This was our first lesson on Commedia dell'arte. We began by exploring Gromalot - the type of voice used in this form of theatre. We began by getting in a line and playing an improvisation game. For this, the first two people would improvise a conversation using Gromalot and then they would be stopped and then a different conversation is started between the next pair and so on and so on (A&B, B&C, C&D, D&E, E&F, F&A).
We didn't have time to explore all of the stock characters but we explored some of them. We learned what sort of pitch and tone each character would have. We looked at how these characters moved - so what part(s) of the body
they lead from, what level they moved on and what speed they would
travel. The characters we experimented with are as follows:
- MAGNIFICO - high level; slow pace; large movements; takes a lot of space; leads from the chest; deep voice; beckons and shuns
- ZANNI - low level; leads with nose and toes; quick pace; high voice; hands in and in line with shoulders; indirect
- BRIGHELLA - medium level; medium pace; leads with head; elbows out to the sides with hands in front of chest; voice fairly low pitch
- HARLEQUINO - very active; leads with pelvis; always dancing/moving; squeaky voice; excitable; fast pace
After exploring these characters, we got in to two groups and picked a character each: I picked Brighella, Charlie picked Harlequino and Lewis picked Magnifico. We were told to improvise a short scene involving the three of them to explore their interactions. Our scene consisted of Magnifico telling Harlequino and Brighella what he wanted doing, and Brighella trying her best to get Harlequino to actually do what he has been asked for once. I think our scene went well as our body language and voice was consistent throughout.
