Pantalone Performance

Why did I choose the character I did?
As it was the complete opposite to my young, fit character of the jock and the physical performance of Pantalone is so clear and is interesting to try out in different ways. One of my uncles who no one likes reminds me of Pantalone's character so I think I know what I want to do and can recreate the movements of this stock character.

How is that character described (personality, physicality, etc.)? 
His back is bent due to old age and he is lean and scrawny in stature. Head looks upward looking at everyone judgementally and body takes up alot of space to show how confident and fearless he is. Takes little steps and shuffles feet. Hands are always moving to show thought and emotion. Normally with a cane. 

He doesn't care about anyone but himself. He controls all the finances in the story so everyone listens to him. He is mean to all his servants and is after money. He never notices other people and his motives are so obvious that he is incredibly gullible. Also, he is a big pervert who is known to whistle and stare at beautiful women. 

What "body part" is their stereotypical feature? How did you attempt to center their energy there?
Pantalone tends to have a curved back and lean body. He got his broken back due to his old age and it can symbolize what his character is about whileas his lean body also shows old age. His character is meant to show the scurviness of some corrupt old people who love money and women. 
I attempt to center my energy there by always keeping my body at an angle and keeping to myself. Once or twice during the skit, I would yell out in pain of my back and would try to show me trying to fix it. I show my lean body by taking small steps and moving in straight lines.

How did you choose to "take out" to audience in order to "invite them in" to your performance? 
I looked down on them and acted as if I didn't care about them and treated them like they don't matter. I'd look at a girl and whistle to show that I'm an interested pervert. 


What feedback did you get from your performance? 

• Face the audience the entire time
• Keep body more close to yourself
• Keep hand gestures more broad and bigger

What will you change for next performance?

• Keep body towards the audience
• Close up body while walking and take smaller steps
• Move hand gestures

What feedback did you give for Shoaib's performance?

• Do facial expressions
• Use the entire space of the stage
• Push chest out more

What will you change for next performance?

• Move the body out more
• Exaggerate the facial expressions by being angry 

Task 5- Personal Evaluation of Performance

What choices did you make for your rough draft performance? 
I tried using different stories to the skit. I wanted to show all the sides of the jock so I experimented with many of the things a jock would do and went on to exaggerate it. I had many ideas for my piece but I decided to cut one or two ideas/parts of the composition as I wanted to focus more on the main points and make sure the audience understand it, as well as trying to tell it well

How much time did you spend practicing for your performance? 
I spent the bulk of my time in class for 45 minutes thinking about the use of space and exaggeration and what would be the best way to show something and what not to show. I showed my skit off to many people and asked them what they thought and I recieved feedback while practicing. 

Also, before I used to sleep I would think about what my character would do in a certain situation. I would imagine whether that could be added to the skit. And I spent some time practicing it before I go to bed as I couldn't sleep.

What specific feedback did you get from your Rough Draft performance?

·         Did all the elements of that I required

·         Show more chest and strength

·         Walk should have less swag

·         Varied exaggerations of the face

·         Don’t beat the guy up to the death

What did you choose to change for your Final Performance? 
I pushed my chest even farther out and tried to get more of the attention of the audience to it. I stood back and walked with shoulders up and chest up.
I tried to bounce up and down less and look more like I'm walking normally.
I had to make more different expressions with my face trying to look more angry at one point and happy and smooth and chilled the next.
In my rough draft performance, I went onto beat the "nerd" up to death as I was obviously also a bully. For the final performance, I changed it to just me pretending to hold him up and warning him what I'd do to him.
How did you feel your Final performance went? 
I feel I was able to stay in character and show everything I wanted to show. The comment I got about my skit was that I was still too jump and moving around too much. I think I pulled off the physicality of a fit jock well and worked on my expressions more. I didn't beat the guy to death and used my body language to show how angry I was though.

Also, I feel the part where I tried to invite the audience in by bullying Rehat and high-fiving Shoaib didn't work very well as they were unsure what I was trying to get them to do. A audience member will just do whatever you want them to do, and I had trouble communicating my feelings.
What specific feedback did you get? 
I was told "Still too bouncy" by Sarang and Ms. Kimi. I thought I did make sure I wasn't as mvoing around and jumping and down as I was. But now I need to work on my walk and how a jock would walk across the school hallway
How did you feel your performance compared to stock character from video (for Classical Group only)? 
NA.
What score would you give your performance out of 10 using Criteria B descriptors? Explain why.
I would give myself a 8 out of 10 or a 9 out of 10. I think I understood the skills and themes of being a high school character and Commedia Dell'Arte and how we are trying to show off its persona. I was purposeful in all my movements and effective at delivering an excellent skit. I was able to apply the techniques we were taught in class such as inviting people in, and trying to show off a main body part (for me, it was the chest) and use of space. I understood the process of practicing and performing this Commedia Dell'Arte piece and was able to create it to a high level of proficiency.


