Moments of Magic

I am the self-appointed Company Worrier. I think I’m also super fun and have lots of ambitious dreams for Tut’Zanni, don’t get me wrong. But I do often feel that of the six of us, I’m the one asking “Can we really make that happen?” when ALi says “Let’s go make a show in Italy!” and I’m the one trying to figure out a contingency plan if we can’t manage to crowdfund getting Dory and her family to the States for another show development period. Let’s be honest - we live crazy far apart from each other (Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Boston, Tuscany) and we each have jobs, lives and commitments of our own. Syncing up six busy schedules and actually getting together to make theatre as a company is extremely hard. So hard, in fact, that it doesn't make logical sense that Tut’Zanni is two years old and counting.

Once we've boarded our respective planes and seemingly miraculously found each other (be it in the Florence airport without cellphones or a completely unfamiliar Chicago neighborhood), a kind of magic happens. It’s as if we all know (even me!) that the hardest part is over. The obstacles of time zones and bad internet connections are temporarily gone and we can finally get to work. And by work I mean play.

The beautiful thing about Commedia dell’Arte as a form is the wonderful structure that has been handed down for centuries (getting lost and found again in the process) that we get to utilize. We all are quite familiar with our old friends that populate every Commedia show - Arlecchino, Magnifico, Dottore, Colombina and the rest, and each member of the company has certain characters we comfortably climb into and others we’re approaching as new acquaintances. We all have some sense of what Zanni might do in a kitchen full of delicious food or how an Innamorata might try to kill herself if her all-consuming love goes unrequited for much longer.

On day one of rehearsal in Chicago, the bones of our new project were already there, and we just had to put some meat and skin on the beast. We could have easily gone on for weeks playing around in mask, trying out new character combinations, ridiculous acrobatic moves and new songs with naughty homemade lyrics. But bound by the cruel realities of limited time, we had mere days to go from vague ideas to something suitable to show to our friends and families. A little nervous about time (of course), I proposed a schedule, and we methodically ticked off scene after scene as the days went by from our to-do list. There wasn’t time to polish any one scene or set anything in stone - and that’s another way in which Commedia fits right into our frantic schedules. Commedia is rough and dirty, with an idea of how the show might go but very much improvised top to bottom. We expected the unexpected - the unexpected is when theatre happens.


As the audience for our work-in-progress show began filing in, we were still discussing new ways to spin scenes. And it wasn't stressing me out! Sure, I had some pre-show nerves and worried I might enter or exit scenes from the wrong side of the stage. But I knew whatever was about to happen would be lots of fun for us and hopefully the audience as well. The constraints of distance and time suddenly felt like an asset, not an issue. In the brief flash that we’re actually in the same city, on the same stage, sharing the spotlight together, we give each other every ounce of attention, support and love we can muster. Commedia falls flat on its face without an active and engaged audience, and we as a company similarly rely completely on each other to find those rare moments of magic together.

-Liam

Male/Female Characters - what is the deal Commedia?

Thoughts on male/female commedia characters and Colombina from Dory of Tut'Zanni ensemble:

During our last meeting we discussed our view of male and female when it comes to commedia and we don't think it is so clear in today's society. Instead, for us, it is best to look at the masks as masculine or feminine energies. So a woman in a mask with masculine energy will play as a woman with what would be considered typical or traditional "male attributes". For example, Pantalona with money and power, Dottore pregnant with knowledge or Magnifica horny and rich. Even before I knew I was pregnant, I had this idea of the pregnant Dottore. It seems so fitting, since pregnant women and mothers know EVERYTHING and are so willing to talk and talk and give many an advice whether this helps your or not. In the same vein, you look at Colombina, the voice of reason, as a feminine energy. We decided to give this task to Patrick for our current show. He does not play a woman but more of an effeminate male and I think he has harnessed the true energy of Colombina much more than any of the women in our ensemble ever have. ALi always takes on the task of the male servant characters Zanni, in which she only uses Grammalot, and Pulcinella, a completely silent straight character against Liam's over the top Capitano. Her energy is very playful and not traditionally feminine so these characters work in her body.

