Pantalone's Vice

I am so jealous that I can't be there playing with everyone today.

It seems to me, theoretically speaking, that there isn't a general problem with having clown types and commedia dell'arte types interacting. At first, I worried that the commedia types -- which seem very selfishly motivated and, at times, murderously intentful -- would overpower the clown types. The more I think about it, however, the more it seems to me that the commedianni would respond to the clowns in much the same way the older characters respond to the younger in the play: with misunderstanding, condescension or avoidance. The commedianni very quickly figure out that clowns will rarely give them what they want, so they may generally leave them alone.

The crux of the issue, I think, is in our relationship to the audience. Commedia dell'arte characters can very easily steal focus from a clown, to the detriment of both. But maybe it goes both ways; it's just that my clown isn't one for fighting for focus, I think. Then again, if there is less of an improvisational aspect to the show, we can make sure of a balance of attention. Either way, it is principal that we decide on our relationship to the audience. I'm perfectly content to allow this to come out of work and improvisation in the space. But. I also have opinions.

Dave spoke of a production (or two?) in which clowns were attempting to tell the story, and got wrapped up in it. I like this very much for its specificity, but am hesitant to apply it to this story. Romeo & Juliet seems to me to be a very pure narrative -- one which, in fact, has innocence and growth as a couple of dominant themes, and I worry that may be compromised by layers of meta-theatre. I admit I am a worrier by nature, but I also want the audience to have pure empathy for the characters, and don't want to muddle character identity with player identity. Perhaps it can't be helped when it comes to clown. Someone who knows what they're talking about on this front should smack me around a bit. Verbally, I mean.

That having been said, there's no denying that every style we work in acknowledges its audience. Commedia dell'arte seems founded upon Italians' love of telling personal stories to their neighbors. Clowns exist only for that rehearsal-absent, other player. Finally, Zuppa has always always always created shows that involve direct address and audience feedback. So what do we say about our audience this time? We began our first day (we: me, Heather, Andrea; David was a bit late) by walking about and imagining a piazza in Verona. I was crap at that, but it comes quite naturally to Andrea, and he quickly began to fill the space with sounds and life. We were imagining early morning, when the initial confrontation takes place in R&J, but I couldn't help but be reminded of the work with passagiata (sp?) we did when last we taught in Italy.

After the late meal, in small towns all over Italy, the custom is to leave the house and stroll about the center of town for hours, catching up with folks and seeing what's the what. This is passagiata, and we observed it for character research back in 2006, and imitated it in the rehearsal room to develop characters for our performances at the end of that trip. It was a great way to absorb the unique energies of the culture, a sort of relaxed Viewpoints approach. When I first entered a passagiata, my thinking was Okay, what do we do? Where are we going? How long does this last? By the end of the trip (and with a bit more Italian under my belt) I had learned a little better to enjoy it, to pass through groups and let what I heard affect me, rather than seeking purpose.

In the spirit of this, my feeling is that our relationship to the audience should be as one to townspeople with whom we are completely acquainted. The storytelling comes naturally, with the assumption that every person we address will naturally take our view of things. In the play itself, everyone knows one another. Indeed, the only thing which suggests otherwise is Juliet's questioning of who people are at the party, and this can be attributed to her debutante status and/or the fact that it's a masquerade ball. We are who we are, walking about the piazza, living every moment in the moment.

Just my thinking.