What score would I give Warisa as the studious nerd?
I would give her a 7 out of 10. She kept getting out of character and ruined the belief that the audience had that we were watchin the studious nerd by laughing. I think she added more interactions then she had in the rough draft which was good as it became more interesting. She did well in closing her character up and using her hair to cover herself up and seem introverted. But she could have started even closer to the main stage as she was walking slowly for a long time and it was boring. I think she could have changed her facial expressions more and add more effect using eye contact.

Performance Reflection- Task 4

--Why did you choose the character that you did? 
As the Jock is easy to show and I am very familiar with him by watching many chick flicks and teenage-nerd movies. They also are very interesting and there are so many cliches associated with them that people will understand. There are some people around him who remind me of the jock so I am trying to do what they would do but exaggerate all the actions.
--How is that character described (personality, physicality, etc.)?
He would tend to be very sporty and fit and would like to bully people smaller than him. Women would love his strong body and he would be very flirtacious. He would be very confident in himself and his abilities and would laugh very loudly and talk loudly. He would be liked by most people around him and would love attention. 
--What "body part" is their stereotypical feature? How did you attempt to center their energy there? 

      A jock would normally love to work out and show off their muscles and try to look good to impress everyone. This is why a jock would have a lot of upper-body muscles and have a big powerful chest. He would have big strong biceps and tremendous strength. I attempted to center my energy there by pushing my chest out and having my shoulders held high. Also, I tried to not move my hands too far and I have to pretend like I have balloons for biceps as that is how muscly men walk. 

--How did you choose to interact with environment/prop? What specific interaction choices did you make? 

      I tried to talk to many imaginary people and show the many sides of the jock. He would be one second hand-shaking with his bro, next second he would be flirting with a girl, and next second he would be about to beat someone up. A jock would tend to be a very social person so I thought showing him interacting with people would be a good way to show what he is. Also, I tried to make him big and take up space and make the environment look like it was constantly changing. 

--How did you choose to "take out" to audience in order to "invite them in" to your performance? 

      This is something to work on as I feel I haven't really invited them in. My plan is to fistbump with Shoaib as people would imagine that I'm imitating him as the jock and get Rehat scared as he is very easily scared. This would make people laugh too

--What feedback did you get from your performance? 

·         Did all the elements of that I required

·         Show more chest and strength

·         Walk should have less swag

·         Varied exaggerations of the face

·         Don’t beat the guy up to the death

--What will you change for next performance?
Push the chest out even more

      Walk more straightforward and less flip-flopping around

      Change expressions on the face

      Invite the audience in by fist-pumping with Shoaib and yelling at Rehat

      Don't beat imaginary guy up, just warn him. 

Stock Characters of Commedia dell'Arte

• Romeo
• Tumblrites are emotional 
• Bullied kid who has given up
• Instagrammer who lives a double life online

• Japanese smart-kid- Doesn't care about other people. Focuses on studies mostly. Shows off his good grades all the time and acts smart. Talks all the time. When he says something, he says it very confidently. Stays to himself in the most of his performance

The smart kid is like Il Dottore. They both specialize in everything and they both tend to go on and on about dialogue that no one cares about. They both tend to be stingy and like a show-off. They both don't care what other people are thinking about them.

Color and mask design:

• Quiet introverted fat girl- Stutters when trying to say something. Moves slowly. Get pushed around and no one pays attention. Tries to stay away from people. Eats a lot all the time as people make fun of her for it. Doesn't have eye contact with anybody.

Color and mask design:

• Kid trying to fit in with the "cool" kids- Feels out of place with the people around her. People pretend to like her but backbite about her in reality. Completely unwanted and unliked because she makes very lame jokes about everything and spoils conversations

The "trying to fit in kid" is like the Arlechinno. They both pretend to be something they aren't to convince people they're something they aren't but they fail miserable. They both make fools of themselves and other people believe they don't belong.

Color and mask design:

• Jocks- Confident big guys who yell and swear and joke loudly. Move together, stay together. Doesn't talk to other people "below" them. Probably has a  football close to them and bullies other people. Ladies love him and he goes to many parties. Due to this, he has become a jerk to most people. 

The jock is a lot like Il Capitano. He pretends to be bold and confident and powerful but in reality is extremely cowardly and scared of everything. Both of them would try to take advantage of smaller, less powerful people lower in the "social scale". 

Color and mask design:

• Queen bee- Body language shows she is very open. Uses lots of hand gestures and has annoying high voice. Center of attention. Very beautiful. Makes fun of other people. Hangs out with jocks. 

The queen bee of the secondary school is very much like Isabella. Headstrong and beautiful, they both tend to be able to influence anyone around her. Men constantly fall in love with her charming looks and they both play as prima donnas who exaggerate everything.

