John 
Bellomo

John Bellomo

Associate Professor, Theatre

Education

  • M.F.A. (Directing), Temple University
  • B.F.A. (Acting), University of the Arts

Curriculum Vitae

Originally from Philadelphia, John V. Bellomo is a Director, Actor, Movement Specialist, and Teacher. He is the former Artistic Director of The Maryland Shakespeare Festival and Co-Artistic Director of Ombelico Mask Ensemble. During the summer of 2022, John performed a re-tooled version of his award winning Commedia dell’Arte solo show Dead Man's Mambo (in which he plays 11 different characters) in Rome, Italy at Teatro Basilica. During the pandemic, he played Don Pedro in a reading of Much Ado About Nothing for the Pittsburgh Public Theatre and two episodes of Foolish Fridays, a two season webseries by Faction of Fools Theatre Company in Washington D.C. His directing Credits include: Oedipussy, The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary, at Curio Theatre; Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Romeo & Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew at Maryland Shakespeare Festival; The Do's and Don'ts of Time Travel at Strawflower Productions, The Bros. Flanagan at Original Theatre Productions; Fuddy Meers at Allens Lane Theatre; A Midsummer's Night's Dream, The Tempest, Twelfth Night and As You like It for Teatro Delle Due, in Reggio Emilia, Italy. He received an M.F.A. in Directing from Temple University where he directed A Lesson Before Dying, The Nina Variations, and Oleanna, and a B.F.A. in Acting from the University of the Arts. For OMBELICO Mask Ensemble, John has directed and acted in several shows, including  Omeletto - Like Hamlet, only Scrambled, The Capitano Duped, and The Power of Magic. As a Fight Director, John has choreographed violence for many of Philadelphia's theatre companies, including People's Light and Theatre Co., Philadelphia Theatre Co., Theatre Exile, The Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival, Lantern Theatre, The Wilma Theatre, InterAct Theatre Co., Delaware Theatre Company, and The PA Shakespeare Festival. He is a four-time Barrymore nominee for his fight choreography and received a Barrymore Award for his fight choreography in The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Interact Theatre Co. He has taught Stage Combat at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, Teatro in Polvere in Milan, Accademia Internazionale dello Spettacolo in Calabria Italy, and The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. John is also a graduate of The International School for the Comic Actor in Reggio Emilia, Italy where he studied commedia dell'arte with Italian Maestro Antonio Fava. In 2006, John co-founded Teatro Ronda, an international commedia dell'arte company, with actors from Poland, Switzerland and Italy. Their original commedia play, Two Servants for a Master, was performed in Arden, Delaware; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Krakow, Poland; and Mednrisio and Monte Verita, Switzerland.