Mask Arts Company Blog

By Stanley Allan Sherman
© copyright September 14, 2012

The Clown Cabaret is a combination of:

1. Previews of up coming show in the NY Clown Theater Festival
2. Clowns who have shows of their own and not performing their full show in the festival so they do a piece of it in the Cabaret
3. Clowns who have a new piece they are trying out
4. Clowns that do not have a full show yet and are performing a little of what they are doing

I am going to start with the last piece of the evening and the shortest piece of the evening because it by far out shined the rest of the evening. Mona Ray from Finland – Don’t run, Rush! Playing September 19^th at 8:30, 16^th at 5:30 and 20^th at 8:30.  Of all the clowns Mona was the true clown of this evening.  She has totally honest reactions and timing.  Something many clowns can use – simple.  You do not need a lot to be truly touching the soul funny.  The main thing she did was telling people to go home.  Mona then gets about five audience members up to help her tell the audience to go home after we do not leave, with movement, gesture, voice and soul we are all belly laughing from the inside out.  Mona had the shortest piece of the evening.

Summer Shapiro from SF – In the Boudoir: September 16^th at 8:30, 22^nd at 7 PM and 27^th at 7 PM.   This is Summer’s third or fourth festival and each time she comes in with a totally different show.  This is another totally different show.  Coming out in a white wedding dress soon she is choosing a man of her liking who is sitting in the audience, she is embracing him gently the next thing we know she hides him under her dress and more.  This show is full of clown innocents, sexy, playing with and breaking or shattering edges of what is appropriate.   Looks like a fun funny show.

Denni Dennis and Kate Taylor – Unbearable Lightness:  September 14^th at 7 PM and 17^th at 7 PM.  This looks very much like a dance clown theater piece.  If you have never seen a tall man in point shoes and doing point – which is odd, beautiful and funny this is your chance. Kate is wonderful in her movement and character.  They are both devils in total red.  Again Denni Dennis pushes the creative envelop and we really will not know what this show is about until we see it.  It will most likely have some surprises – this show is guaranteed to be different and fun.

Mr. and Mrs. Clown – Blind Love:  Funny, sexy, dirty, Mr. Clown takes on four or five cartoon style Commedia characters.  This is a cartoon and it is funny and works.  Mrs. Clown plays this extremely sexy totally too innocent blind girl from the country looking for a husband and looking to be taken advantage of and take advantage.  Yes it is that girl one hears about in various dirty jokes. She is a powerhouse, with her long white cane she uses to get around, swing it with full force looking for a husband.  Mr. Clown in various cartooned Commedia masks comes out in different characters to take advantage or being too stupid to take advantage.  This was definitely different fun edgy piece.

Billy Schultz  – Dramatic Re-enactment of Country Life – Gooper Junior:  This is a brand new piece.  Billy introduces his father who died wrestling raccoon or some other animal.  He has a big cooler of spoons and passes then all out to the audience so each person has two spoons.  He takes out his fiddle and he is playing and we are all tapping our spoon together because music is what brings the critter out.  We keep on playing the song faster until the mime critter comes and Gooper Junior start the family tradition of wrestling.  Most of Gooper’s clothes are ripped off and Gooper wins but then the big critter comes and his only defense is for everyone to throw their spoons, which everyone does, and we see a shower of spoon coming on to the stage.   This was a successful totally original piece for its first outing.  My only concern was someone in the upper seats who is a bad throw hitting an audience member in the lower seats.

James & JF – We’re Not Here:  This show is not in the festival but it will be performed somewhere in NYC in the near future.  These two ladies are living in your parent’s closet.  Shssss don’t tell. One gets caught hanging in a coat twirling around.  They sing songs; eat all in their closet world.  This is another very odd very fascinating new piece by Jame and JF and from the short piece they showed it is sure to be another excellent show by these two creative ladies.  Look for it in the future http://www.jamesandjf.com/ .

