“He’s behind you!” Pantomime, Mime and Commedia dell’arte
British pantomime was some of my first exploration of theatre and this is still the same for many children today. I would love to do an in depth critical analysis on these forms and the impact they give- but for now I am sharing a drama exercise I will be doing with my drama groups stemming from the Lazzi of Commedia dell’arte in preparation for our Christmas Pantomime.
Commedia dell’arte is an Italian comedic physical theatre form with masked performers which was popular in Europe in the 15 and 1600s. Characters were exuberant and exaggerated with each character being easily distinguishable. There was also great focus on status; the higher the character’s physicality, the higher the status generally. Comedic scenes were improvised with many scenes consisting of a Lazzo.
Lazzi (plural), were the stock part of the play which can be added to keep up comic pace and inserted where necessary.
The exercises:
1 person Lazzo:
Create 5-7 actions to act out the given scenario with each action getting more extravagant and exaggerated.
Scenario examples:
A character drinks a bottle of liquid and then reads the label thinking it is poison
A character is eating some food but a fly keeps buzzing around them
2 person Lazzo:
Create 5-7 actions to act out the given scenario with each action getting more extravagant and exaggerated.
Scenario examples:
A character tries to sneak up on his/her friend without him noticing
A character faints and another character tries to revive them
3 person Lazzo:
Create 5-7 actions to act out the given scenario with each action getting more extravagant and exaggerated.
Scenario examples:
Two characters plot to steal something from a third character
Two characters are in love but the third character doesn’t approve
The things to remember here are to ensure each action gets bigger and more exaggerated, to remember heightened facial expressions and above all, in my opinion, have fun!
More Lazzi scenarios will be available in my ‘Drama Resources’ soon.
Let me know if you create any lazzo inspired scenes- here’s another to have a go on your own:
Scenario: you are brushing your hair and the brush gets stuck. How can you exaggerate each of your 5-7 actions as you try to get it out?
Try it in the mirror! Have fun!
Kya
The exercises are borrowed from and available at theatrefolk.com ;)