From Italy with laughs…

A trip to Singapore to catch Italy’s Luoghi Dell’Arte in action was all it took for the ball to start rolling. The next thing we knew, Marco Luoghi and Luciana Codispoti were on our shores, ready to enlighten the select few on the art of physical comedy. Organized by The Ensemble Theatre of Kuala Lumpur with the assistance of ISKL and Cultural Dept of University of Malaya, this was the first time a Commedia dell'arte course was held in Kuala Lumpur.

Playing comedy is itself a challenge  …

Doing comedy is not as easy as some people choose to think. And this is a known fact. But doing comedy in the Commedia dell'arte way, with masks, improvisation and audience participation all rolled in, is another ballgame altogether. And Marco and Luciana confirmed that in their demonstration in the workshop. Though barely 5 mins long, their skits were a gem to watch. Their effortless portrayal of each character with the use of masks, their spontaneous improvisations, effectiveness of their economy of movement, clarity of story and their strong vocal projections are cause enough for anyone’s admiration, audience and aspiring actors alike.

The title, Commedia dell'arte ("Comedy of Art" or "Comedy of the profession"), means unwritten or improvised drama. It implies rather to the manner of performance than to the subject matter of the play. This peculiar species had a long life in Italy, probably of about four hundred years (from the 14th to the 18th century); but it flourished especially in the 16th and 17th centuries.

In actual practice, the play was not, in any sense, a result of the moment's inspiration. The subject was chosen, the characters conceived and named, their relations to one another determined, and the situations clearly outlined, all beforehand. The material was then divided into acts and scenes, with a prologue. The situations were made clear, together with the turn of action and the outcome of each scene. Once this general outline (also known as scenario or canvas) was satisfactorily filled out, it was then left to the actors to heighten, vary, and embellish their parts as their genius might suggest.

The necessity for smoothness, constant surprise, clarity, and wit called forth histrionic abilities which had been unknown to the medieval stage. "The actors had to find the proper words to make the tears flow or the laughter ring; they had to catch the sallies of their fellow-actors on the wing, and return them with prompt repartee. The dialogue must go like a merry game of ball or spirited sword-play, with ease and without a pause." Such parts required actors to be able to make a serious study of their parts; actors who took pride in their achievements, and were willing to accept the discipline which all professional art demands.

These comedians had ever since, changed the standards of acting. The best of them stamped their parts with individuality, freshness and brilliance, and gave value to pieces which, often enough, were otherwise worthless. The Commedia dell'arte introduced the professional actor into Europe.

Have mask will play…

In the course of the development of Commedia dell'arte, a tradition was born. One that grew and had held fast for many years.

Known as stock characters, the rascally servant, the old man, the lady's maid, and the like, who appeared in every play, always wore a conventional costumes, with masks.

These masks may be classed under four or five groups:
1. Pantalone and the Doctor - old men
2. Captain - a young man of adventure
3. Zanni – valet, male servant or jester
4. Punchinello – a hunchback
5. Another old man - somewhat different from the first two.

Pantalone was usually a shop-keeper from Vienna, somewhat stupid, fond of food and of pretty women, talkative, gullible, full of temper, the butt of all the jokes--some of them very indecent--yet forgiving in the end. His business was to get deceived by his young wife, or his son, or his servant. The second old man, the Doctor, filled the part of a lawyer, an astrologer, or perhaps a philosopher from Bologna. Sometimes he represented an absent-minded pedant, quoting Latin at inappropriate times, and enormously conceited. The bragging Captain, a boasting, swashbuckling officer, often Spanish, dressed-to-kill in cape, feathered hat, high boots, with sword in belt, was always a prime favorite. He told extraordinary tales about how he had beaten a whole army of Turks and carried off the beard of the Sultan, but when there was a hint of real danger he’d be the first to run. He made love to the none-too-innocent servant maid, and got trashed by her Harlequin lover. This is just a brief introduction to the nature of a performance in Commedia dell'arte.

18 hours of discovery …

In this pioneer workshop that took place in the course of three days in a studio in ISKL, the 22 selected participants learnt the basics in:

• weight transference
• breaking the lines of your body to change one’s physicality to suit a certain character
• physical behaviour and speech styles of the characters
• simple and effective movements to convey the story clearly to the audience
  
• audience interaction to elicit response and add to the rhythm of the performance
  
• enunciation, diaphragmatic breathing and speaking, voice manipulation
  
• the fundamentals of acting with masks.

Wearing a mask is one, giving life to it is another. Making it part of your face, part of your soul is a skill. And all of us had the opportunity to learn and feel the difference when you do make the mask yours, and when you don’t.

The days were divided into two sessions. Marco trained us on the acting, the physical manifestations and the improvisational approaches. He also briefly touched on all the stock character, with a basic outline for every character. From how Pantalone talked and walked, to how Harlequino jumped across the stage. As for Luciana, she guided us in voice techniques. She explained the fundamentals in breathing and speaking correctly using the diaphragm, with tips on throwing our voices and some invaluable enunciation exercises.

On the last day of the workshop, participants were divided into groups and were given basic structures and given circumstances to come up with an improvised piece of their own. Each group was given a mask to use in any way relevant to their respective stories.

Marco and Luciana have expressed their interest in paying another visit to KL later in the year, this time for a much longer period, with an intensive and more detailed set of workshops. In fact, the possibility of a full-length performance with them in KL is being explored at time of writing.

Generous gratitude to:

ISKL and Mark Webber for the complimentary studio space and lunch, and the student  
   go-fers for their assistance in that three days.
Cultural Department of University Malaya for the financial support.

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