Rythm

One often talks about timing when analyzing comedy and comedians. I believe that our focus on good timing derieves from commedia dell´artes focus on rythm. In order to improvise as an ensemble not only with the scenario and between the actors, but also with the more unpredictable audience and sourrondings when playing on the street, rythm must be foundation for the whole play, not the story or the message of the play. This means that basicly everything workls, how stupid or banale it is in itself, as long as its on the beat. I am convinced that rythm is what the focus of commedia-traing must be about. The ensemble should drum, play silly handclap-games and just find out all the ways they can train their sense of rythm. But the point of the activitys should not be to become great dancers or drummers, instead the ensemble should all the time find ways to loose the rythm, ways to mess the activity up, and first then it all becomes relevant for them as a commedia-troup. Because the most imprtant skill is not to be good at rythms and beats, but to have the beat of the ensemble printed in to their bones, into their instict.

Lasse Gjertsen and the rytm:


The precision of the film-medium is someting that a live commedia-show is up to competition with. And that is a hard race to win!