Then Graham introduced us to some of the characters.
We began by looking at the four stock characters found in
Commedia:
·
The old man
·
The servant
·
The lovers
·
The captain
We also looked at the role of the master and the servant and
completed an exercise in pairs where one person would take on the role of a dog
and would have to listen to the commands of their owner, such as “sit” and “fetch”.
A further take on this was to change the behaviour of the
dog from good to bad and then to distracted. The exercise swiftly moved us in
the direction of the first character we would be exploring.
Zanni: The
Zanni is a servant, bottom of the status ladder. The stance of a Zanni is to
have the knees slightly bent and shoulders hunched slightly, this shows the low
status of the character. This means that the voice of a Zanni would be “common”
or perhaps “cockney”. A Zanni base
stance is to have one leg bent while the other is extended out ensuring the
heel is on the floor, the base stance resembles a lunge. The three things Zanni
likes is food, sex and sleep and can get easily distracted by any of these
things.
We did an exercise where we could hear a fly buzzing around
and we had to use quick head movement to try and find the fly, this quick
movement is a common characteristic of Zanni.
All characters in Commedia have recognisable base stances
and walks and the walk of Zanni was the first we explored.
Big Step:
This consists of hunching the shoulders over as you walk and bending the knees.
As one leg comes up it is bent at the knee and turned out slightly while the
alternating arm swings forward, and then you repeat the same position on the
other leg. The higher you lift the leg the “bigger the step is”, so if you
change the walk so you only hunch over slightly and your legs are only an inch
off the floor this is a “small” big step. The bigger the step is the slower the
walk is, and this walk can be used if a Zanni was sneaking around or trying to
be quiet.
Big Step
Three Step:
The three step is likely to be used if the character is in a rush. The walk consist
of taking a step forward and then the other foot steps backward and then the
first step foot steps forward again, it is similar to a ball change. (Example:
left/forward, right/backward, left/forward and then begin step on right foot.
With this walk it is important not to skip but ensure that each step is a “step”
otherwise it appears as if you are galloping around the stage.
Sleep: When
a Zanni sleeps they do not sit down, this is because if they were to sleep on
the floor it would limit the view to the audience and so they sleep standing
up. They generally place one leg across the other leg and then rest their elbow
on their knee. As this position tests your balance there is a good chance you
will lose your balance and this gives you the opportunity to change sleeping
position emphasising how much a Zanni loves their sleep. A Zanni will sleep
talk about either food or sex and will most likely wake up with one of these in
mind.
Scared Run:
The scared run is used when something scares a Zanni, an example we did was
walking around the space and then running in the opposite direction when a dog
started barking. The scared run is characterised by high knees and leaning far
back when running, this run is now known as the cartoon run but originated from
Commedia dell’ Arte theatre.
Captain:
The captain is of a higher status than a Zanni, he would me the Master to a
Zanni. The Captain’s stance is to push his chest out to show his power and
importance and when he walks he leads with his chin, suggesting he is above
others.
Muscle Walk:
The muscle walk is almost like a strut as the shoulders are pushed back and the
chest is pushed out, this emphasises the large presence of the Captain on the
stage.
Mountain Walk:
The mountain walk is similar to the muscle walk but could be seen as a way of showing
off. This walk involved moving the leg in a circular motion when it lifts up, as
the thigh lines up with the hip it is rolled around so it is then in line with
the hip to the side of the body. The arms are kept by the side but the power of
the Captain is still visible in the way they are placed.
Captains like to play jokes on one another and if they’re
scared they will brush off the fear as if they were joking around. They wish to
impress the women and show off their power and bravery but if scared they will
do the scared run.
Showing off run:
This run is much like the scared run but instead the torso leans forward rather
than backwards and the arms move forwards and backwards. If the Captain trips
over they will recover as if they meant to do it.
An exercise we did for the Captain was to form two lines
facing once another and to give a brief speech introducing ourselves and trying
to out-do one another with our war stories. We explored the Captain’s voice by
making it quite deep and I found that I sounded slightly like Father Christmas
in the tone I used when laughing.
La Signora:
Is the female equivalent of the Captain, she too walks with her chest out
and leads with her chin. She walks with her hips allowing her to show off her
femininity. The Captain will either try to impress La Signora or run away
scared as he is intimidated by such a strong female character.
The Lovers:
The Lovers are high status characters but are all consumed by their infatuation
for others. The lovers are very elegant and are always stood with one leg bent
and one leg straight. Below their hips they are grounded and above they are
light and airy, this allows lots of arm movement. The lovers are the only
characters who are able to lift their heel off the ground, but it can only be
for a few moments. When the lovers notice someone they move their body in
stages. First they clock with their eyes, then their heads turn, then their
chests and then their feet.
We did an exercise where we went around the room and would
spot someone and make our way towards them and then clock someone else and then
change direction.
By the end of day one we had already had the chance to work
with masks and looked at the techniques of four characters.
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