Giovanna Sardelli, director of “Archduke” by Rajiv Joseph, at Theatreworks Silicon Valley Mountain View Center for the Arts through June 30, 2019, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.
“Archduke” tells the story of the recruitment of young men who were to commit the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir presumptive of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1914, an assassination that led directly to what become known as The Great War, and later World War I.
Giovanna Sardelli, director of the production, is also the director of New Works at Silicon Valley, and her career is closely intertwined with that of playwright Rajiv Joseph, a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his earlier play, “Bengal Tiger in the Baghdad Zoo.” A graduate of NYU, Giovanna Sardelli spent five years on the soap opera “Another World” before choosing her current career path. She worked closely with Rajiv Joseph on the creation of “Archduke,” which was originally a commission from the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. This new production features revisions which strengthen the work.