UNIT 3: SHAKESPEAREAN THEATRE - ROMEO & JULIET

Both Shakespearean theatre and Commedia Dell’Arte have been important in the development of archetypes in society. Shakespeare was well aware of many elements of Commedia and tried to add his own personal touch to it. There are many similarities and differences between the traditional Italian Commedia and Shakespeare’s ingenious stories (“The Elizabeth Age”).

Both Shakespeare and the first Commedia Dell’Arte troop were born roughly in the same decade. At that time, both Italy and England were becoming major cultural and commercial hubs which allowed artists and writers to truly express their craft. The political world realized the importance of art and literature to the life of the nation. Both Commedia and Shakespeare moved in troops that knew their craft very well and worked well together. (“The Elizabethan Age”)

Shakespeare spent a lot of time writing poetic lines in his plays using the iambic pentameter. Commedia Dell’Arte was more focused on humor and improvisation. Commedia was much more fluid in their use of audience interaction and improvisation but Shakespeare stuck to the script much more. (“Interrogating Shakespeare’s Sources”)

Both Commedia Dell’Arte and Shakespeare were known to heavily borrow components of plot and character development. They pieced this together with their own ideas. Commedia Dell’Arte could have been influenced by Shakespeares stories and Shakespeare seems to have watched some Commedia as he borrowed parts of plays from it. His use of Commedia roles and trademark actions are used in almost all his books. Even some names are copied such as Polonius to play Pantalone (“Interrogating Shakespeare’s Sources”).

"Interrogating Shakespeare's Sources: Commedia Dell'arte." University of Cambridge. Cambridge, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. <https://www.ice.cam.ac.uk/component/courses/?view=course&cid=4130>.

"The Elizabethan Age." Shakespeare in American Communities. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http://www.shakespeareinamericancommunities.org/education/elizabethan-age>.

The Love of 3 Oranges

The Love of 3 Oranges is a Commedia D'ell Arte scenario by Carlo Gozzi around 1761. The play was later adapted in 2002 by the brilliant composer Sergei Prokofiev as a full stage play. I had the privilege to watch it last Thursday.

The story is of Prince Tartaglia who has been cast a spell on by the evil Fata Morgana. Her black magic makes Tartaglia fall in love with and begin the search for three specific oranges. This leads them on an epic adventure helped on by the Good Magician Celio as they reach the Dark Castle. The idiot Truffaldino opens two oranges revealing 2 sisters but since they are not near water, they die. The third one is opened by Tartaglia and out pops a beautiful girl who Tartaglia falls in love with. But even after that, Fata Morgana does not end trying to derail their happiness but in the end, they live happily ever after!


I liked how they panicked and jumped around at many points in the play. Also, they ran out the doors and through it using the entire auditorium effectively. They tried to create a way to invite people in and the entire play was interactive I noticed how they were using gromalot at times to explain their frustration or anger. This was effective as it described alot more to the audience than dialogue would. I was entertained at most points but I got a bit bored especially when the characters would stop taking risks and drag their words and not have the enthusiasm Commedia characters should.

I didn't like how the stage was set out and how it had to be changed every scene especially since it was done so ineffeciently and took a long time. I liked the costumes as they were very 80s and were very eccentric and fun. The colors used in each characters clothing described what they were like as a person too. Also the props added to the storyline through wacky ways.


I liked the spooky scene the best. It was extremely well done using the background as green and the smoke machine to create a scary effect. Rudaina's costume looked very scary and the stage was set out in a way that everything was easily understood because everyone had specific places. It was well done.

Commedia D'ell Arte Rough Draft Reflection

Part 1: Evaluate your own performance using the language found on the performance rubric and Crit B descriptors.
-What did you do well? 

I think I was able to physically explain my character well. I jumped around alot and moved quickly and in a funny fashion. My audience interaction with Zafir was well done and people understood what was happening when I blamed it on him. Brighella and Harlequino both used gromalot well and our pointing and ways of moving explained it well. 
What did feedback did you receive? What do you need to improve? 

People told me that my emotions should be clearer and it was confusing for them. Our pair was told that we could pick even bigger and bolder audience interactions that really add to the story. We seemed unsure of what to do at sometimes and there were awkward silences. 
-What specific things will you do to improve before performance?

