Joan Schirle: Actor, Director, Playwright, Teacher

Joan Schirle was the artistic director of Dell’Arte International, founded by Jane Hill and Carlo Mazzone-Clementi. She was an actor, playwright, director, deviser, teacher, and arts activist, whose acting work was recognized with a 2006 Fox Foundation/TCG Resident Actor Fellowship for professional development. In 2004 she was honored at the 16th Cairo International Experimental Theatre Festival as a leader in the field of experimental theatre. She served as director of the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre from 2003 – 2011.

Joan Schirle passed away on February 1, 2022 at her home in Blue Lake, Humboldt County, California. 

Joan Schirle as Scar Tissue, the iconic character she created for Intrigue at Ah-Pah and The Scar Tissue Mysteries at Dell’Arte International in 1980
Joan Schirle in Bali. Sacred masks.

Joan Schirle Bali

Joan Schirle established and led 20 of Dell’Arte’s unique one-month...