We Were All Well Met

Well, not all of us. Not even remotely all of us. But yesterday David Zarko, Heather Stuart and myself (Jeff Wills) met deep in the heart of Scranton to discuss various Zuppa-related issues. Central to this was some discussion of our upcoming production of R&J, titled thus far in releases as The Very Nearly Perfect Comedy of Romeo & Juliet. I believe this title comes about as a result of one of David's organizing principles behind the show, that the characters have a vested interest in keeping their story a comedy against the forces of tragedy that inevitably creep in. But you can answer to that, David. It's a departure in terms of Zuppa del Giorno titles. We've had a custom of naming our shows through a simple paradigm: [ADJECTIVE NOUN], or vice versa. This project is a departure in more ways than one, so I'm tickled by the title taking this turn.

All consonance aside, we have some more solid ideas of the show now, both from pragmatic and artistic standpoints. Everyone who has collaborated on the idea of a clown/commedia R&J thus far has been enormously generous and creative, and it would be wonderful if we could include everyone. Unfortunately, the theatre's budget and season being what they are, we are limited to a ratio of either 5:1 or 4:2, equity:non-equity actors. Those decisions are frustrating to have to make, and a variety of factors will go into them. Ultimately, ETC/David will have the final word on all that, and that time is not yet at hand. What is at hand is determining who will direct and lead, and who we will bring over from Italy to work with us on this show.

That makes it sound as though we've legions of Italian actors, directors and designers chomping at the bit to join us in this experiment, but really we have two friends we're aiming to collaborate with -- Andrea Brugnera and Angelo Crotti. This is not only because we love working with these two and they're talented artists in their own rights, but because it is our intention to take this show to Italy the summer after its inception and perform it there, in Aquapendente and Civita di Bagnoreggio. Ambitious? Yes. Essential therefore to have input from actual Italians on the show in its development stages? Yes yes yes. Plus, if one or both of these gentlemen end up being able to stay in America long enough to actually be in the show, it's one less person we have to sweat getting into Italy come summertime.

If our discussion of the show's artistic and aesthetic aspects is any indication, what we're moving toward is a production that portrays Romeo and Juliet as red-nose clowns in a world that is otherwise almost entirely populated by masked commedia dell'arte characters. There will be much doubling, and in some cases tripling, of roles amongst the projected 6 main performers. There will also be foley artists on stage who get involved in the action (which is a lovely return to a convention we used to great response in Noble Aspirations). Our specific approach to the story has yet to be defined, but some elements are already being considered as parameters:

1. There will be a significant use of the original text; at present, people seem jazzed about Romeo and Juliet being the ones who are largely involved in that approach.


2. There will be some Italian-language incorporation.


3. The story will be tinkered with, expectations will be subverted, but the sequence of action will remain by-and-large the same and recognizable.


4. The work will be informed by improvisation exploration as well as scene study. It is possible-to-likely that some sequences of the final product may be semi-improvised.


5. We will have legitimate combat sequences.

That's about as much as we know, now. Just wanted to get it up on the 'blog so people can respond with their questions (don't know if we'll have answers), comments (we like "awesome," just as a for-example) and complaints (seriously: this is the venue in which to be heard). There will be periods of relative inactivity on this here 'blog, but feel free to check in any time and throw down any thoughts you may have. That's what it's here for.

More the merrier? Or less is more?

Is it possible that we might cast outside Zuppa? Or do we have so many people in Zuppa that we are trying to choose among us? I'm asking because I know people who would be screamingly excellent for this project.

Also, would we want non-Zuppa people to contribute to the blog? Or no?

Useless information: I have a copy of the play that has a picture of Juliet in a black shroud on the cover. Every time Peter sees it, he signs "gorilla." Perhaps we should have Juliet as an 800-pound-gorilla? No? Well, there's a joke in there somewhere...

What did I miss?

So, I'm curious how we got to the idea of clown R&J in the first place. Those who were there at conception, tell: how did the idea get hatched?

I had a great time working with Mark last week. Do we know if he is directing yet? Or will that not even be a possibility until David figures out which shows in the season he is directing? Did you all talk about this anymore last week?

My understanding of the commedia world is that it happens in a particular time & place.Did you start talking about what time and place that would be? If we are doing contemporary commedia, are we making any attempt to make this story relevant in a contemporary world?

Benedicite!

Welcome to the friar's cell. Here is where we will continue the collaboration begun at The Northeast Theatre in March of 2008, under the auspices of their contemporary commedia dell'arte troupe, Zuppa del Giorno. Please sign up for a Google account (if you haven't one already) in order to accept the invitation you have been sent, and post your ideas to this weblog. In case you haven't been a member of a 'blog before, look here for how we used one to collaborate on Prohibitive Standards prior to beginning rehearsal.
The basics:

1. Sign in as a contributor to the 'blog using your Google account name and password.
2. Create a "post" (an entry) on some aspect of the show you wish to share information or ideas on. You can include pictures and videos in a given post, or simply text, depending upon your level of ease with the Blogger website.
3. When you have finished your post, be sure to label it with applicable categories. Every time you add a new category, it joins a list of categories by which we can search for entries. So, for example, this post will be labeled "logistics." In the future, if you need to find an entry regarding some practical aspect of the show, you can click on the "logistics" category in the sidebar and see all relevant entries. (Blogger also allows you to search the whole 'blog using a search engine.)
4. Every visit, take time to read others' entries and "comment" upon them. A "comment" will join a chain of responses, or a conversation, attached to a particular post. If you find you have A LOT to say in response, it may be best to leave a comment such as "See my entry in response, dated _______."

Those are the basics, but feel free to play around once you understand the simpler aspects of using Blogger. Remember that you can always save an entry and not post it yet if it isn't ready, and that even after you post one, you can still go back and edit it. And have fun! It's an amazing opportunity to collaborate on a show for a whole year, even when we're across the world from one another.