Dario+Fo

Acting Dario Fo was born on March 24, and during his lifetime was said to be one of the world’s great modern actors, a world renowned mime artist, and an excellent improviser, who regularly used to perform improvised topical skits about political event.As well as this, Fo is seen as the quintessential twentieth century commedia dell’arte creator and performer. However, contrary to commedia’s satirical viewpoints on society itself, his works are a satire of politics and institutions.As a young boy, Dario studied and imitated the gestures and actions of the local storytellers (who were referred to as the fabulatori). He was soon able to tell their tales as well as they could, and was considered by the locals as an expert on the techniques of the fabulatori. The fabulatori were Fo’s first and perhaps greatest influence, as his first works were improvised skits based on the tales he had heard from them. Later in his career, Fo also drew on mime artist Jacques LeCoq’s performances and the Rame family theatre for inspiration in his pieces.Fo believed that the chief quality of acting was souplesse (flexibility). He is quoted as saying “What distinguishes great actors from average actors is their souplesse. This means that they have a great understanding of the technique of acting, and they understand so deeply, and are involved in, what they are performing, they don’t ‘splash about’...They don’t show that they are exerting themselves. They make you forget they are acting.” This is widely acknowledged among those interested in, and involved in, theatre in present day too. Those who develop their character and get themselves far enough into their role to have the ability to walk, talk and improvise without breaking the believability of the performance are actors we consider superior in their profession. This stems from Fo’s belief that flexibility is essential in acting. [] Indiscussing the performance of The Starving Zannilazzo in The Tricks of the Trade, Fo describes how he will at various times freeze the body and animate only the face, allowing the audience to focus, concentrate on the face alone. He alternately opens the focus to his whole body, and mimes pots and pans on various fires around the body, opening up the stage space. These gestures are carefully chosen, yet performed in an energized sense of improvisation and abandon useful for outdoor theater. But the actor is always in control of the audience. The character posture comes first, then the emotional posture, then the character's playable action is boiled down to the smallest gesture: just the mouth speaking the line, perhaps a tilt of the head, perhaps a point of the finger, perhaps a cartwheel-roundoff-back-handspring. But it's specific. No wandering. Fois also a strong proponent of grammelot; a mix of onomatopoeic sound effects and words. This is harder to describe in a printed text, but we see stand up comedians do it all the time: roaring dinosaurs, bodily functions, noisy neighbors and appliances all come from the mouth of a single performer. Used more imaginatively, in an 'as-if' situation, we can transfer this to commedia. Perhaps I am hit with bad news as if I had been hit in the stomach. What is a sound effect for getting hit in the stomach? What is a sound effect for the reaction of getting hit in the stomach? How can these be combined with a specific gesture that puts a reaction to another character's words into your character's body? "An actor should treat his audience the way a fisherman handles a fish on a line. You have to maintain just the right amount of tension. If you relax you will lose them. If you pull them toward you too abruptly you can snap the line and they are lost. The trick is to bring them close to you gradually while keeping them on the hook" –Fo []

Time Period 1970 Kent State ShootingMay 4, 1970....National Guardsmen opened fire on a group of students, wounding many, 4 fatally, on the campus of Kent State University. Today, memorials to the four students stand near the place of the shootings. Chilie elects Marxist, Allende, as head of stateAllende became the first western nation to freely elect a Marxist head of state. This resulted in a stock market crash, a run on banks and a strike by mine workers. Black SeptemberJordan's King Hussein started to drive Palestinian commandos from his country, and on the 28th, Egyptian president Nasser died of a heart attack. First Earth Day, April 22 EPA created World Trade Center is completed Lithium is approved by the FDAUsed to treat manic-depressives. Arcosanti, a desert utopia is begun The New English Bible is printedDirectly translated from ancient texts into English, it created a big stir of controversy due to it's deviations from the King James version of the Bible (which had been originally translated from other languages) First successful oil well in the North Sea found Artist Rothko commits suicideAfter an investigation of his dealer, it is discovered that he had purchased 800 paintings after Rothko's death at much less their true cost. Canadian October CrisisTwo Canadian leaders were kidnapped by Front de liberation du Quebec, a Quebec seperatist movement. This resulted in martial law being declared in the Quebec province. One of the leaders, Pierre Laporte was killed by his captors, the other freed. Apollo 13 mission suffers a huge setbackA ruptured air tank on their way to the moon almost sealed the fate of the three astronauts on board the spacecraft. Floppy disc was invented. Charles Manson Convicted of Murdering Sharon TateCharles Manson, the leader of a bizzare cult, and 4 of his followers were convicted of the murders of several people including actress Sharon Tate and her unborn baby. Earthquake in Peru May 31, 197072,000 people were killed and 700,000 were left homless China Launches Its First SatelliteAPRIL 24. The People's Republic of China becomes the fifth nation to put a satellite into orbit. China 1's first broadcast is the song "Tang Fang Hung" (The East is Red). Federal Elections18 year olds are given the right to vote in federal elections. Marshall University plane crashOn November 14, 1970 a chartered plane carrying 75 players, coaches, and prominent residents of Huntington, WV and Marshall University crashed just short of the runway after returning from the days game against ECU. There were no survivors. American Soldiers Found GuiltyAmerican soldiers found guilty of murdering entire town of Vietnamese civilians. []

Performance techniques
Acting Time Period
 * === Lighting is to look as natural as possible, overhead lights for office scenes, as if they are roof lights in a normal room. Also lights to look as if they are coming through a window. ===
 * Stage is set to look like it is in modern Italy, as are the costumes and props.
 * Sound effects are used to make the performance seem as real as possible, they are used for things like slamming doors, breaking windows etc.
 * Dario Fo's acting is well known to involve much improvising and miming.
 * Fo belived that great acting involved thoroughly developing and really getting into the role, so that the ability to walk, talk and improvise while still being believeable comes naturally
 * Dario Fo also tries to make his actions very real. First he will think of the sound effect for the action, then he will think of the sound effect for the reaction of the action, then he will think of the gestures and then the dialogue.
 * Dario Fo believes that a characters posture comes first, then the emotional posture, then the actions are broken down into the smallest gestures like pointing a finger or tilting the head.
 * Dario Fo wrote most of his plays around the time of 1970 when he was about 44
 * Some of the main events of the time were:

Performance Influences Books:
 * As Dario Fo liked to base his plays on political events, many of the things going on in the world often featured in his plays
 * In performances Dario Fo uses direct address to explain the situation in the play.
 * Dario Fo uses a mixture of gestures and language to interact and get involved with his audience
 * Dario Fo was influenced by the oral storytellers of his childhood and Commedia Dell'Arte
 * Dario Fo's plays are influenced by the current events and politics of the world around him
 * Dario Fo Peoples court jester
 * Dario Fo tricks of the trade
 * Dario Fo stage text and tradition

For more info on Dario Fo's life and a list of his plays visit []