Fantasy Grandma or Grandma’s were the MC’s for the night.  J&B came out with a tray of cherry tuna jell-o along with some spoon and paper bowls and passed it to the audience to help themselves.  The Grandma’s are a little in the world of blue humor and can be a little raunchy at times – but funny.  The challenge for the MC is not to do their whole show in between each act but keep the whole pace of the show moving, introducing the acts and do short pieces sometimes very short bits.  The record at the Clown Theater Festival Cabaret’s is 50% MC that go way to long and 50% that are right on target, great MC’s and move the show along.  The Grandma’s started to move into too long % at the end.   But they were funny, had great reactions and we all laughed.

Z Smith – Pepito’s Big Date:  Pepito comes out in an amazing red thick-striped costume from toe to neck to fingers.  She is a lovable character, trying to move a trunk, taking out a cabbage and making it look like her, using it as a puppet.  Finally she starts to eat the cabbage and that is when the MC’s come out and chase her off stage.

The Vindlevoss Family Circus Spectacular – Animal Engine.  This was a piece about a professor a woman with an overly big costume mustache and her aide who is a zombie, a fellow with white make-up and costume store plastic big teeth and instead of eating people he eats broccoli. She has her zombie do various tricks until he refuses.  The festival saw this same piece last year or the year before.   It would be great to see this little very odd circus push their creative performance and technique envelop.

It was a great NY Clown Theater Festival Cabaret.

The New York Clown Theater Festival runs through Sept. 30th at the Brick Theater http://www.bricktheater.com

Company from LA
No credits where provided for this show

By Stanley Allan Sherman
© copyright September 14, 2012

Poe and Mathews is an imitative adventure of a Edgar Allen Poe character that always is referring to his poems and is very self-absorbed and Mathew a loveable fool who is always causing trouble.  The whole play evolves around the fact they are stuck on this island trying to get off.   How they spend their time is everything.  When you have nothing to do, stuck on an island, what do you do?  Poe hates and loves Mathew and Mathew loves everything and anything, Mathew even creates an extra friend of a rock.  They play children’s games and each week on this island it is a different game.  Poe longs for his home and his writing desk.  Mathew just loves being in the moment.  These two performers play well together and the stage combat hits and slaps are very good.  Most of their hits one does not see the set-up only the action.  This is a fun simple show and these performers play it well.    Their audience was laughs from beginning to end.

Final show is September 14 at 10:00 PM.

The New York Clown Theater Festival runs through Sept. 30th at the Brick Theater http://www.bricktheater.com

Staring Mark Jaster & Sabrina Mandell
Director: Elena Day
Writer: Antony Bolante
Co-producers: Antony Bolante, Elena Day
Video Editing: Antony Bolante
Videography: Antony Bolante, Michael Day, Dan Catalano

By Stanley Allan Sherman
© copyright September 13, 2012

Mark Jaster and Sabrina Mandell, I loved.  They were funny, joyful, playful and the exchanges between them were great.  The pie in the face lecture was fun.  Sabrina’s testing piece was freeing.  I will not tell you what it is because I do not want to give it away.

We have a lot of video of clowns talking about clowning, clown theology and themselves.  These clowns are not in make-up or doing bits.  They are just as they are talking to us on video.   The only video clip that really worked for me was Amy G, because it included a few clips of her doing drop down really funny on the edge stuff; showing timing, skills and just being wonderfully funny.  Even if the videos looked like they were taken with a cheep cell phone, it was the best part of all the videos and I stayed fully awake.  The rest of the videos quality where excellent, it was good seeing my buddy Hovey Burgess talking about clowns.  For the most part I do not remember anything any of them said.  In fact I was falling a sleep during some of Bill Irwin, Jeff Raz and others.  Even thought I do not believe they are boring.  There was one part of the video where they had endless clowns saying the exact same phrase. For the people that really enjoy and love seeing clowns talking about clowning, hearing theory, theology on clowns and see a little of it in action; plus seeing several working clowns talking about clowning this is the show for you.   This show does have a place somewhere, but I will not be looking for it Off Broadway as three other shows in the festival could rise to.  Director Elena Day and writer Antony Bolante failed to find how to use all this video well or maybe it is the editing and plain backgrounds.

