About Ted

About Ted Wilson
On his way to a degree in Theatre and Psychology from the University of Delaware, Ted Wilson concentrated on coming-of-age adventures. Having
an innate aversion to academic commitments, he eventually accumulated a great deal of study in theatre movement, improvisation, and mask
making with a special emphasis on the commedia dell'arte. Graduating to an aversion to professional commitments, he has over the years found
time to be an actor, director, writer, teacher, juggler, and mask maker in community, educational, and professional settings. Ted also has a long
history of community arts management in both performing and visual arts settings. More about Ted's scenic career travels can be found on his
consulting and creativity web site at www.artskibitzer.com.

Ted has been a part of founding and performing in three small theatre troupes, all of which focused on improvisation:

> The Zanni Street Theatre: Shortly after graduation in 1972, he became co-founder, performer, and business manager of this touring
company dedicated to the commedia dell'arte. He performed the roles of Pedrolino in The Dentist and Pantalone in The Pedant.
> The Jesting Questers: The Jesting Questers' Universe Show was an original, multi-media, and improvised educational show for
elementary schools that used juggling and a variety of other circus skills and in which Ted created the characters and masks of Gravity Man, Mr.
Sun, and Particle Man.
> Commedia del Nuovo Mondo: Ted originally established this as a small troupe dedicated to commedia performance in 1991. It still exists
today to feed Ted's passion for the commedia dell'arte on an as-needed basis.

He has written, adapted, directed, and/or performed in a number of commedia-inspired productions including:

> In 1990, he directed, merged and adapted translations, added music, and co-wrote lyrics for Carlo Goldoni's The Servant of Two Masters.
> La Cura, one of Ted's many original scenarios, incorporated operatic performances and included performers improvising in English, Italian, and
Spanish. This was created and performed by Italian language students in conjunction with the Italian language faculty of the University of Delaware
Department of Foreign Languages and Literature and the Consulate General of Italy.
> Ted has also adapted, directed, and performed in the sixteenth century Italian scenario written by Flaminio Scala entitled, The Lady Who
Was Believed Dead. This was performed for the Consulate General of Italy at the Festa della Repubblica Italiana '91 in Philadelphia, PA.
> In 1998, he directed and adapted a public domain translation of Moliere's The Imaginary Invalid. The production included one of Moliere's
original entre' acts featuring a farcical interplay between commedia characters and music.

Most recently, he performed as a part of the Theatre of the Seventh Sister's 2006 Spoken Word Festival in Lancaster, PA, where he improvised
a typical commedia scenario in response to the poems and stories presented as a part of the festival.

As an actor, Ted has portrayed the commedia characters of Pedrolino, Pantalone, Dottore, Arlecchino, Brighella, and Capitano with a stint as
Pulcinello waiting in the wings. Using his commedia masks and costumes, He has worked at fairs, festivals, and other gatherings as an interactive
street performer and function emcee. He has also conducted many workshops focusing on commedia dell'arte, improvisation, and performing with
masks. His flagship performance/workshop is Commedia dell'Arte: The Prime Time Television of the Italian Renaissance, featuring an
historical overview while improvising a typical commedia scenario in which he plays at least five different masked characters.

Beyond his commedia work, other improvisational work included performing with Just Kidding, a comedy improv troupe sponsored by City Theatre
Company in Wilmington, DE. Other acting credits have included Boss Finley in Sweet Bird of Youth, Sorin in The Seagull, Lennie in Doubles,
and he was featured as Mr. Bernstein in the children's film Drawing a Blank, which was shown exclusively on Nickelodeon.