Commedia in Australia

A company based in Fremantle Western Australia specialising in Commedia dell'Arte. For over 25 years Giovanni Margio and Antonio Mazzella have been delighting Australian and international audiences performing under their stage names of Sanjiva and Giri.

GIOVANNI (SANJIVA) MARGIO: Giovanni's love of street theatre has taken him to many countries in search of perfecting the various art forms. Starting in Sicily with training in the fine arts, he migrated to Australia where he studied graphic design in Perth, and circus skills, story telling and mime, Commedia dell' Arte. As a sculptor and designer he has created many large carnival floats and theatre props, inspired by his apprenticeship in float making with Professore Giuseppe Domenici of the famous Viarreggio Carnevale. He performs regularly with Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, directs theatre productions and makes masks.

ANTONIO ( GIRI ) MAZZELLA: With numerous credits in national radio, TV and stage, Antonio is a multi talented performer with a career spanning over 25 years. After initial training in classical voice, his exploration of physical theatre led him through puppetry, street circus, improvisation, clown, mime, theatre sports, cabaret, mask, community arts and carnival parades. Antonio has directed theatre productions and created masked musical plays for schools Italian programs. He recently finished a tour of the Northern Territory where he performed solo shows, ran mask, puppetry and. drama games programs for teachers, students and people with disabilities.