The live clowns in on the nOse were wonderful and they get credit for their play together and a really nice dramatic line.  Love the love tension between the Mark and Sabrina.  Would like to see a lot less video and a lot more of them.  They did do some interaction with the videos, maybe they need a lot more.

Final Show is tonight, Thursday September 13, 2012 at 7 PM

The New York Clown Theater Festival runs through Sept. 30th at the Brick Theater http://www.bricktheater.com

From Mexico
Created by: Devon de Mayo, Seth Bockley and La Piara
Featuring La Piara: Artus Chavez Novelo, Frenando Cordova Hernandez, Madeleine Sierra
Sound Design: Nick Keenan
Costume Design: Mieka van der Ploeg
Assistant Director: Will Bishop
Lighting Design: Gifford Willams

By Stanley Allan Sherman
© copyright September 12, 2012

Mexico today is going through some very bad times with unspeakable violence.   The clowns and fools job is to put the mirror up to society so they can see their reflection and laugh at what is not funny.  Yet we are belly laughing in this very powerful piece of clown-theater.

Opening we hear only rhythm, marching; in comes the two main clowns one the captain and other his aide holding a checkered flag.   Guerra is full of lazzi and it starts with the putting the flag on the flagpole.  The flagpole does not have a line to host the flag and the aide goes through five minutes of hilariously action trying to put the flag on top and each time failing bigger.   Not a word is said through this whole routine.  What you have in La Piara is a company that is well trained in many arts and especially the art of mimes; the aide is excellent at it.

This is a brilliantly simple play that only clowns and fools can get away with.  The aide will do anything for his captain and totally respects him.  On the simple desk the phone rings.  The ringing sound of the phone is done by the aid as well as the muffled sound that his captain is listing to.   There are many calls through out this clown-theater play where the captain gets his orders.  We are going to war get new recruits.  There are things I will not tell you so not to spoil some of the many surprises.  They get a recruit and it is a woman.  They go through a very short training hand her rifle and send her off to fight the war.  She goes off alone while the captain and his aide wish her well.

The audience participation takes a new twist on an old theme.   Because these are clowns, they get away with how they use the audience creating two very dynamic moment and funny at the same time.   The relationship between the captain and the general on the phone is total respect but it also get a little kinky at times, all done with reactions and the muffled sounds of his aide.  It is not only funny but everyone that is aware of real life problems with the military is laughing and at the same time going, oh-ya that is a real problem.

The recruit comes back from the front lines several times and each time it is worse and she gets more and more damaged from the horrors of war.  The aide asks her, “did you see.” Then he mimes out various tragedies that happen.  After each time, “did you see this?” She confirms yes.  Each time she goes more into shock.  And we are laughing at this. The aide mime out, blood thirsty, cruel, curdling, horrors and then goes deeper into victims of war, a baby nursing on its mother’s breast, splat and nothing is speared from us.  It works. The mime gets into such details and yes we are laughing and maybe crying on the inside.  Which is some of the power of true clowns.

The end I felt can be a little stronger.  Also I happen to be a paper airplane expert having done a paper airplane show in my own show for decades.  I love the colored airplane but they need to be mastered like you master everything else in the show.

There is dance and French, Spanish and English spoken.  Because of all the mime, sound effects anyone of any language can follow the show with ease.   There is some recorded music in the show but none of it is credited.   But sound design is and it is done well by Nick Keenan.  Costumes design by Mieka van der Ploeg is simple, funny and powerful.

This is a great piece of clown-theater not to be missed.  The only tragedy is there are only two more shows for Guerra at The NY Clown Theater Festival this year, Wednesday September 12 at 7 PM and Friday at 8:30 PM.  This is one of three shows so far in this festival that is worthy enough to have a real New York run.

