A 25 mark essay written from a performer's perspective of A Servant To Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni, focusing on the character of Beatrice/Federigo and the theme of comedy.
You are performing the role of Beatrice from her first appearance in Act 1, to her exit
at the end of Scene 3. Explain how you would create comedy from Beatrice's
disguise as Federigo?
Performing the role of Beatrice, my main intention would be to present her as
humourous to the audience. Despite the other main characters being stock
caricatures of the commedia dell'arte style, Beatrice does not take on any particular
stereotypical role and therefore I would aim to create comedy through the audience's
knowledge that she is in fact a lady. Considering the social norms of 18th century
Italy, it would be considered highly unusual for a woman to be at all masculine, much
less take on the role of a respected man. Coinciding with this common stereotype
that women cannot compare to men, I aim to create comedy for the audience by
accentuating her femininity and unfamiliarity with acting in a masculine way in order
to ridicule the obliviousness and ignorance of the upper-class male characters.
During this period of theatre, both men and women could perform and henceforth to
create comedy in this role, I would be a young, petite female to contrast the
audience's expectations of Federigo. As I make my first appearance, I would walk
with a triumphant gait and an open posture as an obvious attempt to make myself
appear larger. I would tilt my head upwards to point my chin in the air, and push my
chest forwards to create a powerful and strong impression. This would ridicule
Beatrice and create humour for the audience as this physicality would juxtapose my
physical traits, and the mockery would be heightened by the other characters' lack of
realisation. As I speak, I would hold eye contact with Pantaloon and stand with a
rigid posture to communicate to the audience Beatrice's discomfort and inexperience
acting in the role of a man. My voice would be falsely deep, and would sound
strained and abnormal, once again contributing to the eccentric initial presentation of
Beatrice. As I begin the line, "Mr Pantaloon.." I would clear my throat and speak with
a slow pace to convey the caution I take when speaking. Due to the forced pitch of
Beatrice's voice, I would slightly contort my face, in particular my mouth and jaw to
express the unaccustomed nature of my speech. As my first line is rather long, as I
speak I would gradually raise the pitch of my voice slightly as I begin to lose
composure. As I reach the words "gain an audience.." I would create a startled facial
expression as I realise my mistake, and look towards the audience briefly before
clearing my throat once more and proceeding with a deep voice. I would create this
facial expression by raising my eyebrows, widening my eyes and clenching my teeth
to create comedy at my negligence. Performing during the commedia and
renaissance period would require consistent interaction with the audience in order to
maintain their attention, thus I would look towards the audience as they know of my
true identity when the characters on stage do not. The main source of humour is
likely to derive from my obvious falsity and the unsuspecting nature of the other
characters' responses.
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