Brandon Rafferty produces ‘Scapino’ with the Theatre Department

Brandon Rafferty of Apalachin, New York, was one of 21 SUNY Oneonta students involved in the Theatre Department’s production of “Scapino,” the final performance of the fall 2025 semester.

Rafferty, who is majoring in Business Administration, was one of the show’s assistant stage managers.

“Scapino” is a physical farce comedy adapted by Frank Dunlop and Jim Dale from Moliere’s 1671 play ‘Les Fourberies de Scapin.’”

Set in present-day Naples, Ottavio and Leandro are a couple of friends whose fathers have had to go away on a business trip, leaving their sons in the care of guardians, Scapino and Sylvestro. During his father’s absence, Ottavio fell in love with and married the pretty Giacinta. Now he learns his father has returned with plans to “marry him off.”

A series of wild plots and counterplots unfolds as Ottavio seeks Scapino’s help.

“We decided on this show because it allows the students to be exposed to a very specific acting style, Commedia dell’Arte,” said Kiara Pipino, Associate Professor of Acting, Directing, and Movement. “To that end, we also secured a grant so that we could invite a specialist in the field, Mace Perlman, to be part of the production and to teach a Commedia dell’Arte workshop to our student body.”

Directed by Pipino, “Scapino” was a joint performance made possible by the SUNY Oneonta Theatre Department’s faculty and staff and students from the Mask and Hammer Theatre Club. Faculty, staff, and students made up the show’s crew, while the cast is made up of students and guest artist Mace Perlman.

Learn more at https://suny.oneonta.edu.