Color and mask design:

PART 3:
Commedia characters are alot like the people we see in our current everyday life. Though our society has changed through technology and science, our basic emotions and traits stay the same and that is what Commedia dell'Arte tries to show. Each stock character has it's own personality which at least some parts of it everyone can compare with.

Many of these characters are found in chick flicks where the main focus is on Isabella and her adventures. The jocks and nerds traits are greatly exaggerated to show what is going on in a normal high school.

Plays such as Hamlet and Grease normally have 2 main characters who love each other dearly but has one person trying to stop them such as a mistress or jealous lover. This is just like the plotline of Commedia plays.

I constantly feel like I am in the middle of many different social groups and I get a chance to see how everyone looks at the other and I believe commedia dell'Arte characters are such that they can be representatives of each group or clique.

IDENTITY Video Review

What did I like about it?
The sound effects and the cinematography of the entire video was very well-done. The sound effects added confusion and gave an insight into what was going on in the head of the girl and the camera shots tried to show herself alone and away from everybody else. I liked how they used the Allegory of the Cave (even though they didn't describe it as Plato had intended) as I have always had a fascination with The Republic.

What were some of your major "take away" or observations regarding the film?
You don't need to change because society doesn't like you. In other words, don't let everyone else put a label; you are the only one who should matter to yourself. I believe the video was pushing you to be your real self and not the one society wants to see

What kinds of themes from the film do you think were applicable to life today?
Be yourself.
Love yourself.
You're not ugly, society is.
Love everyone, don't care if they don't love you back.

And uhh....
# YOLO  XD

This world's kinda get messed up. You get lead into Playgroup like "come on. come on. keep working. a reward will come. people will love you. the craving you need will be satisfied." And then you go to Kindergarten and then Gr. 1, and then Middle school, then High school, then it keeps going like "come on. the reward is just around the corner. you will be loved. No. No. Don't take off your mask. Your real face is ugly. Let's keep going. So you go to college. Then you get your first job. Then you slowly move up the ranks being lead up the same way you were in Pre-K and then you finally get to the position you've somehow supposedly wanted since you were 2 has come.
But you feel cheated.
Cuz we always have this craving that we're not good enough. We won't make it. We crave to be greater. And the world says we will never be happy until we reach it. And we keep going. And so we will never be good enough, even after we reach the top.

What masks do I wear?
Nice guy- I pretend like I care about anyone but myself. Cuz I don't. No one does.
I try to be very nice to other people, even people I don't really like, because I crave the happiness someone finds in making someone else happy. I'm addicted.

Brotherhood- I hang out with some guys and we used to have a clique and other people don't like it.
A mask which would have a deep dark face with a confident look. Possible blue color cuz thats the special color for jocks

Smart Big-words Guy- I use big words to sound smarter than I really am because I crave people's admiration of myself.
A mask with letters written all over it and has a bigger mouth ripped open



I just crave other people to admire me. So sometimes I'm something I'm not.



I really didn't like the video because it looks at the world in such a shallow perspective.

Laura's Leaflet

Commedia Dell'arte

Commedia dell'arte is a theatrical form started in Northern Italy in the fifteenth century which became popular all over Europe. It is performed by open air troupes specializing in this art form. This art form places attention on improvisation, exaggerated gesture, and a host of colorful stock characters which are used to convey the story of the play.

The common characters in any play would be the innamorati, the vecchi, the zanni and the trademark lazzi. The innamorati is the main characters of the performance and are normally young lovers who are being hindered by the vecchi. The vecchi ranges from a jealous guardian or another spouse. They are fundamentally the antagonists in each play. The innamorati seek help from the zanni to beat the vecchi and the story normally ends on a happy note.

The only scripted point in the entire performance is the lazzi. It works as an interlude for the zanni to show off their special skills and don't have anything to do with the normal performance. This could be music, acrobatics or fighting.

Vecchi was normally played by Il Capitano or Il Dottore. Il Dottore is a big red-cheeked doctor who is drunk all the time. He is shown wearing a black mask that cover only the cheek or nose. His character is known to be dumb and blabbering. Il Capitano is a bully who appears in a military uniform and shows off all the time. He is a coward and known to take credit for other people's good deeds. Both of them are made to be completely terrible.

Characters like the ones above have distinctive qualities and traits that are normally explained by the actors. The mask partially or completely covers the face, putting emphasis on dialogue and exaggerated gestures. In all or some facets of Western culture can be found the remains of conscious or subconscious presence of the Commedia dell'arte. Using sexual language and black humor, commedia dell'arte was a rebellious act against the cold and planned acts of the Italian plays. It poked fun at the socio-political scene and made for a humorous night out in the town and was a very important development in the history of theatre, and the history of Europe.

"Commedia Dell'arte." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/comm/hd_comm.htm>.
"Commediainfo." Commediainfo. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. <http://www.commedia-dell-arte.com/commediainfo.htm>.
Image: "Commedia Dell'arte." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commedia_dell'arte>.