Ronald Scott Jenkins collection of Dario Fo posters and designs

Ronald Scott Jenkins is a Professor of Theatre at Wesleyan University who studies documentary theatre focusing on issues of social transformation and human rights. He is a former Guggenheim and Fullbright Fellow, and has translated the plays of Nobel Laureate and Italian playwright Dario Fo, including the production of "Archangels Don’t Play Pinball" at the American Repertory Theater. He travelled extensively throughout Europe with Fo and Franca Rame, Fo's wife and theatrical collaborator, and acted as a real-time translator for the New York premiere of "Mistero Buffo." Jenkins wrote a book on Dario Fo and his wife and collaborator Franca Rame entitled "Dario Fo and Franca Rame: Artful Laughter."

A former circus clown, Jenkins holds a doctorate from Harvard University, and is a graduate of Haverford College. Further work includes the translation and/or direction of plays by the Israeli playwright Joshua Sobol, such as "Ghetto: A Triptych," performed at the Square Theatre, New York and the Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach. Jenkins’ most recent book, "Saraswati in Bali" is the third in a trilogy regarding community activism and sacred temple performances in Indonesia.

Dario Fo (1926-2016) was an Italian actor, playwright, director, stage designer, and political activist, and the recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. His plays rely on improvisation and harken back to older forms of theatre, such as giullari (medieval strolling players) and commedia dell’arte. Perhaps his most well-known play is "Mistero Buffo." Fo married actress Franca Rame in 1954, and she became his theatrical collaborator and acted in many of his productions; they had one son, Jacopo Fo (1955-).