertaining theatre. It was a fantastic introduction to the use of mask and the various conventions of the Commedia dell'Arte.

Mandy Calderwood, Christian College Geelong.

The performance was very engaging and has the potential to be useful for both Drama and Italian students. It will definitely come in handy when reinforcing concepts such as gesture, status, space and focus.

David O'Brien, Catholic Regional College, Sydenham

The show was so well done and beautifully presented. It had everything in it - all the elements that we know to expect from Commedia dell'Arte...bravi, bravi, bravi!

Donna Salera, LOTE Coordinator, St Mark's Catholic Primary School, Fawkner

The performance was truly one of the best we have seen. Make a Scene's professionalism and attention to detail were superb and it was thoroughly enjoyed by students and staff.

Christine O'Brien, Christ Church Grammar, Toorak

I have nothing but positive comments from staff and students about your performance. The incorporation of Italian into the play was excellent and all students were engaged. The interaction with students and their involvement was excellent. I would happily recommend your services to other LOTE teachers.

Carolyn Graffeo, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Bentleigh

We 'amore' watching Arlecchino e La Principessa because it was soooo funny and awesome! We would watch it a million times again! Our favourite character was Capitano Massdestruction. Grazie Mille!

Rose, Ella & Salma, North Melbourne Primary School

Arelcchino e La Principessa was awesome because you put a modern twist on an old idea. After watching your play the Carnevale plays we were doing at school really improved. Grazie!

Lucia & Giulietta, North Melbourne Primary School

The performance and workshop sessions introduced our level 4 students to a very different style of acting and an important part of Italian culture. Rosa interacted energetically yet sensitively with the students, who found the experience enriching and challenging. Quite a few of the students thought that there were more than two actors in the performance and the miming and improvised moments were greatly appreciated!

Isabella Wolfram, Canterbury Primary School, Canterbury

The feedback has been 100% positive! Every individaul has glowed with praise for your show. Many were amused by the slapstick and others mightily impressed by the fact that there were only two actors! You really had them fooled. The kids loved the way Arlecchino's costume blended with the backdrop when he was 'hiding'!

Lisa Fusinato (Moonee Ponds Central)

Workshops

Thanks Rosa, my Year 9 boys simply loved every minute of your Commedia workshop. Your enthusiasm and passion was more than evident in your amazing and crazy characters. The boys were really engaged by being able to te get up and physically play. It's a wonderful program and we'll certainly be back for more.

Simon Perry, Year 9 Drama Teacher, Haileybury

The kids adored the Workshop. They were so enthusiastic about it in our next class, it was such a joy to see. It helped them with not only the written work they needed to complete but also with their performances. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Amy Christensen, Drama Teacher, Wesley College

My girls and I all thought the Workshop was excellent - thank you. Your wealth of knowledge was evident and you have a lovely, open approach with the students that they felt very comfortable with you.

Marisa Rowlands, Drama Teacher, Strathcona Baptist Grammar

In the workshops, Rosa inspired the girls to really work out of their comfort zone. They loved learning about the different Commedia characters, the history and the masks. They had so much fun just letting go and using their imaginations to create scenes. They performance of Pantalone's Inn was the culmination of the two days of student workshops. The students were entranced as the actors changed from character to character. The humour translated well with lots of current references which were appreciated by the girls. All in all a great experience which we will defnitely be repeating in the future.

Michele McNamara, Head of Drama, Firbank Grammar

Rosa was engaging from the very beginning and had the students transfixed. She was flexible with her program to fit with our schedule and injected humour and life into her workshops. She was able to see the unique personality of each boy and build on his enthusiasm. I would highly recommend this very physical program.

Miriam Rawson, LOTE Coordinator, Xavier College, Kew

The workshop presented excellent detail of the historical context of Commedia dell’Arte and complemented this information with diverse and highly practical exercises to help the students physically realise the characters in performance.