The New York Clown Theater Festival runs through Sept. 30th at the Brick Theater http://www.bricktheater.com

Creators: Jan Henderson, Anna Bado, Adam Keefe and Christine Lesiak
Directed by: Jan Henderson
Assistant Director: Anna Bado
Rocket: Adam Keefe
Sheshells: Christine Lesiak

Stage Manager: Anna Bado
Doll Construction: Geri Dittrich
Photography: Marc-Julien Objois
Poster Art: Matthew Schuurman
Voila Music: Kevin Kornelson & Robert Clinton
Administration: Faye Stollery

By Stanley Allan Sherman
© copyright September 10, 2012

Fools for Love from Canada, is a not to be missed Show in the 2012 New York Clown Theater Festival.  From the first two Clown Theater Festivals in the 1980’s most of the shows were a series of bits put together and presented on a stage.  There were maybe two or three shows that were really Clown Theater dealing with one theme with a beginning, middle and end.  Now in 2012 we are having more shows that are really hitting this new world of Clown Theater.  Fools for Love is a real theater piece about trying to find love and not realizing it is right in front of you.  Only this play is in clown so the truths are right in your face and we are able to laugh with them.  Each clown has their toy lover they substitute for real love in their lonely time.  For Rocket it is a Barbie doll, which he does many things with often ending stuffing Barbie down into his crotch.  Sheshells has a wonderful about four-foot rag style custom-made doll, which she has tea with, proper lady like encounters and more.

There are a few sessions where our two clowns are reading the personals looking for the right lover.  They are clever, people relate and are fun.  They even slipped in a few of today’s political funny points.  The fact that they read the personals more than once is fine and it get better each time they search the personals.  Rocket and Sheshells both move very well and their action is well directed.  At one point they are in the basement of their apartment building.  Their lights have gone out and they are looking for the fuse box.  The flashlight shadows and light play is wonderful.  At one point Rocket’s shadow of a large hand looks like it is picking Sheshells.  Sheshells at one point plays catch with the light, just a beautiful image.

These clowns felt comfortable enough where they sometime referred and played with the audience. Audience interaction was joyful.  Sheshells is pulling a folding chair over her head and it goes all the way down and she climbs out of the chair.  As many people know in the front row at most the shows is Mr. Jim Moore famous photographer of New York clowns since the 1970’s http://www.vaudevisuals.com.  Jim is shooting the chair going over Sheshells head and shoulders.  This chair is really tight going over her shoulders, down her back and breast, getting each arm free, all this squeezing results in creating clown cleavage.  She calmly, looks at Jim who shooting lot of photos of this difficult moment and says, “Lot of pictures of this!”  Sheshells played and uses the facts her clown cleavage was there and Jim Moore was shooting it.  It was a wonderful gift, which Sheshells takes full advantage of, using it to heighten the life of this lovely show.  Of course the person laughing the hardest was Jim Moore.

There is real drama and laughs throughout the Fools for Love, which is well directed by Jan Henderson and developed by this creative team.   The lonely frustration time of these two clowns are very lonely and frustrated.  The absolute fear and drama of taking just a clown friendship and crossing that threshold to clown love is brilliantly played.

Fools for Love only has one more performance at the NY Clown Theater Festival, Monday night September 10 at 7:00 PM.  Fools for Love is a show you do not want to miss.

The New York Clown Theater Festival runs through Sept. 30th at the Brick Theater http://www.bricktheater.com

By: Stanley Allan Sherman
© copyright September 10, 2012

The Spymonkey workshop was led by Aitro Basauri of Spain along with other members of the company.  This was a five-day workshop from 10 AM to 4 PM from September 5^th through 9^th.   If you are unfamiliar with Spymonkey there are several youtube videos you can see.  The goals of the workshop was to discover, “what makes you funny, hone your skills and practice making an audience belly laugh.”   It looked like there were about 20 people in the class for the presentation.  Some people in their costume I did not even recognize.  Bottom line. Yes Aitro’s students where funny.  Yes I even had a few belly laughs.   It was good to see some people pushing their envelopes, maybe going where they have always wanted to go but never did.  There were ongoing Shakespeare takeoffs dealing with Macbeth, fun break out dancing to music, surprises you would not expect.  One piece did not achieve good laughs.  There were mostly good laughs from the audience from start to finish.  One member of Spymonkey mentioned to me afterwards, “it is great to have them go before a live audience because it give a real boost of energy to the students.”

