Dance Parties = Lifesavers

We had originally intended to blog every day here, but we had been mad busy since we arrived! Plus, Patrick and I (ALi) completely failed at posting on our appointed blog days. At least Molly and Liam were on the ball for the first couple.

A lot has happened. We have cycled our way through about 12 different shows now, as every time we go to work, we end up completely changing everything. 

Over the weekend, we had the wonderful opportunity to work with Michele Bottini, who is a fantastic player in the commedia world. He helped give some insights as a trained outside eye, and brought us back to some solid commedia roots. And, of course, completely changed our show. 

On Tuesday, we had the pleasure of having Kevin Crawford, a spectacular instructor who actually taught all of us while we attended the Accademia, watch our show and give his insights. As you can guess, the show completely changed. Again.

There were several points where we hit the wall and each had our own breakdowns, but sometimes something has to be broken before you can build it back up. By Wednesday, we took the evening off, and enjoyed a spectacular evening of friends and fun at Dory and Jesse's beautiful countryside home for the 4th of July. It was great to get to know some of the other CrisisArt participants, new Accadema students, and of course some Italy residents. Tut'Zanni as a company also got to bond in a special way, reminiscing over old times, and being awestruck at where we are today. (If I remember, I will be inserting some pictures here, but I will have to steal them from Liam, as he seems to be the only one of us actually consistent about taking them! If I don't remember, then you will forever read this message at this point.)

Then we come to this morning. We had a bit of a rough start, but once we got going, we got going. We jumped back into the old version of our show (the one some of you saw in LA), and filled it with all the amazing bits from our new versions. And for the first time since we arrived, we have a complete show, and one that makes sense, with everything coming together in a beautiful way.




We mapped out our whole show to have a visual, and this is how it turned out:

For those of you unfamiliar with commedia, that right there is our entire canovaccio, or what normal plays would call their "script". There it is, in all it's glory. What a thing of beauty. Actually, the whole show is only the blue. The green is one king lazzo made up of lots of baby lazzi. Basically one giant funny bit. 

Throughout this whole process, we have had numerous ups and downs, as is to be expected. But what makes the difference is we pull each other through it... 

...with dance parties.

Stay tuned for more of the goings-on with Tut'Zanni! We are performing this Sunday at the CrisisArt Festival! If you just so happen to be in the area... you should come check us out. If you unfortunately can't make it, don't sweat it, we'll be filming it for you. Keep checking our website and blog for updates!