Tuesday Prompt
Thank you Commedia and Zany Zanni for Keeping Me Young at Heart
On the journey to rejuvenation, that’s a great start!
Without my Monday morning Commedia class, I’d be a wretched old mess!
That may sound like an exaggeration, but getting up out of this chair, putting on a neutral mask, and embodying a series of silly stock characters is my fountain of youth.
It’s actually more than that. Before class this morning, you could call me Melt Down Mama.
The initial high of being a newly published author wears off fast. Then the crash comes, as sleep deprivation catches up with me.
Less than ideal conditions in which to update my Author Central page or input SEO optimization keywords. Tearing my hair out, crying into my coffee, and biting my nails don’t soothe me anymore.
But surprise, surprise! Feeling the awkwardness and frustration of being a Luddite in the 21st century, turns out to be a way into Zanni.
And being Zanni as often as I can keeps me young!
Who the heck is Zanni?
He’s my favorite in the Commedia dell’Arte pantheon of characters. Commedia being a physical comedy theatrical art form dating back to the Renaissance.
Italian Commedia grew in response to and became the way the workers and peasants made fun of the landlords, church, and ruling classes, creating stock characters that have endured over time.
The servants — Pulcinella, Arlecchino, and Zanni — end up being wise beyond their station while the elites — El Capitano, Il Dottore, and Pantalone end up duped and outwitted despite their high status.
Fortunately for us modern aficionados, the movements, styles, shticks, costumes, and lore of these characters were carefully documented so we get to play with them today. This makes Commedia a great fit for political satire as the San Francisco Mime Troupe and others are famous for.
So getting back to me and Zanni…
Zanni is my alter ego. He’s the lowest of the low-status characters, a country bumpkin and full-on id. Food. Farts. And Fucks. That’s his life and his world.
I didn’t pick him, he picked me.
Now he takes over my body, giving my brain a break. Bird-like movements — chicken flapping elbows, feet scratching, and pecky neck thrusts. Faux Italian gibberish, insatiable curiosity, and always, always hungry.
Desperate enough to sneak and steal. Desperate enough to snatch and gobble flies on the wing.
All that too say, getting out of my worry-weary head heals what ails. Transforms and rejuvintes.
But today was extra magical. Today we wore our masks!
Most Commedia characters are masked when portrayed. You may have seen those eccentric half masks with huge exaggerated noses, that leave the mouth uncovered.
All in due time.
For now, we’re working with neutral masks. Plain white basic el cheapo, expressionless masks covering the whole face.
Instant transformation.
The face gets a rest so the body can come alive. As I said to my teacher, with the mask, I had access to characters I usually find hard to get into. Like the Lovers.
I usually don’t like playing the Lovers because it feels so fake. Even with Commedia’s over-the-top stylization. Because at its best, we explore ourselves AS that character. We bring ourselves into the character. Heretofore that wasn’t happening with me and the Lovers.
No doubt that says how long it’s been for me, but that’s another story for another day. And perhaps another approach to the whole rejuvenation thing!
Anyway, today, with the mask, thanks to the magic of Zoom, this woman in my clothes, moving like I move, wearing a white mask, became the Lover. I heard her. I saw her. I felt her from the inside out. Wow.
“Now be an angry Pantalone!”
Pantalone’s the grizzly old miser geezer who thinks everyone’s after his shekels. He hobbles, back hunched over the purse he’s trying to hide.
Immediately my wide, open-armed Lover turned in on herself to embody Pantalone. My shoulders rounded, my feet pigeon-toed as I took ridiculously tiny steps. My arms shook and waved, and my voice screamed and groaned as my Pantalone railed at his fate.
You don’t know how therapeutic those screams were! And still are!
I released a week’s worth of stress that otherwise mutates into grey hair and wrinkles. My Commedia workout headed them off at the pass.
Not only that, I feel light, energetic, and inspired again! Hence, this post. Writing this proves I’m back on track — knowing what I want to say and how I want to say it.
Watching me move, hearing my howls, my teacher and classmates felt it too!
Is this the only way to rejuvenate or stay young? Hardly. There must be others out there. Other ways to rid the body of invaders like stress that left unchecked morph into IBS or cancer.
But Zanni and Commedia found me, and I, them. The joy in my heart has spoken. We’re an item!
Thank you, Diana C. for this week’s focus on relaxation and rejuvenation!
Marilyn Flower writes political humor and satire to delight socially and spiritually conscious folks. She writes about faith and prayer for the prison newsletter, Freedom Anywhere. She’s the author of Creative Blogging: Ninja Writers Guide to Character Development. Clowning and improvisation strengthen her resolve during these crazy times. Stay in touch!