Unit 3&4

UNIT 3:

Monday 11th January 2021

                               Introducing 

                      Professional practice

In theatre there are many technical jobs, behind the scenes of making the production a great show.

Such as;

• Producer
• Casting director 
• Director
• Stage manager 
• Set designer 
• Costume designer/maker 
• Lighting designer 
• Sound designer 
• Head of wardrobe 
• Prop maker 

On the 16th-17th of November Ezra and I had time in the theatre as there were many shows we had to tech for, such as, the music gig for year 1 and 2 students and Dance/musical theatre year 1 and 2 students. Also from the 23rd-24th we also has more theatre time to prep for the upcoming shows for the following week. 

The music gigs took place on December 7th for the first and second years. As Ezra and I had theatre time to prep and design our lights I decided to use the lights I designed during my theatre to use in the music gig shows. During our break Ezra also decided to teach and show me how to do lighting effects to add to my lighting states for the musician could perform too. 

Here are a few pictures and videos of my lighting designs I used in the show. 

                                                  

This is a picture of the lighting effects I made with Ezra. 

After the music gigs had finished, Ezra and I had a week full of shows to tech without Becca but before that, on Tuesday to help Shelley and the second years tech for the live show on Thursday evening so they were ready for Thursday. Before then, On Tuesday, the day after the music gigs, the MT/Dance second year students came to theatre to show Ezra, Becca and I their solo pieces and to tell us what lighting ideas they wanted and any suggestions we had to help them with the lighting and what would look good in their solo piece they each were performing in there live virtual show. After a long day of teaching with the second years, Ezra and I had to come in on Wednesday to do extra teaching as we hadn't finished the tech rehearsal yesterday.

Ezra and I came in on Wednesday ready for a tech rehearsal with the second years and found out the theatre was occupied and couldn't be used for our tech rehearsal.

On the day of the show, my job was to work the sound desk as the the students were using the wireless microphones. While testing the microphones we had trouble as some of the mics weren't working or weren't clear enough. While working on the desk I feel like I picked it up quite quickly and enjoyed using the desk as I thought I would be very complicated as I had to remember which mics to turn on and off when actors weren't on the stage. 

Once we had sorted out the microphone issue, which took quite a long time as the actors had to do a dress rehearsal with the mics to make sure everything runs smoothly during the dress rehearsal. After a 2 hour successful dress rehearsal, the actors, Ezra and I had a 15 minute break just before the rest of the performing art students in first year came to watch the first show before the live stream evening show.  

As the day came to end we all had to get ready for the second show which was broadcasted live for others to watch it online. The actors, Ezra and I had a very long break until the show started. As this wasn't my show, I was in charge of the sound desk which I have never done before and felt under a lot of pressure because I had to make sure I put the right music on at the right time and make sure that the actors mics were also on at the right time. As the show started I started to feel a lot more relaxed and at ease as I started to get use to using the sound desk as I had be using for a couple days but since this was my first time using it during a production. 

During the run throughs and rehearsals with the second year Dance/MT students some of the props that were being used by the performers had broken and Mandy and Shelley asked if I could fix the props for the dancers before their live performance. 

Here are some of the pictures if the prop I had fixed for the dancers. 

Also while I was sorting props for the actors, I also made a prop table so the actors can pick up and return their props back to the table for other actors to use. 

Heres my prop table. 

                     

UNIT 4:

Ashleigh- May Wallace.

UAL Diploma Production arts.

                          Commedia Dell'Arte

What is/does Commedia Dell'Arte mean?

Commedia Dell'Arte was an early form of professional theatre, originated from Italy, it was very popular in the 16th to the 18th century. Which means 'comedy of profession'. Outside Italy it was very popular in France. The form of acting they use in Commedia Dell'Arte is improvisations, they were set in a firm framework of masks and stock situations, and its plots were frequently borrowed from the classical literary tradition of the commedy or literary drama. The first Commedia Dell'Arte performances took place  in Padua on Italy in 1545. However, its roots can be traced as far back as Ancient Greek and Roman Theatre. 

What is a Lazzi/Lazzo?

Lazzi are stock comedic routines that are associated with Commedia Dell'Arte. Performers, especially those playing the masked Arlecchino, had many examples of this in their repertoire, and would use improvisatory skills to weave them into the plot of dozens of different commedia scenarios.

Lazzi (the plural form of lazzo) are physical or verbal gags. They sometimes can add to a plot or relate to the current action, whilst other times they have no relevance to the story and serve as a distraction, a humorous interruption or are used to spotlight a character. Most times lazzi are planned beforehand, but sometimes actors will improvise a lazzo during the play, without warning. 

What is a Stock character?

