Department of Theatre and Dance
Malpractice, Or Love's The Best Doctor
Director: Ruth Griffin
Adapted by: Dell'Arte Players (Copyright Dell'Arte, 1982)
Created by: Michael Fields, Donald Forrest, Michele Linfante, and Jael Weisman
Cast List
Press Release (Fresno State News)
Dates: March 11 - 13 and 15 - 19, 2016
Theatre: Dennis and Cheryl Woods Theatre
About the production:
Adapted by the Dell’Arte Players from the works of Molière, this is theatre for the
people with a strong dose of anarchy. Repeatedly breaking the fourth wall, a father
and daughter explore hypochondria and wellness.
About Dell'Arte:
Dell'Arte is the North American center for training, research, and performance of
the actor-creator with an MFA in Ensemble Based Physical Theatre.
Statement from the director, Ruth Griffin:
I blended the Dell'Arte adaptation, which continues to carry the fresh breeze of street
theatre, with the sense of an imagined performance for the Court. Its musical sub-score
incorporates Lully’s music mixed with Scott Joplin Rags, and Vaudeville accordion
music to situate the Doctor’s patter scenes and lazzi that the Dell’Arte Players so
ingeniously wrote. This production is for you my wild-hearted teachers at Dell’Arte
International.
About the poster:
Joan Mankin whose face is on the poster and program originated the role of Lucinde.
She was one of the Bay Area’s most popular actors and clowns for more than four decades.
Best known for her comic skills, Ms. Mankin was an almost constant presence on Bay
Area stages from 1970 through 2013. She appeared in major roles with virtually every
important theater company in the region — from the San Francisco Mime Troupe and the
feminist Lilith company to American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory and Cal
Shakes, and from Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre to TheatreWorks in Mountain View, Walnut
Creek’s Center Rep and Marin Theatre Company to the Magic Theatre and San Francisco
Playhouse. In her alternate persona as Queenie Moon, she was a pioneer female clown
with the Pickle Family Circus and the smaller Make-a-Circus, with which she also taught
circus arts to children.
The department honors the untamed spirit and legacy of Joan through this production. (Click here to view the full poster).
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