Monna Lisa’s Summer

Snapshots from the direction of Ferdinando Ceriani

“Our educational work expands throughout the year. To join me and Angelo Guidi, I bring in a musician – guitarist Gianni Silano – to handle the songs and music for the show, which the kids will perform live. The tradition of stage photos begins, which over time will become a priceless visual record of our work. As soon as we take over the Valle – peacefully! – the kids immediately scatter into the boxes, the corridors, and the dressing rooms of the theater, and I can still hear Angelo and I yelling to get them back in line. The Commedia dell'Arte takes the stage! Final touches, last vocal rehearsals, and final adjustments to the costumes. In the evening, a packed house. Maurizio Scaparro is in the audience. The joy of the cast as, at the end of the encore, they literally dive from the stage into the arms of their friends and family.

Editing, processing, and transitions: Franco Molè

Original lyrics by Luciano Mariti and Angelo Guidi

Choirs and musical supervision: Gianni Silano

Directed by Ferdinando Ceriani and Angelo Guidi

And that makes four! Four productions staged by the LUISS Theater Workshop since I began my collaboration with the university. These four distinct experiences, starting with “Ma non ditelo a Pirandello!” (2003) performed by the most experienced students, all share a clear educational goal: to gradually introduce students to a cohesive, ensemble-driven theatrical production built around a single story. While “Assurdo Novecento” (2003) was born from a collage of short scenes drawn from the leading authors of the Theater of the Absurd, with “Le sirene di Ulisse” (2004) we aimed to take a step forward by choosing Vitaliano Brancati’s “Don Giovanni involontario” as the basic structure of the show. This was then layered with other pieces by southern Italian authors, from De Roberto to Alvaro. “L'estate di Monna Lisa” concludes our journey by staging the story of a company of Commedia dell'Arte performers who find in the theater their only means of freedom and rebellion against foreign rule, in an Italy spanning from the year 1000 to the 1500s, a time ravaged by wars and invasions. Through scenes, live music and singing, jokes, satire, nursery rhymes, and mottos—all drawn from original period documents and reworked by Franco Molè and Angelo Guidi—we retrace the history of Commedia dell’Arte, which gave rise to modern theater and profoundly influenced European drama, with Moliere and Shakespeare being prime examples. It’s a choral show that brings into play the fundamental rules of stage art: rhythm, voice, movement, harmony, and emotional connection. This requires the students, who remain on stage for nearly the entire performance, to exert considerable concentration and responsiveness—yet always with a spirit of playfulness and enjoyment. The spotlight is on the group, which moves, sings, and acts as a single entity. But from time to time, a recognizable character emerges—such as Capitan Spaventa, Arlecchino, the Poet, the Tombarolo, Monnalisa, and others—only to be reabsorbed by the company. This character brings the plot to life, supported by live singing and music curated by Maestro Gianni Silano. This year, we wanted to offer a comprehensive show that showcases the diverse potential of theater to the audience, spanning from musicals to comedy, from farce to clowning, and from tragedy to circus. That’s why we chose to draw inspiration from Commedia dell’Arte, which thrives on creative freedom and vitality.

Students | Leading Actors 

• Francesco Amorosino
• Emanuela Cappuccini
• Maria Ginevra Cattaneo
• Eva Cianca
• Giulia Colucci
• Nadia Correale
• Marco Cozzolino Coletta
• Silvia Crisalli
• Riccardo Crocetta
• Pietro Dattola
• Loretta Di Leo
• Carmelo Dragotta
• Alessandra El Hariri
• Edoardo Faraci
• Festuccia Flaminia
• Giampaolo Filauro
• Andrea Gagliano
• Eleonora Galterio
• Domenico Giurato
• Diana Grilli
• Giuseppe Guglielmino
• Lucie Henry
• Giuseppe Labate
• Roberto Lato
• Giuseppe Lo Papa
• Federica Lorini
• Antonella Mancusi
• Riccardo Masella
• Viviana Merlo
• Sergio Montanino
• Claudia Moschi
• Ingie Mouchonnet
• Lina Neri
• Delia Nicotra
• Simone Oddo
• Valerio Pilia
• Antonio Rinaldi
• Federico Roli
• Fabio Massimo Silvetti
• Matteo Smacchi
• Tortorici, Dèsirée