Arlecchino, on the other hand, is a challenge to play as a woman. Arlecchino is traditionally a very clown like character, living in his own plane of understanding the world, the way a child understands it except with the sexuality of an adolescent who is always hungry for it... coming directly from the idea of the Italian "mammone" or "momma's boy" he is fun and fancy free. This is hard to portray as a woman because girls tend to mature faster than boys, we have a lot more to prove to the world, so a young girl would be the Colombina not the Arlecchino. This is what I find difficult about it... not impossible but difficult.

But the opposite is true with Strega. She is extremely difficult for a man to pull off. There is a Mago character but usually he is extremely clumsy and dim witted. But Strega is THE strong woman character in traditional commedia. Unlike Colombina who can sometimes cleverly pull a rues or use her womanly form to gain power, Strega IS powerful and strikes fear in the hearts of the other characters. Whether or not her powers are real don't really matter because through her own persuasive, all-powerful nature, she has convinced these characters in this world that her magic is very real and they believe as well as follow through. This makes her the true feminist character. No one would be scared of a man in this way... He would have to prove his power over and over again.

We chose to mask our Colombina because everyone on stage was in mask. When you looked at it in a group as in our final scene, without the mask she was lost and aesthetically it looked strange. It is also important to distinguish Colombina from the innamorati, distinguishing her status because she is the voice of reason but she is still a servant. Whereas a little more flamboyant character like her slightly sluttier counterpart Smeraldina is a little closer to the innamorati in character. Less deep I should say. Though I think it is very possible to play Colombina without mask when innamorati are involved, while being careful not to get her character swept up in the dramatic movement of the other characters.

For the audience this worked well. The most important rule in commedia is not the sexes but the drives. Whether it is a Magnifico or a Magnifica they are driven by money, sex and power or Dottore who is driven by knowledge, food and drink - for Dottore sex is like food so they are one in the same. If you keep the inherent needs of each character and don't betray the mask (this applies to the age of the mask for instance - you cannot play Magnifico or Magnifica as a young man/woman or ugly man/woman because he/she is obviously old) you will keep the integrity of the true nature of commedia.

It'll be a bit of a ramble...

I'm just going to go ahead and write my reflections. It'll be a bit of a ramble, but if I don't just do it now, it'll never get done. - ALi

My Reflections on our Chicago times:

• I really love our process. We all take a moment of our completely separate lives, and collide them in a sort of crazy, manic span of 1 or 2 weeks, and then put the result in front of people to see what they think. For me, as a performer, it acts as sort of a conservatory-type training session. I don't have a week in between each meeting to sort of let everything settle. I have to learn it (or re-learn it), do it, and grow it all at once. A big advantage I think comes from this is that it forces it into my body before I can intellectualize it. 

• The workshops were great fun. I always learn so much more by having to teach. The students were all willing to say "yes", and we were able to cover a lot of ground. 

• The show came together much more smoothly than I could have anticipated. Intended to be a work-in-progress, it ended up being full show length, and covered a huge portion of the plot. It flowed quite smoothly, and we found moments to play. We had an engaged and supportive audience, and that makes me want to give as much as I can. 

• I was really glad we took a leap of faith and tried our street-style performance, with us sitting alongside the audience. It helped me feel supported by my teammates while I was on stage, and feel even more of a part of it as an observer. I was surprised to receive some feedback that the audience enjoyed it as well. They seemed to feel as though it gave them more permission to laugh and cheer and participate. Also, they can tell that we are truly improvising when we all crack up at something new! 

• All in all, I believe Chicago was a huge success.The people were great, and we were accommodated brilliantly. We had a lot of support being there, and that helped so much. (We are already looking into when we can get back!) Nothing can top when we all get together in a fury of last-minute panic, and the irresistible want to play!