2008 London UK

Workshop
Biomechanics in Commedia dell’Arte

Biomechanics in Commedia dell’Arte means physically creating a shape, a style, a character, that is: that material expression disclosing itself to the audience when mask and actor’s body as an entity, in an instant as well as expanding expanding forever, create a total Mask.
There’s no biomechanics when shape, style and character fail to appear rapidly on stage, and where there’s no biomechanics there’s no movement and no space control.
Students will follow a psycho-physical programme where operating speed, through the awareness and mastery of the body, influences the script-scenario images and content, and builds the story without the audience becoming aware of the mask device on the actor’s face. Operating speed has also to deal with those Commedia dell’Arte characters who don’t have such dynamic and acrobatic movements as Harlequin’s (the foolish servant), but who, in their slowness, (Pantalone and Brighella) use speed in order to keep the rhythm of the show clear and steady and to prevent it from slowing down.
In a teamwork where the various Commedia dell’Arte characters combine within the scenic space, each one with its well-marked and immediately recognizable physical peculiarities, the performance grows into a symphony of actions instantly captivating the audience and leading it to the magic of pure theatre.