I exaggerated my emotions and feelings and explained exactly what I was doing through hand gestures and the faces I make. We are thinking about adding a part where I get alot of people involved and Ariyanna slaps them and pulls them by the ear and tells me to get back to work while I laugh at the audience member. I think to solve the problem of unsure of what to do, we need to practice more and write the plot to our story down so we know what will come next.

Part 2: Evaluate another group's rough draft (someone who didn't do as well as you) using the language found on the performance rubric and Crit B descriptors. 
-What did they do well? 
I think Zafir and Thiyasha's rough draft was not as good as ours. I liked how they moved from one place to another but they were overall not very good. Also, their use of gromalot explained alot about how they were feeling.
-What feedback would you give them? 
Thiyasha's hunchback got fixed suddenly and she came completely out of the scene by doing that. There should have been many, many more varied interactions between each other as the entire skit seemed to be only Zafir standing up and falling down which got old after a little while. There weren't any audience interactions and that is a significant part of their grade cut off. Their movements were not fluid and they seemed stiff and unsure so it took the audience out of the play.
-What specific things could they do to improve before performance?
Always keep them in character and Thiyasha should read more about how the Witch would walk and talk before the final draft to get a better idea of her movements. Both of them should have used the space more effectively and created it more based on different things their characters are famous for doing. Thiyasha could have pretended to take over one of the audience member's body and invite the audience in to make it part of the plot and this would make Zafir run away. This would be an effective way to invite the audience in. Practice more and talk more about the plot can make sure they now what to do next.

Part 3: Evaluate another group's rough draft (someone who you think performed better than you) using the language found on the performance rubric and Crit B descriptors. 
-What did they do well? 

I think Rehat and Irti did well. They were able to boldly use audience interactions which were easy to understand for the audience and people doing it. They filled the time well and knew what to do. They created a good plotline which developed and their characters were understandable.
-What feedback would you give them? 

I think they were overall very good.
-What specific things could they do to improve before performance?

 -lazzi (what were your favorites within this piece? why?) 

The part where he was trying to get the girl during the night was hilarious and was my favorite. He used a storyline that I’ve seen so many times in romantic comedies and exaggerated it greatly. It was incredibly funny watching him do this as he seemed so desperate and was doing the craziest things to get her.
-using varied interactions (environment, props, characters, etc.) 

The Commedia character used chairs as props which he turns into car seats simply by closing a car door and entering it. And then he spins something in a circular way which looks like a steering wheel. The clown used a character in the beginning to bring the props on and moved from one skit to another. The clown interacted with the girl who he brought from the audience and went on an adventure with her using his “car”.
-taking out to audience

-exaggerated emotion (1 to 10) 

10. He displayed many different emotions throughout the piece. When he got hurt, he jumped around slightly and used his facial expressions to show how he was feeling. Depending on what he saw, he based his feelings out of what a normal person would see.
-exaggerated physicality (use of space) 

He would make a fool out of himself and do all sorts of crazy dances to make the audience laugh. This was okay as he was a clown. He would move around constantly to always keep the audience entertained. He created the car in a way that it was easy to visualize how big the car was and he always stayed within the boundaries.
-exaggerated facial expression 

He would always use facial expressions in a way that could be understood from very far away. For example his surprised face consisted of him making a dropping his mouth and opening it wide open and staring in awe with eyes bulged out.
-stock characters of Commedia Harlequino was the main character in this performance. He was extremely proud of what he was doing and was always up to mischief. He was proud and colorful and did many things to impress the women. 

-performance elements (sound, lights, staging) 

Whenever he did something that was not explained easily such as closing a car door, sound effects were used at the right time to show what he was doing. This was good as the audience understood because everyone has heard a car door close. He used circadian sounds to show what time of the day it was as those sounds are common during the night. The stage had a trap door below it. I think it was to go from one act to another in a smooth fashion and it worked because it made people laugh in the beginning.
-working with audience member (how did he make it clear to her what she should do? how did he support and lead her through the scene?)

The clown would point to what he WANTS her to do and advise her on doing this. He would tap his head to signify “watch now” and then wave his hands to show “you try it”, this made it a fun experience for the person and it was easier for her. He would make the event completely obvious and would use big hand gestures and exaggerated facial expressions. He would make eye contact every time he wanted her to work with him in doing something.  

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.