In class last Wednesday, we watched some videos from the National Geographic. They described most of the Commedia characters in detail. We were asked to create a blog post about them but I have already done that in my post 'Stock characters of Commedia dell'Arte'. We were also told to pick a character to play. I chose Columbina. I did not write about her last time so I will now.
Columbina
She is the perky servant girl to one of the higher status women. She wears better clothes than most of the other servants because she is the lady's personal made. She always has a basket and dresses like her mistress or a skirt that falls slightly below the knee. She is a petite and attractive girl but also a strong, confident character. She is a mix of all the different characters. Most of the time, Columbina is unmasked, but her eyes are made pretty with makeup. Sometimes, she wears a mask that covers just her eyes which is also quite pretty. When she is standing still, one leg is straight, and the other bent. She leads with her hips to show off her features. She walks with a small flick of her foot and has a bounce to her walk. Her hands are usually placed on her hips. Columbina has a gossipy voice which varies in pitch depending on her mood. She is in love with Arlecchino. She has a very strong relationship with the audience. She often flirts with the audience and shows them that she also thinks that the rest of the characters are making fools of themselves. Columbina is usually at the center of everything that happens in the plot. She has a very strong influence on the outcome of the story. Her animal is a dove.
Columbina Mask
Columbina and Arlecchino
Columbina and Arleccino
I chose to play Columbina because she is a very feminine character like me! She is quite a main character and I like being main characters because I get the most experience from doing more. She is an extremely interesting character and I really enjoyed researching her.
In class we made a small mime scene with our characters that lasted around 15-30 seconds long. We had to act on our own just to show who the character was. My scene shows Columbina helping her mistress get dressed. I decided to curtsy at the mistress to show that she had a higher status than me and to help the audience understand what was going on. To invite the audience into the scene, I smiled at them and gave a small nod of the head towards them.
I got feedback from my teacher because she watched my draft. She said that I need to walk lower since I am a tall person naturally. She also said that I had a good interaction with hair and did such nice curtsy, but my head needs to be down when I curtsy. I should keep my head down when I walk and also be less tippy-toey but 'earthy'. At the same time I should try to stay perky though to keep to my character description.
When I do my scene in our next class, I will do it slightly differently. I will try to have a few more interactions with the audience and try to keep them 'in' the scene. I will also, follow my teachers advice and keep my head down a bit more. I will change my scene a little by using a basket as a prop but keep the story line of it the same.
Evaluation for another Person (Nafisa S)
My teacher asked us to evaluate someone else's performance from our group, I chose Nafisa. She was playing the first actress who is an aristocrat. The first actress/actor leads with their shoulders. In Nafisa's scene, she walks in with the first actor then another man asks her to dance so she dances with them. She did not use any props.
I think that her scene was very clear and it was obvious what she was doing. Nafisa should have at least said goodbye to the first actor because she just left him alone and went to dance. During her performance she did not smile which is what the first actress always does. She should be more confident because that is her character description and also make herself bigger to show that she has power. She never interacted with the audience which is one of the most important things to do when doing Commedia. Overall, she just needs to be more confident in herself so that she feels more comfortable playing any kind of character.
I got feedback from my teacher because she watched my draft. She said that I need to walk lower since I am a tall person naturally. She also said that I had a good interaction with hair and did such nice curtsy, but my head needs to be down when I curtsy. I should keep my head down when I walk and also be less tippy-toey but 'earthy'. At the same time I should try to stay perky though to keep to my character description.
When I do my scene in our next class, I will do it slightly differently. I will try to have a few more interactions with the audience and try to keep them 'in' the scene. I will also, follow my teachers advice and keep my head down a bit more. I will change my scene a little by using a basket as a prop but keep the story line of it the same.
Evaluation for another Person (Nafisa S)
My teacher asked us to evaluate someone else's performance from our group, I chose Nafisa. She was playing the first actress who is an aristocrat. The first actress/actor leads with their shoulders. In Nafisa's scene, she walks in with the first actor then another man asks her to dance so she dances with them. She did not use any props.
I think that her scene was very clear and it was obvious what she was doing. Nafisa should have at least said goodbye to the first actor because she just left him alone and went to dance. During her performance she did not smile which is what the first actress always does. She should be more confident because that is her character description and also make herself bigger to show that she has power. She never interacted with the audience which is one of the most important things to do when doing Commedia. Overall, she just needs to be more confident in herself so that she feels more comfortable playing any kind of character.
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