also requires versatility. Actors need to be able to sing, dance,
perhaps play music and perform physical stunts. The show will
be 50 minutes of high energy fun. I expect that the cast will be
exhausted at the end of each performance.”
The form lends itself particularly well to plays for children
because of its action, humor, visual richness and use of music
and dance, which factored into Dweil’s choice when conceiving
a show for youth. “The language in the play is also fun, and
kids will appreciate that. There is a lot of alliteration, like the
repetition of ’C’ or ’S,’ as in the title,” Dweil explained.
Improvisation is also vital part of the style, and the
performance can quickly veer into unplanned situations. Actors
must remain alert and fleet of foot to keep the action moving
and the audiences captivated. “I’m really looking forward
to seeing the students’ input. I am going to have some high
expectations, but what they do with the characters and scenes is
really their own.”
As is often the case with comedy, there is a seam of
seriousness threaded through the play. “I don’t want to give
anything away, but amidst the cleverness and fun is often a
great opportunity for a moral lesson,” Dweil said.
The performances will be staged in area schools and
as far distant as Harrisburg, in a variety of venues that
will include modest auditoriums, black box spaces and
proscenium stages. “It is beneficial for the students to have
the practical experience of performing in so many different
environments,” Dweil said.
Dweil also cites the traveling production as part of
the college’s dedication to the community.
“Lycoming has an important
interest in Williamsport,” she
said. “We are looking for ways
to give back, and I try to use my
undergraduate theatre class as part of that.
I tell my students: You’re here for four years;
go out and see what you can do, what you can
impact. So this is another part of an ongoing
effort at the college to both get out into the
community in a positive way, and also bring
the community here into the college.”
•
theatre for the people, commedia dell’arte is loaded
with pranks, pratfalls, outlandish masks and striking
costumes. It flourished first in Italy in the 16th century,
where some of the first professional theatre troupes created the
art form and performed it on the streets of Verona, Mantua and
Naples.
Though debate still simmers as to whether it sprang directly
from roving bands of medieval players, or if its origins harken
all the way back to the farces of republican Rome, one sure
thing is that the commedia weaved perennial storylines and
characters –– thwarted lovers, meddlesome old cranks, self-
important blowhards and mischievous scamps –– into a unique
pageantry that could melt the resistance of all but the dourest
grouch.
Now, a Lycoming professor has put together a contemporary
production that she will share with area schools in the spring.
Tiffany T. Dweil, visiting assistant professor of theatre, wrote
and is directing “A Saucy Sausage Sandwich, A Commedia
dell’Arte Theatre for Youth.”
“The play has big characters, based on some of the classic
commedia dell’arte archetypes, like the crafty Pulcinella and
Isabella, the forlorn lover,” Dweil said. “It’s a challenge for
the actors, and so it’s great for our students. There is a lot of
physical acting, slapstick and over-the-top exaggeration.”
Song, dance and healthy doses of madcap hijinks
were all part of the stock-in-trade for commedia
performers, and Dweil’s show is true to that
legacy.
“This piece is going
to be physically
demanding in terms
of the acrobatics and
the flexibility required
to pull it off,” Dweil said. “I told my
students that they had better start
doing some yoga if they want
to be in it! It
A Saucy Sausage Sandwich
THE ART OF COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE
A
BY CHRIS QUIRK
21
www.lycoming.eduF E AT U R E S