The NY Clown theater festival continues to bring teachers like this in for the clown and performance community to take advantage of and to give their creativity a boost.   Next for Spymonkey they go to Los Vegas to teach another workshop.   If you have never seen them perform, I do urge you to take a peek at youtube search Spymonkey or go to their website is http://www.spymonkey.co.uk.

There are two more workshops coming up at The New York Clown Theater Festival: Clown Intuition lead by the very talented Denni Dennis from Wales and a few other places in the world.  This workshop is September 15^th & 16^th from 10 AM to 4 PM.

One of US! A Bouffon Emersion led by NY Clown Theater Festival director Audrey Crabtree of NYC takes place September 22^nd & 23^rd from 10 AM to 4 PM.

For more information about these workshops go to http://www.bricktheater.com

NY Clown Theater Festival

Written and Created by: Alan Fessenden with Giovanni Fusetti & The Geniuses
Clown: Bartholomew

By: Stanley Allan Sherman
© copyright September 9, 2012

What a wonderful clown.  Never misses anything that happens, no matter how small.  Bartholomew picks up on it and it is part of the show.  Evan at the opening, talking about giving him your candy wrappers so he can unwrap them and place them backstage so you will not disturb the audience (when you want a candy, just tell him and he will go back stage get your candy and throw it at you) and welcoming latecomers.  It is all part of the joy of seeing Bartholomew in action.

Once Bartholomew starts, there is no stopping.  Yes, it is about life and death, going to places that are normally uncomfortable to speak about.  Only a clown can speak about the vagina, mother and death telling total truth and have everyone laughing. Bartholomew is a talking clown with good movement.  Bartholomew’s use of mime is good, clean and simple.  You do not notice that it is mime; it is part of the piece, like the rocking casket that rocks back and forth.

Creating various characters at his funeral, he is tries to find out how he died.  He throws some attendees out.  Others he welcomes.  Audience participation is fun and funny, helping to build the show with at-the-moment improvisation.

There was a short point where it started to be a little bit of the same thing over and over again, but then it shifted into another level and the show picked up again.  We laughed, there were sad serious movements.  People did not cry, but Bartholomew is capable of taking us there.

Great show, it was funny.  Unfortunately this was Bartholomew’s only scheduled show of the festival.   Hopefully he will be doing it again somewhere soon.   He is one clown that knows what clowning is.  In its own way Bartholomew and “What If I’m Dead” rises to the level of Clown Theater.    

The New York Clown Theater Festival runs through Sept. 30th at the Brick Theater http://www.bricktheater.com

By Stanley Allan Sherman
© copyright September 9, 2012

Machinations by Cirque This
Created and performed by: Lauri Berritta, Andy Dickerson, Perry Gravin, Ethan Leinwand and Jason Leinwand

Directed by: Andy Dickerson
Original Music and Animation by: Ethan Leinwand
Arts/Props Direction: Jason Leinwand
Lighting Design: Andy Dickerson
Lighting Board/Projection Operator: Natasha Ross

It is always great to have original music, especially live original music and sound effects, which were provided by the talented Ethan Leinwand.  He went from just being the musician to my favorite character in the show.  He played with the moments  musically, interacting with the individuals and stage action.  What I loved about Ethan is he was always real, honest in the music and his character.  The use of his music in the show was very elementary for the most part.  There is much more there to play with on different levels.

A lot of work went into this show and you can tell.  It is a weird show, which is good.  You could say it borders a little bit in the modern dance world.  The props are interesting.  To their credit they do use all their props.  For me, the over all show did not bring me in.  At times the characters, other than Ethan, seemed to be pretending to be their characters.  For a Clown Theater Festival, I only saw the very beginnings of their clowns at most.  I would love to see the show with full-out clowning and it does not need to be red nosed. That is not what I saw, or the direction taken by director Andy Dickerson.  There were several good moments.   Loved the stick figure dancers. They were original (at least I never saw it before). They played with it.  It was fun.

