The Commedia dell' Arte shows that I produce are created through improvisation. When producing a new show actors are trained in character-types, lazzi, physicalization and movement through intense and rigorous workshops.  Actors are cast into one of the four character-types: The Lovers, The Old Men, The Servant (Zanni) or The Captain. These trainings are based in the training I received from Antonio Fava. Through those experiences I have developed my own approach to guiding actors through understanding this performance style and its physical, verbal and mental requirements.

 

Many plays the plays I have produced are based on scenarios I write or from classic sources like Flaminio Scala.  The play then is devised through improv during the rehearsal period with  time spent on Lazzi and music.  Within the Mask/Puppet Construction page you find the process by which I build our masks and Batocci (Slapsticks)

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All of my Commedia plays include live music and live Foley cartoon type sound effects performed by actors on stage.

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Throughout this section I will not give a detailed summary of the story of each play. With the exception of I Got Guns and Rescission on the High Seas the story lines are pretty much the same they were back in the day -- Two lovers in love, something prevents from being together-usually their fathers, with the enlistment of the servants things work out in the end. Although the stories tend to be the same for most Commedia plays, people come to see Lazzi. In other words, people come to see the clever, ingenious and crazy things that happen on the stage.

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