Commedia Order

(Vittoria goes to help Ruffiana with the stew. -- Angela as Vittoria. 04/24/10. All photos in this post are courtesy of Pat Baer.)

In Commedia work, some things are planned, and some are improvised. We had "free play" time in class, where we would entirely improvise scenarios. The things that were fun and good, we remembered and kept.

In case you were curious how much of our Commedia was planned, here's what one of our "structured improv" breakdowns from Movement Professor looked like:




Ruffiana Sells a Stew and Arlechinno loses his Bachelorhood for my Dear Class of 2011!

1. All onstage asleep, Except Flavio who is admiring himself in the mirror, and Ruffiana who is stirring the soup. There is a pile of stuff beside her. The banana is planted somewhere.

2. Vittoria wakes up and practices her balances and her fainting, calling for Flavio.

3. Flavio wakes up at the sound of his name and echoes Vittoria the third time she says Flavio, saying Flavio!

4. Zanni gets a taste of the soup, (good business for Ruffiana) and then starts to eat his own finger, then Vittoria's.

(Zanni eats Vittoria's finger. -- Thrill as Zanni, Angela as Vittoria, & Newbie as Ruffiana. 04/24/10)

5.Vittoria calls for Columbina, she doesn't come.

6. Scapino wakes up, goes towards Rufianna and as he passes Arlechinno, Arlechinno wakes up. They try to buy stew. ( CHANGE ) Arlechinno sells his ring for stew.
Scapino tries to find money to pay Ruffiana for the stew, Scapino plays his lazzi of trying to find money. He can't find any, so he tries to sing for his money. He scat sings.

(Arrlechino & Scapino try to barter for Ruffiana's stew. -- Iceman as Arrlechino, Newbie as Ruffiana, & D-Train as Scapino.)

7.Capitano enters and seeing that Scapino is singing thinks that he will fit in, in this new country, if he sings louder than Scapino.

(Capitano arrives triumphantly in a foreign land. -- O.D. as Capitano.)

8.Everyone wakes up who is still asleep.

Move through scenario as choreographed on Friday

9.Arlechinno, Scapino, Arlechinna, and Zanni move towards Capitano. Arlechinna and Zanni take Capitano's cane.

Capitano reaches for his cane (1-2-3 smoothly) and hold

Arlechinno and Scapino grab Capitano's cape and tug it 1-2-3

Pulcinella walks towards Ruffiana 1-2-3, grabs her stew and runs to stage left with it.

(Pulcinella steals Ruffiana's stew. -- Newbie as Ruffiana, Killer as Pulcinella)

Arlechinno and Scapino tug cape 1-2 , they then wrap the cape around Capitano and either lift or spin him upstage (probably the latter)

Arlechinna and Zanni walk up the big cane, 1-2-3

(Arrlechina and Zanni fight over Capitano's stick. -- Two-Shots-Up as Arrlechina, Thrill as Zanni)


They go to help with Capitano in the sword fight. Capitano falls down dead (he will play dead for quite awhile until revived later)

Pedrolino rushes towards Pulcinella to give him a big hug -- he puts the stew down.

Ruffiana steals her stew back

(Ruffiana with her stew. -- Newbie as Ruffiana)

Pulcinella pushes Pedrolino away.

Ruffiana calls Vittoria over to her and requests her to go and get some cayenne pepper.

Vittoria goes off to find the cayenne pepper takes it to Ruffiana

Then Pulcinella starts to try to 'court' Vittoria.

Vitorria calls for Colombina

Flavio begins to call for Vittoria ---

Then Vittoria calls for Flavio -- they keep moving right past one another not seeing each other

Vittoria calls for Columbina!

Columbina enters and goes to Ruffiana. She wants Ruffiana to cast a spell on Arelchinno, who is involved in a sword fight with Arlechinna and Scapino (since Capitano is now dead for the moment, though he can wake up to watch)

Vitorria calling for Columbina

Columbina enters and goes to Ruffiana to ask her to cast a spell on Arlechinno to make him fall in love with her.

(Columbina shows tells Ruffiana that she wants Arrlechino to fall in love with her. -- All-The-Way as Pedrolino, O.D. as dead Capitano, D-Train as Scapino, Iceman as Arrlechino, Newbie as Ruffiana, Angela as Vittoria, Wifey as Columbina, Killer as Pulcinella)

She explains what she wants by getting Vittoria and Flavio to call for one another with love. Ruffiana gets her message and has an idea of her own --- she will get lots of items for the stew from everyone. She calls for various foodstuffs none of which go together and each actor brings her something

except Flavio, who is doing his lazzi in the mirror throughout and simulaneously (only lazzi to be played while other action is going on)

(Flavio admires himself in the mirror. -- Two-Shots-Up as Arrlechina, Big Show as Flavio)

As they drop their food (items into the pot) they turn to watch Flavio, freeze on him, surround him with menace because he didn't add to the soup. beat 1-2-3. Then, Arlechinna brings her banana. She eats the paper and then drops the banana into the pot.

Everyone goes back to the stew. Vittoria faints from the smell. Zanni faints from the smell. Then wakes up.

Arlechinno takes his jack in the box and goes upstage left with it. Arlechinno skips/acrobats away to where his jack in the box is. Zanni follows him.

Ruffianno then begins to stir the pot incanting over it. She drops the ring into the pot, then fishes it out, lets Columbina smell it. Columbina takes it from her /pause/ focus shifts to Arlechinno and zanni who are investigating the jack in the box, but not turning the crank). Columbina puts ring on her finger goes to them Tells Arlechinno that she loves him with mime from ballet (I'll teach) and lets them smell the ring. she then asks for Arlechinno's 4th finger and puts it on that finger.

Arlechinno laps up the good stew. Zanni goes for Arlechinno's finger.

Columbina pulls Arlechinno away from Zanni, now that he has the ring.. He won't go until he grabs his music box. They go back upstage left , Arlechinno ignores her in order to play with his music box. She tries to get a smooch. They both get scared when the jack jumps and immediately go to sleep.

Capitano is still dead. Scapino tries to wake him up with scat singing. Pulcinella and Pedrolina get the idea that they will wake him from the dead by offering him a woman. they dress up Pedrolina with the fruit. Pulcinella makes sure we know it is fruit and squeezes it from behind Pedrolina as she walks. Pedrolina counts her flower off to Capitano, who doesn't wake.

(Pulcinella dresses Pedrolino up as a girl to try to help Capitano. -- All-The-Way as Pedrolino, Killer as Pulcinella, O.D. as Capitano)

Zanni, who has been sleeping again, walks over to capitano to wake him. zanni tries to wake him with the body part lazzi. Scapino (what have he and Arlechinno been doing all this time? don't know yet-- riding the big horse stick?) starts singing again. Flavio finally wakes him by brushing his hanky over his face. Capitano grabs his sword from Scapino and a sword fight begins with only one sword.

Dev yells Go! Game! and everyone is free to play. Dev yells Stop or Basta!

Flavio and Vittoria play their lazzi of missing one another and end in their orignal positions.

Dane stomps the cane three times. End of Commedia.

(Arrlechino sings with his magic box. -- Two-Shots-Up as Arrlechina, Iceman as Arrlechino)