20 LAZZIS IN A HAT

Venue: Double Teaching Space, Drama Classroom, Studio, Theatre, Hall

20 Lazzis in a Hat is an electrifying, laugh-out-loud, and educational introduction to the world of Commedia dell’Arte— the birthplace of modern improvisational comedy. In this high-energy performance, two skilled physical comedians bring to life iconic masked characters, delivering 20 traditional lazzi (comic set pieces) drawn from historical sources and updated with modern humour, satire, and physical hilarity.

Students will witness acrobatics, slapstick, mime, verbal wit, parody, burle, improvisation, and dramatic exaggeration as characters tumble through love triangles, power struggles, mistaken identities, and wild misunderstandings. It’s messy. It’s fast. It’s joyous. And most of all — it’s alive.

AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM LINKS | P–6

THE ARTS – DRAMA

Strand: Developing Understanding and Practices

Students explore how dramatic action and meaning are created through performance styles like Commedia dell’Arte. They experience how actors use gesture, movement, mask, and improvisation to communicate relationships and story.

Key Content Descriptions:

• Foundation – Year 2
  ➤ Explore role and dramatic play with expressive body language and movement (ACADRM027)
  ➤ Use voice, facial expression, movement and space to imagine and establish role and situation (ACADRM028)
  ➤ Identify and share how drama makes them feel and what they enjoyed (ACADRR029)
• Years 3–4
  ➤ Use voice and movement to sustain role and situation in improvisations and devised drama (ACADRM033)
  ➤ Explore how dramatic action is shaped by performance styles and conventions (ACADRM032)
  ➤ Reflect on how character, relationship, and mood are created in performance (ACADRR034)
• Years 5–6
  ➤ Experiment with mood and atmosphere through movement, space, and dramatic structure (ACADRM037)
  ➤ Identify how artists use non-verbal storytelling, parody, and character exaggeration to entertain (ACADRR038)
  ➤ Rehearse and refine performance using feedback and focus techniques (ACADRM036)

LANGUAGES – ITALIAN (Years 3–6)

This performance offers meaningful cultural immersion into Italian theatre traditions, fostering intercultural understanding and supporting Italian language programs.

Key Content Descriptions:

• Understand features of Italian performance traditions like Commedia dell’Arte
• Explore how language and cultural expression differ through performance (ACLITU067, ACLITU076)
• Engage in basic Italian phrases used in performance: greetings, exclamations, stock expressions

GENERAL CAPABILITIES

Critical and Creative Thinking

• Reflect on how physicality communicates meaning without words
• Explore how parody, character flaws, and mistakes are used to entertain and teach
• Engage in improvisation and spontaneous scene creation

Ethical Understanding

• Evaluate the intentions of characters and the consequences of their actions
• Understand cause and effect through exaggerated comic scenarios

Personal and Social Capability

• Build confidence through laughter, shared experience, and participation
• Encourage empathy by seeing the world from different character perspectives
• Foster resilience and adaptability through improvisation and problem-solving

 STYLES AND FORMS EXPERIENCED IN PERFORMANCE

• Commedia dell’Arte – Masked characters, improvisation, lazzi, burle
• Clowning & Physical Comedy – Pratfalls, tumbles, and audience interaction
• Slapstick & Melodrama – Big reactions, loud expressions, comic tension
• Mime & Non-Verbal Communication – Storytelling without words
• Parody & Political Satire – Gentle mockery of adult systems and social norms
• Shakespearean Tropes – Mistaken identities, status play, and dramatic irony
• Improvisation – On-the-spot jokes, audience involvement, and comic failure

THEMES & CONTEXTS EXPLORED

• Creativity and Imagination – Transforming hats, props, and space into endless new worlds
• Play and Risk-Taking – Mistakes become opportunities for connection and comedy
• Empathy and Perspective – Understanding different roles, statuses, and motivations
• Choices and Consequences – Comic exaggeration helps students reflect on real-world situations
• Friendship, Courage, and Failure – A safe and silly space for thinking about how we behave and why
• Role and Relationships – Who’s in power? Who’s not? How does that shift?
• Audience Engagement – Direct address and improvisation keep students laughing and learning together

LEARNING EXTENSION OPPORTUNITIES (Post-Show)

• Drama Extension Activities
  ➤ Create original lazzi using classroom topics (e.g. “a lazzi about lunchtime”)
  ➤ Try non-verbal character walks or status role-play games
  ➤ Explore mask making and gesture-based storytelling
• Writing & Reflection
  ➤ Write a comic script, diary entry from a stock character, or performance review
  ➤ Reflect: What character did you connect with? Why?
• Languages/Italian
  ➤ Create Italian name cards for characters and rehearse greetings
  ➤ Match Commedia characters to Italian words and emotions
• Art & Design
  ➤ Create traditional character masks and design costume sketches
  ➤ Explore visual representations of movement and chaos through drawing

AUDIENCE INTERACTION

20 Lazzis in a Hat is not a sit-and-watch experience. Students become part of the mayhem as performers respond to their reactions, bring volunteers into scenes, and turn every audience into a co-creator of comedy. It’s learning through joy, connection, and performance.

Devised by: Clint Bolster, Allie Wilde & Nick Cilento
Directed by: Clint Bolster