One major movement piece is with gears.  This was a combination of prop manipulation and dance.  The gears were big and we really wanted to see them work with each other.  They moved around the stage but never really spun. A magic did not happen.  There was plenty of potential.  When you have props like these, they must be totally investigated and the people operating them really must master them. This is Clown Theater, and you must be total masters of your props.   They must become much more than props.  There seemed to be a surface level being played with most of the props and characters.  The props looked fun and some of them did things.

One character played by Andy Dickerson, concentrated on a spoon throughout the show trying to bend it with his mind. He had a good moment when he bent the spoon with his hand.  The animation was fun at times.  Ultimately I would love to see more totally down to earth honest clowning in Machinations.

This was their only show in the festival.  “Cirque This” is a local NY company and for more information about them go to their website www.cirquethis.com and if they are a circus company I saw no circus in this show but from their website I noticed they do have several different shows.

The New York Clown Theater Festival runs through Sept. 30th at the Brick Theater http://www.bricktheater.com

By: Stanley Allan Sherman

© August 30, 2012

Fay Lecoq had profound effects on many people, including me.  Theater artists and to be theater artists from around the world went to study with her husband Jacques Lecoq.  Fay was essential in making it all happen. You would not think saying,  “Have a good day” could change someone’s life.  It did.

Found out about Ecole Jacques Lecoq Theater Mime Movement in the middle of the desert.  I was in Israel living, working, studying mime and dance after graduating high school in the US.  While hitchhiking near the Dead Sea, no one was stopping; it was getting dark and cold.  A driver picked me up asked, “What are doing?”   I told her, “I am going to study mime at Marcel Marceau’s school.”  She said, “No!  Study with Jacques Lecoq in Paris.  Go to the French embassy and they will give you the address.”  I applied and the answer was yes.  There I was with two letters of acceptance. Looking at both of them Marcel’s was all business.  The letter from Lecoq’s was personal.  Of course it was from Fay. I will never forget that letter.  She ended the letter with, “Have a good day.”  

Hitch hiking to Paris from Israel all I thought about were the two letters, two different opportunities.   As I got closer to Paris looking at the letters, Lecoq’s was personal and that is how the school would be, personal.   Fay is the reason I went to Ecole Jacques Lecoq Theater Mime Movement, which is what it was called in 1970.  It was her that made the difference for me at the beginning.   The energy of the letter was wonderful.   She made a difference for so many, in all the little things that were in reality very big, which helped people from around the world become and discover their creative force.  In the business of running the school she was always very serious with strong and tender charm, very quick in her actions and mind, always full of life and joy.  She considered herself a coordinator and enabler.  In my book she has equal credit for the success of this very unique pioneering school of creativity and theater.

Fay was Jacques translator into English when Jacques traveled to English speaking countries.   I have no idea all the things she did behind the scenes.  After her husband died, my teacher, in 1999 the International School of Theater Jacques Lecoq continued and is still going strong today because of Fay.

The Lecoq family announced the death of Fay Lees Lecoq, Director of the International School of Theater Jacques Lecoq, in Paris, France, Tuesday, August 7, 2012, at the age of seventy-six.

This marks an end of an era and the beginning of a new one for everyone they touched.  Fay you will be missed.   Thank you Jacques and Fay Lecoq hope you are enjoying the view and laughing.

Here is the link to Fay Lees Lecoq bio on the school website.  It goes into detail about her journey.  http://www.ecole-jacqueslecoq.com/en/biographies_en-000004_t9.html

Please feel free to post any stories you have of Fay Lee Lecoq.

By Stanley Allan Sherman
copyright May 9, 2012

If your sides are bursting from laughter – you could be watching some great Commedia dell’Arte.

The latest Broadway hit One Man, Two Guvnors, is based on Commedia dell’Arte.  For centuries the funniest, most powerful, and profound form of theater has been the Commedia dell’Arte.  Our training program was founded in 2001 and every year we have refined it.  From a week and a half, our Summer Intensive Workshop has grown to three weeks.  This is what it takes for students and professionals to truly discover, know, and be able to play the Commedia dell’Arte. Students completing the workshop will have the skills to play from a scenario.

