I got it! The Pitch (MINI IP)

Friday, the 8^th of April 2011

Today is a beautiful day; finally the sun reached Victoria.

Weird! In the last two theatre classes I gradually lost my energy. I remember how exited I was about the idea I had for my Mini IP, The Story of a Man. In class we all presented our topic and since the class was over, I briefly and quickly presented my idea as well. The class reaction was neutral; nobody had any suggestion, advice or recommendation for me. I am not blaming somebody, but this made me sad. I was really convinced that they would have been a response to my proposal, but this did not happen.

Furthermore, until today, nobody asked me to help them realize their IP and this is disappointing as well, since I am really willing and available if somebody needs my help. I am aware of the fact that right now I might sound pessimistic, but (just like the second years IPs) sometimes I think that the reason why people are not involving me is because I am not really good onstage and on the production, after all.

Going back to my IP, I realize that a negative thing I did (and learn not to do again) is to rush. I rushed everything, even without knowing what specifically I had to do! (wrote my pitch really early, without knowing what exactly I had to do) Waste of time? I don’t think so; even if now I am not willing anymore to do “The Story of a Man” for my Mini IP, I can still use the material I wrote for another project.

By the end of the class, Mauricio asked me to be on his Mini IP, and even if I don’t know precisely what I might be doing, I am really excited and willing to help him.

Monday, the 11th of Afril 2011:

Today is the due for our pitch. I'm so confused. I really don't know what to submit to Libby; whether "The Story of a Man" or a new completly different story.

The point is that I'm lacking of immagination right now and the fact that I don't feel like performing my original idea makes me sad. It already 10pm and I really can't come out with an idea. 

Then, after walking around campus for 5 minutes and freezing part of my body, I got it.

Here is my Pitch! 

Septem Peccatis Mortalibus

The beauty of Dante’s Purgatory, the second part of the Divine Comedy - where Dante has to climb seven levels of suffering and spiritual growth, first drove me to the direction of associating my play with the Seven Deadly Sins. The poem outlines a theory that all sin arises from love – either perverted love directed toward others’ harm, or deficient love, or the disordered love of good things. It might be very sexiest, but as I read twice this last sentence, I thought about women. Seven young women are lying on an Earthly Paradise, performing a play about the Seven Deadly Sins (themselves), and providing an onstage microcosm of the theatrical situation. Each of the Sin will be wearing costumes that emphasize their personality and their malignity.  Everyday one of them will be introducing themselves; the stage, the light, the attention of the public will be there for each of them.  The last three days, their “evil thoughts” will be collected into three groups: The lustful appetite (Gula, Avaritia and Luxuria); Irascibility (Ira); and Intellect (Superbia, Acedia and Invidia). The only reason they have to get together is to decide which of the three naïve, docile and cunning page to persuade; Panfilo, Dioneo and Filostrato. These three young men are from Boccaccio’s The Decameron, and together with seven young women tell stories to pass the time; which is the same reason why the Sins are performing a play.

Even if the audience will be introduce to a play full of allegories, the irony and the adaptation to a contemporary setting, will not alienate them, but help them to enjoy better the play.

Words: 272

The following day, I had a chat with Libby; looking at the pitch from a practical point of view, we came out with different relevant elements that were lacking:

• the plot is not clear; they are three stories inside the play. This might be challenging and too difficult to realize in 10 minutes.
• the idea itself is very good, but it is more like something to do for the IP, rather than in 10 minutes.
• for now, I have to write the script by myself, which is something I'm not really willing to do considering the little time that I have.

 A solution? Try to adjust the Pitch! This is the result:

Se7en

The beauty of Dante’s Purgatory, the second part of the Divine Comedy - where Dante has to climb seven levels of suffering and spiritual growth, first drove me to the direction of associating my play with the Seven Deadly Sins. The poem outlines a theory that all sin arises from love – either perverted love directed toward others’ harm, or deficient love, or the disordered love of good things. It might sound really sexist, but as I read twice this last sentence, I thought about women. Seven young women are lying on an Earthly Paradise, trying to put an end to 5000 years of struggle and forever abolish war and the threat of global annihilation. The tension between the Seven Deadly Sins partly correspond also to the tension between the protagonists of Peter Anderson’s original adaptation of Lysistrata; a comic account of one woman’s extraordinary mission to end The Peloponnesian War. In this adaptation emerges also a form of modern realistic theatre, sometimes with dramatic and comedic effect created by the transparency of the “fourth wall”.

The Sins are wearing costumes that emphasize their personality and their malignity. They are all sitting together and having some tea; the stage, the light, the attention of the public is focus on each of them.

Even if the audience is introduce to a play full of allegories, the irony and the adaptation to a contemporary setting, and the suspension of disbelief created sometimes between the play and the audience, will not alienate them, but allow them to enjoy the fiction as if they are observing real events.

Words: 263