Casting a Commedia Troupe

Casting is a very important aspect of Commedia Dell'arte. Different stock characters are reliant on different body types, and the overall meld of the cast is also important. In most show's, it is important to only choose the people that are right for the part, but in these situations where the outcome is based on the chemistry of the cast as a whole, it is important to cast people that all work well together. Going off the idea of Commedia Dell'arte, stock characters are dependent on certain body-types. For example Florindo, or the Capitano stock character, needs to be someone of higher stature with a built body. The typical stereotype is a big strong man that is charismatic, so casting a small, lanky, quiet person would not be the best choice. The same can be said of Truffaldino, in that casting someone small and lanky would be ideal. He is constantly stating how hungry he is and how he would do everything for food, and having a large individual would not ring true in the imaginary circumstance. So in a way, casting is one of the most important aspects of this performance.

Work Cited:
Google Images Search: "servant of two masters"

Performance Space

Commedia Dell'arte is closely based on the audience and response from the audience. So the performance space needed is one that is close to the audience. A proscenium style theater would not be the ideal venue for a performance like Servant of Two Masters. Instead, a thrust or arena seating would bring the actors close to the audience and enhance the interactions. This play breaks the "fourth wall" constantly and in doing so engages the audience as part of the show. As a result, the actors are not the only people propelling the show forward. Being able to walk through the audience, sit on audience members, and essentially use the seating as a continuation of the stage would be a great asset to the performance as a whole. This type of theater requires a lot of slap stick, cheap humor, and audiences love to be involved in something funny. It is the actors job to give the audience there money worth, so obviously the happy medium would be to present something funny and allow the audience to partake in the humor making them feel satisfied in both ways.

Work Cited:
Google Images Search: "diagrams of arena/thrust seating"

Education of the Style

Central is an educational institution first, production group second. Therefore it is important that those acting in the roles know their history of Commedia Dell'Arte. This includes performance style, original methods and process, and knowledge of stock characters. The type of comedy that is present of Servant of Two Masters is a special brand of humor. It relies on strong physical humor and interactions with other characters. In order to produce an accurate representation of Commedia, the actors must be trained in the style of acting. In John Rudlin's monograph Commedia Dell'Arte: The Actor's Handbook, Rudlin goes into great detail about effort put in to produce authentic comedy in early modern Italy. ".... [A]ctors took pre-existing folk forms, improvised masking, music and dance and developed them into a theatrical medium... making them, virtually, professional secrets..." (Rudlin 2). Actors should have the same knowledge, creativity, and connection with the other actors to make this performance as authentic as possible.

Work Cited:
Rudlin, John. Commedia Dell'arte: an Actor's Handbook. London: Routledge, 1994. Print.

Adapting to an Environment

The importance of performance is extremely high in Commedia Dell'Arte. In general when this was performed classically, it would be performed anywhere from a theater to a street corner, and all the actors had to intrigue an audience of passing people is there performance. Complete dedication to the actions, and bold choices are the "spectacle" when it comes to this form of theater. Including masks and bright costuming, the attention of the people is completely based on the performance itself. This could be helped with an audience's participation. Having actor asides, improved interactions, and pulling jokes from bystanders in the crowd is another useful tool used to create a successful show. As stated in Brockett's text, "... Adaptability was one key to their success [as a troupe]" (Brockett 172). For this performance, as done in Early Modern Italy, the troupe casted in Servant of Two Masters, must play and rely on each other, the situations, and the audience's reactions to the show itself.

Work Cited:
Google Images Search: "commedia dell'arte lighting"

Brockett, Oscar G. "Commedia Dell'Arte." History of the Theatre. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2007. 168-73. Print.

Lighting Design

Most of the audiences attention should be drawn towards the acting and performance and not as much the spectacle. The costuming should be the only stand out aspect in terms of design but that is to help identify characters and assist the action as a whole. Lighting is not as important in Commedia Dell'Arte. As a result, the lighting design should be very minimalistic. Blank, bright washes to show the action should be the majority of the design. The basic's should still come into play in terms of shadows and some color, with as few black outs as possible. Part of the humor of Commedia Dell'Arte is the fast pace of the show. Blackouts only slow down the pace, therefore, should be limited to top of show, intermission, and end of show. Some colors may be used, still in a general wash, in association with a certain character, event, or mood that is shown overall in a scene. Overall, keep lighting to a minimum: it should only be used to assist the action and actors.







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Google Images Search: "commedia dell'arte lighting"

Costuming with Stock

The beauty and hardship of costuming Servant of Two Masters is both the lack of freedom to design, and the intricacy of the costuming already needed with stock characters. Going back to the example of Pantelone, many of the design choices have already been made. This takes away the creative process in building the costume, but at the same time presents the challenge of living up to the classic example already made. Much the same with Arlecchino and his patching covering his body. It is a tight jacket with many colors of patches. This is the design now seen on classic Harlequin dolls that are bright and colorful. The stock character Arlecchino appears in The Servant of Two Masters as the main character, Truffaldino. The classic example of this costume can be seen in the following link: 

Harlequin Costume Design


Work Cited:
Video Search Result: "commedia dell'arte costume" 

http://www1.american.edu/IRVINE/jenn/arlecchino.htm 

Physical Blocking

It is most important in this style of theater to have physical movement throughout. This style is based on physicality and interaction with the set and other actors. It can be closely related to farce, or slap stick comedy. Between this and the asides inside the script, the audience interaction and response was very important. In Matthew Buckley's scholarly article Eloquent Action: the Body and Meaning in Early Commedia Dell'Arte", Buckley describes how the physical movement plays into the audiences response and interactions with the story. "...[T]he actors in a way had two sets of speech happening at the same time. One with the literal dialogue of the play, and the other involving the physical movement closely associated with each character" (Buckley 278). So not only was physicality important, but it helped tell the story and explain the subtext of certain situations and dialogue.

For this performance, it will be very important to include all of these necessary aspects of physical movement to give an accurate representation of Commedia Dell'Arte. Physical movement to Commedia is like absurd actions or dialogue in an absurdest play. It is the structure for the style of theater.

Work Cited:
Buckley, Matthew. "ELOQUENT ACTION: THE BODY AND MEANING IN EARLY COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE." Theatre Survey. 50.2 (2009): 251-315. Print.