Rhythm, as Richard Hayes-Marshall, an old friend and fellow student said to me when I was studying at Ecole Jacque Lecoq in Paris, France 1970 – 1972; “Stanley, I think everyone has their own personal rhythm inside of them and we must discover and develop our personal rhythms.”  Richard was right.  That is why we have so many activities that involve rhythm.  Dances from the era of the Commedia dell’Arte are taught by Caroline Copeland and Meggi Sweeney-Smith of the New York Baroque Dance Company.  We explore rhythm play, playing music and especially tambourine.  We learn to play both the Northern and Southern styles of tambourine.  The Northern style will be taught by Paul Shipper who also does Commedia dell’Arte voices and helps each student discover our own unique voice for each character.  Paul is an Early Music musician, opera artist, voice expert and 2011 Grammy Nominee.  Singer and musician Michela Musolino will be teaching Sicilian and Southern Italian tambourine.  A student from our 2010 Intensive Workshop asked, “Did we become tambourine stupid in this country?”  The answer is, “yes”.  All this leads to the performer’s discovery of the rhythms within their own personal Commedia dell’Arte character as well as those working with one another.  In theatre and as in life, timing is everything.  Commedia dell’Arte rhythm is an essential part of finding and refining your timing. Rhythm improves everything.

Finding your Commedia dell’Arte character is a major part of the workshop.  Which characters can you play with theatrically?  Which characters can you let out that are inside you? R. David Robinson, a student from our class of 2006 said, “I was always sure I was an Arlecchino but no, I am Pantalone!  Playing within this character form has proved immensely freeing.”   R. David in August 2012 will be reprising his wonderful performance of Big Daddy, a type of Pantalone in Tennessee Williams‘ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” directed Obie-winner Austin Pendleton.   The students explore all the major characters of the Northern Commedia dell’Arte.  Not only from exercises I learned from Jacque Lecoq and Carlo Mazzone-Clementi, but those we have developed.  Most improvisation exercises are from scenarii written and performed in the 1500 to 1600’s by famous Commedia dell’Arte companies that performed throughout Europe to commoners and royalty alike.

Women and men play everything from Lovers to Capitano.  Some of the most powerful and hilarious Capitanos have been women.  One of the funniest and most convincing female lovers was played by a man well over six feet tall. It’s fun.

Every masked character has their masks.  There is great variety in the different masks of each character.  Not all Pantalone masks are the same. In fact they are all different.  The character of one Pantalone mask may not be right for the performer while a different one is a perfect fit.  I am a mask maker so I have a variety of different masks for each character.  When working on improvisations, a variety of masks for a single character is laid out on a table.  A student goes up to the table and carefully meditates on the masks, selecting which mask is best for him or her.  There are often at least four to five masks on the table to choose from, all with different features and details; eyebrows, color, design, which all affect character.  After selecting the mask the student preps and enters.  The right mask, and suddenly the character comes alive and the performer is carried to places they never dreamed possible.  This is why it is essential to have a variety of masks for each character.

The versatility of the original Commedia dell’Arte performers was extensive.  They were experts at a variety of disciplines.  That is why we dance, do prop manipulation, play music and much more.  Keith Nelson of the famous Bindelstiff Family Cirkus and I teach prop manipulation.  You need to be able to balance not only yourself but also manipulate any manageable object that comes your way.  You not only play the tambourine but also use it as a prop.  This will be the second year Keith is with us and he is one of the best teachers of prop manipulation I have met.

To jump into this lively, funny, powerful, and profound Commedia dell’Arte Intensive Workshop, contact Roving Classical Commedia University* for an application.

Roving Classical Commedia University* (*totally unaccredited)
2012 Summer Intensive Workshop June 17 – July 6
2012 End of Summer Intensive Workshop August 19 – 31, 2012
pierStudios, New York NY
212-255-2882
il-dottore@commediau.com
commediau.com

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