Gabrielle Quin, Drama Coordinator, Genazzano College, Kew

My senior kids are still talking about the workshop and they thought you were amazing. They thoroughly enjoyed the workshop. You encouraged them to take risks, to be creative and to commit, in a way that really challenged their thinking about physicality and characterisation. We were all sorry that the time went so quickly - we will definitely have you back!

Mandy Calterwood, Christian College, Geelong

Rosa's workshops really engaged my Year 10 class. They especially enjoyed her very entertaining and energetic demonstrations of Zanni. I really liked how Rosa was able to explore the physicalisation of the Commedia dell'Arte characters in a simple and effective manner. The performances that this class devised and presented after both the intro and extension workshops were excellent.  The student performers really understood the stock characters and were able to entertain a class of year 7's who had never seen anything like a Commedia canovacci before.

Jane Penhallurick, Drama Teacher, Carey Baptist Grammar School, Kew

Rosa's workshops and performances are now a twice yearly fixture on our Year 9 timetable. They are entertaining, engaging and inclusive. This commedia program at Waterford is always greatly anticipated by the Drama students as the time she spends with us is talked about by past students as being one of the highlights of the Year 9 Drama curriculum.

Gillian Gilchirst, Drama Teacher, St Kevins College, Waterford Campus, Richmond

The workshop that was run with the combined Year 11 and 12 Theatre Studies class was fantastic. It was a great introduction for many of the students. All the activities were appropriate for the age group and the set curriculum. It was very interactive and physical and having both the introductory DVD and the masks to show the students the 'real' thing benefited them.

Susan McCormack, Theatre Studies Teacher, Billanook College

Thank you so much for the non-naturalistic mask workshop. All the students had such positive responses and have said that they really enjoyed the experience. I really thought it was such a fun and affirming session where all the students, no matter what their ability, felt as though they could try new things in a safe environment. Rather than theorising so much about the non-naturalistic style you were able to make it very physical and practical - so improtant for students at this stage in their VCE Drama course, I know they all left really feeling as though they achieved a and learnt a lot.

Leonore Marshall, Drama Teacher, Girton Grammar, Bendigo

The workshop Rosa ran for our Year 5/6 was outstanding and I would like to thank her very much for all she did to involve and include the children. Her manner and relationship with the children was wonderful and took into account the children of all ability levels. It was indeed a privilege for all.

Peter Hockey, Head of Junior School, Beaconhills College, Pakenham

The workshop was fantastic, very practical and loads of fun.

Drama Victoria Conference delegates and workshop participants

The Commedia dell’Arte workshop was a most entertaining way of understanding about this important tradition of Italian theatre. It combined Italian history and culture in a most engaging format.

Celeste Pegoli, LOTE Coordinator, Our Lady of Mercy College, Heidelberg

The workshop was fantastic for Drama students and conducted very professionally.  It incorporated a wonderful range of activities including a short, informative DVD and use of the masks. The workshop was challenging but still inclusive of all students and had them moving in a more expressive way than I ever could! Their characterisation really develops after they do the workshop, and their knowledge of the theory has been extended.

Linda Box, Drama Teacher, Santa Maria College, Northcote

School Holiday Drama Programme

My two daughters have attended several School Holiday Drama Programmes and have love it so much they've brought friends along! The programme is run beautifully with a variety of activities and wonderful staff who are experienced in teaching and performing professionally. My girls are always really excited to go and can't stop talking about it afterwards.

Fiona, mother of 2

It doesn't matter if you're experienced or not, it's really fun and everyone gets to play a part in the performance.

Bonnie, 9 years of age

My 13 year old daughter always loves attending the holiday sessions and from what she tells me there is always something new and interesting to learn. She enjoys meeting others with similar interests and trying out new characters in the mini productions. With the support and encouragement of the teaching staff at Make A Scene, and the other children who attend, I have seen her confidence grow and I have watched her become more at ease with herself on stage. Thanks for putting on these great workshops during the holidays.

Ariane, parent