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Serving up a comedy
American University of Sharjah students recently tackled a new genre of acting when they performed The Servant of Two Masters.
- By Amelia Naidoo, Notes Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:31 November 29, 2008
- A Servant of Two Masters tells the story of a servant who takes on a second master in order to maximise his earnings.
- Image Credit: Atiq-Ur-Rehman/Gulf News
Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni wrote his slapstick comedy The Servant of Two Masters in the commedia dell'arte style several decades ago. However, it still tickles audiences today as student actors found out recently when they performed it at the American University of Sharjah.
Promoting performance arts
Organised by the Department of Visual and Performance Arts in cooperation with the Cultural Events Committee the student play is part of the new theatre programme at the university. A cast of more than 20 students took to the stage for four days, backed up by 70 others who worked as volunteers and assistants.
The play follows the highly successful spring production of Romeo and Juliet.
"A primary goal of any educational theatre programme should be presenting works that are not only great entertainment, but also of educational value," said Professor Anthony Tassa, associate professor of visual and performance art and director of the play.
"This comedy is a classic example of the Italian commedia dell'arte, and is widely presented around the world. It also meets another of our goals in that we are trying to present playwrights from many different nations and genres, to give the programme a truly international flavour."
Commedia dell'arte or comedy of art is a form of improvisational theatre that was popular in Italy from the 14th to 18th centuries. Actors relied on well-rehearsed routines as well as on-the-spot jokes and repartees to deliver largely spontaneous and individual performances.
Acting experience
Tassa said preparations for the play started at the beginning of the semester, but students had to double their efforts after Ramadan. Students were responsible for all the behind-the-scenes work including set design, making props, designing the customs, managing the stage and controlling lighting and sound.
The director said students underwent a lot of training in preparation for the play starting with studying the characters' emotional depth, vocal and dance training. The majority of the students who took part in the play were first-time actors.
Tassa also had student help in directing the play from Kholoud Fawaf who was assistant director.
"One theme in this particular play is very simple: 'Oh, the things we do for love!' But it is also a big fun rousing comedy, with little to offer socially. Its sole purpose is entertainment," said Tassa.
The next production will be in spring and is by well-known Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Tassa said he hopes to present plays with regional themes next year.
Actor feedback
Journalism major Farha Moon played Beatrice, one of the lead roles. The 20-year-old caught the acting bug last semester when she played Juliet in the Shakespearean drama Romeo and Juliet.
"The experience playing Juliet was a lot of fun so when auditions were held for this play I had to go back and give it a shot. It was a lot different from Romeo and Juliet because this is a comedy," she said.
Moon said playing a role in a comedy was much harder work than a drama. "You have to work hard on the jokes and make sure the audience gets them. But when you see the response on their faces it's so encouraging."
Moon added that she enjoyed her role as a feisty, stubborn and unconventional woman. "The play is set in the 1920s and Beatrice did not conform to the standards set for women then. She broke rules and did her own thing," said Moon.
About the play
A Servant of Two Masters tells the story of a servant who takes on a second master in order to maximise his earnings. The two masters who have employed him happen to be lovers divided by circumstances and searching for one another.
Truffaldino, the servant, becomes quite overburdened with the tasks he is assigned, and comic action ensues.
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