This week in drama we initiated our research and development of our skills for Commedia dell'arte. We begun watching Fawlty Towers with John Cleese , and reviewed that characters and their traits within the show. I've noticed there are a lot of similarities between the characters portrayed in modern TV shows and the characters used in Commedia sketches. The humour is very similar (slap-stick comedy) as it entails physical humour that includes large, clumsy movements and an attitude to go with it. These physical gestures and comedic movements are called lazzis. They provide entertainment, as they usually make the respective character look clumsy, ditzy, naive or stupid. They are not always related the theme and story line, but are used to break the tension and make the audience laugh.
Week 2
The activity we completed in the single lesson we had this week was extremely fun. Ms. Weston gave us a sheet of activities we had to complete with others in the class. Some of the things on the sheet included carrying someone fro 10 seconds, laughing hysterically for a minute and doing an impression of a famous person, etc. It was one of the invigorating activities I've ever had the opportunity to do at school. We were constantly running around, enjoying ourselves - and consequently felt exhausted and alive after we were done. This activity was completed in order to understand the constant energy, concentration and development required of us to complete our Commedia assessment successfully. I've learnt that I have to stay in constant concentration, and keep myself energised and stimulated throughout my whole performance.
Week 3
This week was mostly focused on the preparation and revision for our exams next week. In class, we discussed the importance of structuring our essay, and Ms. Weston gave us sheets and helped us prepare and organised how we were to write the essay. We were also given homework to write an essay on the topic of - How has your study of Greek Theatre helped you to appreciate the origins of Western Theatre practices? By writing this practice essay, I can be assured that I will be more ready for my exam, and will complete it successfully and with good marks. This practice question will be similar to the one we are to write about on the exam. For my own personal revision, I have revised the notes we made in and out of class, my knowledge of the basis of Greek Theatre, class activities from Term 1 and my performance from 'Lysistrata'.
Week 5
This week's drama lessons only consisted of Thursday and Friday, as we had a long weekend after exams. We were given our groups, and mine consists of Beth, Matt and Jefferson. We discussed several circumstances and ideas for our composition, and ideas were bounced around such as working with mistaken identity or a secret. My group liked the idea of a secret, and ended up developing this into a message and potion for Arlecchino (Jefferson) to send to someone. Everyone in the group contributed to the final idea, and I truly believe that our assessment will be successful as our group is getting along nicely, and has some great ideas. We also discussed the sort of humour, jokes and lazzis we wanted to put in our play, and ended up deciding that those of sexual nature and innuendos would best suit the needs for our tales.
Week 1
This week in drama we initiated our research and development of our skills for Commedia dell'arte. We begun watching Fawlty Towers with John Cleese , and reviewed that characters and their traits within the show. I've noticed there are a lot of similarities between the characters portrayed in modern TV shows and the characters used in Commedia sketches. The humour is very similar (slap-stick comedy) as it entails physical humour that includes large, clumsy movements and an attitude to go with it.These physical gestures and comedic movements are called lazzis. They provide entertainment, as they usually make the respective character look clumsy, ditzy, naive or stupid. They are not always related the theme and story line, but are used to break the tension and make the audience laugh.
Week 2
The activity we completed in the single lesson we had this week was extremely fun. Ms. Weston gave us a sheet of activities we had to complete with others in the class. Some of the things on the sheet included carrying someone fro 10 seconds, laughing hysterically for a minute and doing an impression of a famous person, etc. It was one of the invigorating activities I've ever had the opportunity to do at school. We were constantly running around, enjoying ourselves - and consequently felt exhausted and alive after we were done.This activity was completed in order to understand the constant energy, concentration and development required of us to complete our Commedia assessment successfully. I've learnt that I have to stay in constant concentration, and keep myself energised and stimulated throughout my whole performance.
Week 3
This week was mostly focused on the preparation and revision for our exams next week. In class, we discussed the importance of structuring our essay, and Ms. Weston gave us sheets and helped us prepare and organised how we were to write the essay. We were also given homework to write an essay on the topic of -How has your study of Greek Theatre helped you to appreciate the origins of Western Theatre practices?
By writing this practice essay, I can be assured that I will be more ready for my exam, and will complete it successfully and with good marks. This practice question will be similar to the one we are to write about on the exam. For my own personal revision, I have revised the notes we made in and out of class, my knowledge of the basis of Greek Theatre, class activities from Term 1 and my performance from 'Lysistrata'.
Week 5
This week's drama lessons only consisted of Thursday and Friday, as we had a long weekend after exams. We were given our groups, and mine consists of Beth, Matt and Jefferson. We discussed several circumstances and ideas for our composition, and ideas were bounced around such as working with mistaken identity or a secret. My group liked the idea of a secret, and ended up developing this into a message and potion for Arlecchino (Jefferson) to send to someone. Everyone in the group contributed to the final idea, and I truly believe that our assessment will be successful as our group is getting along nicely, and has some great ideas.We also discussed the sort of humour, jokes and lazzis we wanted to put in our play, and ended up deciding that those of sexual nature and innuendos would best suit the needs for our tales.