Dell’Arte is the one true heavyweight high art institution in Humboldt County.
~ North Coast Journal

While Dell’Arte International may be located in the quaint hamlet of Blue Lake, CA, our theatre company has been all over the world, from Denmark, Bali, Croatia to Colombia. In our 40-year history, we have built an international reputation, which has attracted thousands to our area. Please consider a 100% tax-deductible donation to Dell’Arte today to support our vital community works.
And when businesses spend their advertising dollars with Dell’Arte International, which will be considered a tax-deductible donation, they will not only be reaching a local target market, but a global marketplace.

Dell’Arte International Home Season

Dell’Arte International has an integrated home season, running from October to July of each year. This home season conjoins the creative work of the Dell’Arte Company, the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre and the ongoing work of our community partnerships. Our home season is contextualized in our marketing and media materials under the three categories of “Company,” “Community” and “School.” As a result, there has been a greater understanding within our own local community and abroad as to the scope and breadth of our work. Donate Here.

The Mad River Festival

The Mad River Festival began at Dell’Arte in 1989 and was named “the fastest growing theatre festival in the United States” by American Theatre magazine.

Named for the local river flowing through town, this six-week summer festival attracts thousands of national and international visitors each year to the rural community of Blue Lake, CA. The mission of the festival is to premiere an original work by the Dell’Arte Company and present innovative, world-class theatre from “around the world and down the block.” The Dell’Arte Company’s “Blue Lake: The Opera,” presented at the 2010 Mad River Festival, sold out every performance. In 2011-12, the company presented “Mary Jane: The Musical," an original musical exploring the impact of the marijuana cultivation industry upon the region.  Donate Here.

The Holiday Show Tour

For the past 30 years, Dell’Arte has given the community the gift of live theatre during the winter holidays. For three weeks during the holiday season, beginning the day after Thanksgiving, Dell’Arte tours an original work throughout Northern California and Southern Oregon. These touring performances, which take place in elementary and high schools, community centers and venues large and small, are always free. At each show, we collect non-perishable food items, which are then donated to local food banks. It is estimated approximately 7,000-10,000 people, including local school children, attend the Holiday Show Tour. Dell’Arte is proud to have been able to create this free exposure to the arts, which is often the only live professional theatre thousands of rural children and their families see each year. Donate Here.

The Rural Residency Program

The training of Dell’Arte’s first-year theatre students culminates with a residency in one of the many remote communities on the North Coast. For 10 days, our students live among the people of these communities creating a theatre work for and about the community.  A core value of Dell’Arte is the practice of “theatre of place,” or the exploration of the relationship between artists and their communities. The Rural Residency Program brings quality theatre experiences to communities that might not otherwise have an opportunity to experience live theatre. This program seeks to have a lasting impact on each community, as well as our own community of international students, by getting them to look differently at the world around them through the simple act of creative engagement. By celebrating each community’s uniqueness, the program enlarges the worldview for all involved. In 2013, Dell’Arte students will travel to Orleans and Bridgeville. Donate Here.

Community-Based Art Program

In addition to being an international center for performance and training for 40 years, Dell’Arte has been active in community building, service, education, community-based productions and many other service-related activities. The Community-Based Art Program shares Dell’Arte’s skills with local non-profit organizations to raise awareness of community needs through theatre works. These works can be aesthetic, interactive or spectacle-based, but the central focus is always on contributing to the organizational mission of our community partners. Donate Here.

Scholarships/Students

Sponsorship of Vida Tayebati

For the 2013-14 School Year at the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, Dell’Arte will welcome our first student from Persia. VIda Tayebati will attend our Professional Training Program.  While Dell’Arte will cover her tuition and room and board, we are seeking to raise funds to pay for her living expenses during the school year. Last year we successfully raised funds to assist our first Zimbabwe student, Lloyd Nikyadzino, who completed the PTP program and has returned to his home country to teach. Donate Here

The Jane Hill Scholarship Fund--Donate Here
This fund assists students with demonstrated financial needs to attend the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre. This fund was inaugurated during the Lifetime Achievement Award to Jane Hill in 2013. Donations can be made to Dell'Arte for the Jane Hill Scholarship Fund. For info about Jane Hill. www.dellarte.com/show.aspx


The Nancy Lafrenz Memorial Scholarship
Nancy Lafrenz was a gifted actor, charming clown, dedicated Dell’Arte alumnus, devoted daughter, thoughtful friend and loving wife. At the age of 31, she succumbed to cancer. A giver and leader, Nancy mentored younger students and ensemble members, spoke up when others were afraid to, and nurtured those in need.
To keep Nancy’s memory alive, the Dell’Arte graduating class of 2002 set up this scholarship fund in her honor. Each year during the Mad River Festival, Nancy’s scholarship helps fund an original ensemble-created work by Dell’Arte alumni. For more about Nancy, click here.