Curtain Call for Fall Play
This Thursday and Friday (October 12th and 13th), the White Mask Theatre Group (AUP does have a theatre club), is hosting auditions for the Fall Play. The plan is to stage three different plays in the genre of Commedia Dell’arte. Since three directors are working on the three plays, one of them would be staged in collaboration with the Creative Writing Club, the second play would be reserved to the classical genre traditions of Commedia and the third would be directed in a modern interpretation of the classic genre.
So what is Commedia? It is a genre of theatre that originated in Italy and became popular in Europe from the 16th through the 18th century. It is known to be performed by masked archetypical characters and involves a lot of improvisation in the process of staging, based on sketches or scenarios. The genre tends to embrace exaggerated and satirical portrayal of characters, as well as includes different techniques of performing such as pantomime, singing, acrobatics etc. There are 7 archetypical characters that are involved in nearly every play in the Commedia genre.
Image Credit: Shutterstock/Nabihmord
Commedia Dell’arte has four stock character groups which include the Zanni, Vecchi, Innamorati, and Capitani. All of the archetypical characters in Commedia have distinct personalities and roles within the plot of the play. Whether you want to play over the top lovers, a greedy old man chasing after maids, a buffoon, sarcastic and clever servants or a proud but lousy captain, you can all find and interpret these characters in Commedia.
Now that you know more about Commedia and are willing to participate in the fun of improvisation and production come to the auditions and have your moment of glory on stage. The auditions will take place on Thursday in room C-104 from 18h00 to 20h00 and Friday in C-102 from 18h20 to 20h20. You’ll need to prepare a really short piece of a monologue, which could be a rap, joke, a rant or a piece from your favorite novel or play. Be prepared for some theatre warmup games and running lines from the show. If you’re not available during audition time but still want to participate, don’t hesitate to contact the White Mask Theatre Club on their email or Facebook. Since the plays are quite short, rehearsals won’t take much of your time and certainly won’t interfere with any of your classes. Get your creativity to a max level and share your talent with the AUP community.
