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!

Newest Member and First Rehearsal

Day I of rehearsals has come and gone-and we are all covered in sweat, both our own and each other’s.

It was a very hot, but encouraging start to our creative process-and for me, as the newest member, a very supportive welcome to the work.  We spent the morning doing physical and vocal warm-ups as well as getting into the masks to find our voice, physicality and to start to play.  It is amazing how much can change in your work when you start to play-organically the most hilarious things start to happen.  All of us have commented on how we have laughed so hard that we have all burst into tears multiple times everyday that we have been here. 

Company meeting in the morning

Dory's work today had us all crying with laughter, including her 

The founder of our company and a very serious dancer.

Dance Monsters or Monster Dancers?

No caption needed.

Dory is currently suffering from limited mobility, which means putting on and taking off costumes is a three person job.

The show is changing a great deal from the work that the company started in Los Angeles-for one thing, Dory is in a cast as you can see in the photo above and Ali is still suffering from being hit by a car so we are working to create a show that is utilizing all the things that Dory and Ali can do without breaking any other parts of their bodies.   

Today we went over structure of the scenes as well as the relationship that all the characters have with each other.  So much of that is different, so finding the balance of keeping the great work that the company created before I started and adding me into the mix is tricky.  We all miss Allegra, and watching footage of her work has reminded me of how we all bring such different and strong ideas to the table.  

We also have Liam to thank for these amazing photos-I just noticed that he is not in any of them...but I assure you, he is actually here. 

There is a great deal of work to come, as well as showers, meals, bug bites (I have five so far!) and laughter.  It is really a dream come true to be back in the place that we all met and to be doing the work that brought us together.  Stay tuned for more to come...
Molly Tomhave-company member.

           

Remember when we threw a dance party here?

Where was that gelato place that was amazing?

Arezzo looks exactly the same as I remember it!

Today was a day of adjusting our internal clocks, loading up on essential supplies, and laying out our game plan. The surprisingly hot morning began with much-needed cappuccinos and cornetti at a local bar. The company then hiked through fields of grapevines to a local supermarket to buy enough food to last us for at least our first few days of rehearsals. We had a productive mid-afternoon lunch meeting where Ali and Dory presented our tentative schedule of rehearsals. We’ll first work on warm up and exercises, then start playing around with some of the material we already have. We’re very excited to begin collaborating with our newest Tut’Zanni member, the inimitable Molly Tomhave! She’ll be a welcome addition to our show, and we’re excited to see how the show (and company!) grows with her input and energetic spirit added to the mix.

The late afternoon was spent re-acquainting ourselves with the beautiful walled city of Arezzo. Can’t say it’s changed a lot since we were together in 2006, but hey, the city’s been around for thousands of years – why change a good thing? After an unexpected wine tasting, some excellent gelato and a vigorous hike back up to the Villa, we’re enjoying the last few moments of a leisurely Tuscan day before we set off to work rehearsing Art for Sale and counting down the days to the Crisis Art Festival at the Accademia dell’Arte!