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Calling All Clowns and Would-be Clowns! |
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A fun-filled learning weekend at The Playmakers, Feb. 20-22, is a must for any and all who like to clown around or perform comedy--or would like to. Sara Romersberger, who led a workshop on Farce for The Playmakers two years ago, will take participants back to Commedia dell’Arte, the Italian comedy beginning in the 16th century-- where slap-stick comedy and what we now call sit-coms got their start. You don’t have to do the harder physical stuff if you don’t want to, but don’t miss this opportunity to give yourself more knowledge and skills with an expert like Ms. Romersberger. Register now by calling The Playmakers, 918-786-5871. The workshop begins Friday, Feb 20 at 7:00 p.m. with an introduction to Commedia dell’Arte and lots of hand-outs! |
Then Saturday, Feb 21 at 10:00 am, the fun begins with warm-ups and demonstrations of the special movements of the major “masks” of the Commedia: Arlequina (Harlequin), Brighella, Pantalone, El Dottore, and the lovers. By movements, we mean stances, walks, postures, etc. In such masks as the servants, there will be more acrobatic movement, falls, etc. (We’ll let the young people learn these.)
Since The Playmakers are producing two “commedia” plays in April, actual scene work will be conducted with cast members, and any others who wish to get in on the fun. “The Miser,” opening April 17, is loaded with possibilities, and the school play for the 6th grade classes, “Bamboozled,” even more so. After a break for lunch, the afternoon will concentrate on learning the relationships between the commedia characters—old men to each other, servants to each other and to masters, etc. It will include, also, some “lazzi” –the comic routines that can still be seen today. The workshop will continue where we left off Sunday, Feb. 22, 1:30- 3:30 p.m.
Sara Romersberger, Assistant Professor, Movement Specialist at SMU, holds a B.S. in theatre education from Illinois State University, an M.A. in dance from the University of Illinois, and a Certificate of Mime/Movement from Ecole Jacques Lecoq, Paris, France. Lecoq-based movement classes include placement, acrobatics, neutral and character mask, masks of the Commedia Dell' Arte, European clown, historical movement styles (Renaissance and Restoration) and dance of the 20th century.
With strong roots in modern dance and jazz, Ms. Romersberger has choreographed over forty university and professional musical productions and has danced, directed, choreographed, and performed her own brand of movement theatre off-Broadway in New York/
Her professional work in the Dallas area since 2000 includes directing Tripping the Light Fantastic for the Festival of Independent Theaters and creating or coaching movement, dance and/or fight choreography for As You Like It, A Comedy of Errors, The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) at the Shakespeare Festival of Dallas; for Anna in the Tropics, Hamlet, Wit and Crumbs From the Table of Joy at The Dallas Theater Center; for Blasted, The Late Henry Moss, A Man's Best Friend, Silence, and The Late Henry Moss at the Undermain Theatre; for Misery at Circle Theatre in Fort Worth; for The Last Five Years at the Plano Repertory Theatre; for The Wrestling Season at the Dallas Children’s Theatre for which she won a Dallas Theatre Critics award and a Leon Rabin award for Choreography; for Far East at The Contemporary Theatre Company; and The History of Theatre- Commedia style at The Hub Theatre.
Nationally, she has taught at the National Theatre of the Deaf and has conducted movement workshops at Boston University, the University of South Carolina and at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She choreographed fights, dances and physical comedy for The Comedy of Errors at the Unseam'd Shakespeare Co., Pittsburgh, and created the physical characters for two one-woman shows by Karen Grey for the Baltimore Theatre Project.
In 2002, she completed her CD ROM: "Unlocking the Physicality of Shakespeare's Comedies with the Masks of the Commedia," presented at MASKS, a national conference on masks of the theatre and at SAPVAME, the South African Performers' Voice and Movement Educators Conference in Pretoria, South Africa.. In 2005 she taught three sessions on Using the Masks of the Commedia dell”Arte to teach the physical comedy of Shakespeare- at the 1st International Festival of Making Theater- Athens, Greece.