A stock character is a stereotypical fictional person or type of person in a work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognise from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition. There is a wide range of stock characters, covering men and women of various ages, social classes and demeanors. As a result, they tend to be easy targets for parody and to be criticised as cliché. Stock characters play an important role in fiction, including in fairy tale, which use stock characters such as the damsel in distress and Prince Charming. 

How are Stock characters identified and used in Commedia?

Another characteristic of commedia dell'arte is pantomime, which is mostly used by the character Arlecchino. The characters of the commedia usually represent fixed social types and stock characters, such as foolish old men, devious servants, or military officers full of false bravado.

Commedia dell'arte has four stock character groups: 

• Vecchi: wealthy old men, masters; characters such as Pantalone and il Dottore. 
• Innamorati: young upper class lovers; who would have names such as Flavio and Isabella. 
• Il Capitano: self-styled captains, 
• braggarts; can also be La Signora if a female.

What is 'Slapstick'?

Slapstick is a style of physical comedy used in movies, tv shows, cartoons and plays. It often involves chases, silly and exaggerated movements and activities, and simple practical jokes. Sometimes it can be quite violent in a ridiculous, comical kind of way. The term arises from a device developed for use in the broad, physical comedy style known as commedia Dell'Arte in 16th-century Italy. The "slapstick" consists of two thin slats of wood, which make a "slap" when striking another actor, with little force needed to make a loud—and comical—sound. The physical slap stick remains a key component of the plot in the traditional and popular Punch and Judy puppet show.

Common characters in Commedia Dell'Arte

Zanni- Zanni best known as a servant and a trickster.The Zanni comes from the countryside and is known to be a "dispossessed immigrant worker

Pantalone- Pantalone is a well known Commedia dell'Arte character.  The original name of this character was an old man named "Magnifico".  He spoke in plain, yet musical Venetian dialect.  The original name soon gave way to the more well known "Pantalone"

IL DOCTORE (the doctor)- Il Dottore in Commedia dell'Arte is usually dressed in the traditional style of a medieval doctor, with a huge black suit, often with a ruff and a notary's beret or large doctor's cap.  He wears a mask over half of his face that highlights his bulbous nose.

Arlecchino (Harlequin)-The Arlecchino mask is one of the most popular masks in the Commedia dell'Arte series.  It was traditionally worn by the character Arlecchino (Harlequin in English) who was cast as a bit of a dim-wit, silly, simple minded person and perpetually hungry, again, in the Zanni genre. Arlecchino is one of the youngest characters of the comedy and the use of this character in the Commedia dell'Arte has been traced back to as early as 1593

Pulcinella- The Pulcinella mask in the Commedia dell'Arte theater is reputed to have originated from the south of Italy (Campagnia), a region boasting a wealth of comic traditions. Pulcinella's physical appearance in the theater often resembled that of a cockerel. 

Colombina- Colombina is usually cast as a mischievous maid in the Commedia dell'Arte, a comic but not always virtuous figure with a best friend (and sometimes lover) of Arlecchino.

Her costume is usually simple, representing what maids wore in the 1700s.  She sometimes wore colorful patches (like Arlecchino) set off by a small white cuff and an apron of the same colour.

IL CAPTINO- Il Capitano's character in Commedia dell'Arte is usually a vainglorious, deceitful and braggart soldier, dressed in a bright and colorful uniform.  This was usually a suit with multi-colored stripes and gilt buttons, a feathered cap and a large sword with several rust marks. His part usually involves him boasting of great exploits of war, but he is also the subject of pranks and jokes from the other characters.

Brighella- Brighella is cast as a shrewd servant in the Commedia dell'Arte in the 'Zanni' genre.  One of his specialties for this role are the tricks and pranks that he plays on other characters and is sometimes also an expert musician, singing and playing the guitar.

1) How did the developments in stage lighting and sound effects enhance performance of the

form?

The development in lighting and sound effects have developed over time as in the early Grecian times they would build their theatres facing east to west so that they can perform their play in the afternoon so the natural light from the sun can reflect directly onto the actors during their performance. As time has gone on lighting has developed drastically from using natural light and relying on the sun to using machines and electrical appliances.

2) What techniques and devices did you use to update the pantomime from through the use

of modern sound and lighting equipment? How successful do you think you were? 

In the 20th century there were many manual props used by hand that actors used in theatre such as the coconut effect that was used for that sound of horses galloping and snow effects also by putting it in a cloth and shaking it lightly to give the affect that it is snowing. But in the beginning of the 1960s to now,  everything is ran by machines and electrical objects. 

Bibliography

Wikipedia

Teacher resources 

Stage management and theatre administration