Fun With “Grotesque Italian Run”
We just had a “Grotesque Italian Run” today in our rehearsals for William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. How this works is we basically go through our lines in the play at double-time (or triple-time for the brave souls) speed while exaggerating our delivery of them in any way possible. One purpose of this exercise is, of course, for us to become even more intimately familiar with our lines. However, the most crucial intent is to give us the opportunity to reach inside ourselves and vent out our emotions with no holds barred. I thoroughly enjoyed the “Grotesque Italian Run” today and I’m sure everyone else did as well.
Because of the scruples in society and proper decorum and whatnot that we instinctively follow every day, we rarely get the chance to access our emotions, let alone expose them. We balk at the mere thought of such an act. Yet, given the right moment or incentive, we do not hesitate at all to launch into a headlong dive to full exposure. That was the beauty of today’s rehearsal. The energy in the room was so charged with raw emotions that you can actually feel the very air vibrate against your skin. I kid you not about the intensity.
There was a wide range of various exaggerations in the exercise today: some did Southern accents, others did Russian accents; some performed “Valley Girl” impressions, others acted like bimbos. I attempted to carry out a Caribbean accent for the first time, but I don’t think I succeeded, judging by the responses I received to my invitation for guesses on identifying my accent. One person thought I was doing an Arnold Schwarzenegger impression while another thought I was doing a Chinese accent. Clearly, I need to work a little harder on my so-called “Caribbean accent”.
I say, since we’re on the subject of acting, this is the perfect segue for an advertisement of our play. The opening night for The Tempest is on Wednesday, Feb. 20th at 8:00 PM in the Wood Street Annex. It will be showing every evening at the same time and location from Feb. 20th-23rd and Feb. 26th-Mar. 1st. We at “Moving Parts Theatre” sincerely hope to see you there in the audience to experience this classic of magic.
Meanwhile, I hope we break a leg.
As do I. Multiple legs, even.
I’ll be there next week! And on another note, if you need to meet any actual Grotesque Italians – I can set you up.