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Italian Theater
Unmasked
In “The
Venetian Twins” actors ignore the “fourth wall” and interact
with the audience.
Mathis Parker
Style
Weekly
Wednesday
April 10, 2002
In any given
season, Italian director Paolo Emilio Landi might be found in
a war-torn zone such as Kosovo, Serbia, Rwanda, Albania or
Indonesia. On certain occasions, he might be seen shaking
hands with the likes of Nobel Prize winners Nelson Mandela,
Adolfo Perez Esquival or Jose Saramago. Landi could even be
observed foraging through letters, delving into the lives of
such notables as Albert Schweitzer, Bach, Martin Luther, or
the victims of Auschwitz.
Landi from Rome is a
renowned broadcast journalist whose work has taken him around
the world, from the tropical island of Maluku, to the little
country of Latvia, and as far as the remote city of …
Richmond. “This season, Paolo Emilio Landi can be found at the
University of Richmond, not producing documentaries on
apartheid or the Holocaust, but fulfilling the other role of
his dual career. Landi, who holds a doctorate in English
literature from the University of Rome, is currently guest
professor at UR, teaching 12th-century Italian theater and
directing Carlo Goldoni’s “The Venetian Twins,” which opens
this week at the Modlin Center.
Those familiar with
the topics of Landi’s film work might expect his theater
interests to center solely on somber dramas or tragedies. To
the contrary, Landi’s production of “The Venetian Twins” is an
example of commedia dell’arte that has delighted audiences
worldwide. In 1995, Landi’s production of “The Venetian Twins”
opened at the State Omsk Drama Theatre in Russia where it is
still running. So it seems that Landi has a special talent for
commedia dell’arte. “This is a gift,” he says, “No matter
French, German, Russian — I seem to have this success.”
According to Landi, commedia dell’arte is a heritage
common to many international theater forms, including those of
America. “Unfortunately,” he says, “it is little known and
even less put in practice. University students and
professionals rarely get introduced to its physical energy,
games, masks and improvisations.” Although around for
centuries, commedia dell’arte, according to Landi, can be
likened to today’s stand-up comedy. “We are not reviving an
old tradition,” Landi says. He cites slapstick and
performances by Charlie Chaplin and Lenny Bruce as
contemporary examples of the form. “In commedia,” Landi says,
“you don’t have the ‘fourth wall.’” Instead, actors connect
with and interact with the audience. “The best partner of the
actor on the stage is the audience,” he says. The use of masks
is a familiar feature of commedia dell’arte. Not all
performers wear them, but those who do, represent
stereotypical characters. In early theater, Landi says, masks
were worn for better acoustics in the open market, where
performers were paid to lure people in to shop. They also
protected the identities of the actors, so they could not be
held liable for their statements.
Based on a Greek
comedy, “The Venetian Twins” is set in the 18th century. It
tells the story of two brothers, one very smart and the other
stupid. The twins happen to be in the same town, one to marry
a girl he has never seen, and the other to find his fiancee
who has escaped from Venice. The countless misunderstandings
prove to be the ideal setup for a comedy of errors.
Among the cast of 17, which includes guest artists
Linda Livingstone and Daryl Phillips, Jim Morgan takes on the
challenge of playing twins. Stage design is by Reed West and
the ambitious period costume design is by Santi Migneco of
Rome.
Already familiar with the challenges of
documentary filmmaking, Landi also has an understanding of the
unique pressures of producing live comedy onstage.
“In
my experience,” Landi says, “to stage a drama, if someone in
the audience falls asleep, no one knows. In comedy, if no one
laughs, everyone knows.” And that, Paolo Landi knows, would
indeed be a tragedy.
“The Venetian Twins” plays at
the Alice Jepson Theatre at the Modlin Center, April 11 - 13
at 7:30 p.m. and April 14 at 2 p.m. Tickets: $8 adults, $7
seniors and students. 289-8980.
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