Theatrical masks inspire actors — especially the ones that help define the comic archetypes in the commedia dell’arte classic “The Servant of Two Masters.”
“With the mask, the face is locked in the expression that defines the character,” says Jesse Garlick, who is directing an adaptation of the Carlo Goldoni laugh fest for Lanes Coven Theater Co.’s outdoor performance space at Windhover Performing Arts Center in Rockport Aug. 23-Sept. 8. “Actors have to use their bodies to communicate.”
Justin Genna, who cofounded Lanes Coven Theater four years ago with his wife, Lily Narbonne, adapted the comedy, and plays the lead character, Truffaldino.
“He’s a trickster,” says Genna, who trained as a dancer before heading to graduate school at American Conservatory Theater. “I was introduced to a mask for this ‘servant/trickster’ character while in grad school nine years ago,” he says. “Everything he does is driven by movement. He communicates through made-up words and body language. He is driven by internal rhythms and when Truffaldino is happy, his feet move.”
Truffaldino, says Garlick, “is a very basic dude. He’s driven by food, money, and love — pretty much in that order. The mask helps to teach the actor who the character is.”
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Goldoni’s fast-paced comedy emerges from the Italian commedia dell’arte tradition, which features stock characters — including a trickster servant/clown, a pompous old man, naïve young lovers, and a military officer full of false bravado — and provide broad plot outlines that encourage actors to improvise dialogue. The characters are often defined by distinctive masks. For this production, Lanes Coven tapped the commedia dell’arte mask collections of BU professor emerita Judith Chafee and Genna’s ACT professor Stephen Buescher.
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“The Servant of Two Masters” follows the ridiculous Truffaldino, who takes advantage of the opportunity to serve two masters at the same time to get extra meals, and earn more money, without letting either master know he is double-timing them. One of the most memorable scenes involves Truffaldino trying to serve dinner to both masters’ parties at the same time while also trying to eat his own meal. (The play was adapted in 2011 by Richard Bean as “One Man, Two Guvnors,” and most famously featured James Corden in a film version of a National Theatre production.)
When asked about reviving a nearly 350-year-old play, Narbonne says it fits the mission of Lanes Coven Theater Company, which is already gaining a reputation for its accessible, physical theater approaches to familiar classics. The company’s production history already includes “Macbeth,” “The Importance of Being Earnest,” “Romeo and Juliet,” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
“No one else is reimagining commedia plays and doing them in the traditional, two-act productions of this athletic comedy form, with all the modern pizzazz that we possess,” she says.
Director Garlick, who also teaches clowning and movement at Boston Ballet, says the best comedy emerges from the actor’s ability to improvise in the moment. “I learned from my work with Liars & Believers [a company that specializes in devised theater] that it’s better to let it be and edit later.”
Genna says his adaptation simply provides guidelines to steer the actors in the right direction.
“The script I wrote is not nearly as interesting as what the actors can do,” he says.
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The slapstick is broad and physical and requires the acting company to throw caution to the wind.
“It’s important to let the actors improvise, responding to their scene partners in the moment,” says Garlick. “We don’t necessarily stop and start to rerun scenes during rehearsal. We play through, and when people go off the rails, we go with them and see where it takes us.”
With theater companies’ notoriously short rehearsal times, directors can be under enormous pressure to lead the characters into effective storytelling.
“We hold auditions,” says Narbonne, “but we also tap into our Boston University and American Conservatory Theater networks because we have a shared vocabulary that allows everyone to jump right in.”
“The actors in this cast are infinite idea generators,” Garlick says. “They are constantly trying new jokes and new moves.
“It’s better for this kind of work that the actors not have time to think,” says Garlick. “It keeps every performance raw and real, full of excitement and discovery.”
THE SERVANT OF TWO MASTERS
Lanes Coven Theater Co., at Windhover Performing Arts Center, Rockport, Aug. 23-Sept. 8. Tickets: $10-$45. www.lanescoven.com/2024-season