I Sebastiani - History

History

i Sebastiani, the self-proclaimed "Greatest Commedia dell'Arte Troupe in the Entire World," was founded as a theatrical off-shoot of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), on June 4, 1990 at 7:45 PM by Jeff Hatalsky, who was also known within the SCA as Sebastian. The troupe's name translates as "we who are Sebastian's." i Sebastiani drew heavily upon the sixteenth century troupe i Gelosi for inspiration, both in selection of characters and use of scenarios written by i Gelosi founder, Flaminio Scalla.

Hatalsky managed the troupe and often served as director until he left the troupe in October 1996. Jay Cross became artistic director and Alex Newman, manager. From 1991 through September 2001, the Troupe performed Commedia dell'arte scenarios for largely SCA audiences. In September 2001, i Sebastiani attended the Austin Commedia dell'arte Festival in Austin Texas, where they were encouraged to present their work to a broader audience. Alex Newman adopted the title, capocomico, literally "head comic." Since then they have performed to general audiences, mostly in the East Coast region of the United States of America, as far south as the Miami Improv Festival in 2006. Newman left the troupe in 2005 and was succeeded as manager and Capocomica by Catherine Crow. Jay Cross continues as artistic director.