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Face the truth: Actors in the Commedia Company will perform Renaissance-style sketches using signature masks at Cloud City on Jan. 25–27. Photo by Caroline Ourso
Mask for more
Williamsburg group brings 16th century comedy to modern day
By Rose Adams It’s a Renaissance renaissance!
A Williamsburg comedy troupe
is updating 16th century Italian
theater for the modern era! During three
performances at Williamsburg’s Cloud
City on Jan. 25–27, members of the
Commedia Company will don masks to
perform improvised skits that often involve
the audience. Just like the centuries-old
commedia dell’arte theater form, every
show has an unpredictable edge, said the
group’s founder.
“Something I find super exciting
about the form is that you have three
dimensions: the characters, the actors, and
the audience,” said Virginia Scott, who
formed the group in 2017.
The Renaissance art form, which
swept Europe between the 16th and 18th
centuries, starred actors wearing halfmasks
to represent different archetypes,
including the lusty old man, the cowardly
braggart, the wise woman, or the
buffoonish servant — broad characters
familiar to viewers of “The Simpsons” or
“Family Guy,” said Scott.
The shows involve a lot of improvisation,
so each player can put their own spin on a
mask’s character, said Scott.
“The way that one particular actor will
play the mask will be different,” she said.
The Commedia Company recreates the
historic style of the art form, but uses
modern storylines — instead of arranged
marriages, it might feature online dating
— and each performance revolves around
a certain theme, including “the internet”
or “Christmas.”
The group also improvises more than
original dell’arte actors did, Scott noted.
“We don’t know exactly what they
were doing, but they definitely did a lot
more plot than we do,” she said. “I’m
just personally, as an artist, not super
interested in plot.”
Instead of a set script, the actors use
the audience to build the story, asking
questions or redirecting a scene based on
crowd reactions, Scott said.
“We’re always playing directly to the
audience,” she said. “For each new show,
we do 20 hours of rehearsal only.”
Scott, an experienced dell’arte director
and teacher, founded the Commedia
Company with colleagues and students,
and the group has since grown to 10
members, who perform four shows
each year. Scott said she hopes to make
performances much more regular in 2021.
“I’m hoping to build the audience over
the next year to where we can support a
new show every week,” she said.
The Commedia Company at Cloud City
85 N. First St. between Wythe Avenue
and Berry Street in Williamsburg, www.
cloudcity.nyc. Jan. 25–27 at 7 pm. $12 ($10
in advance).
Your entertainment
guide Page 41
Police Blotter ..........................8
Opinion ...................................38
Letters .................................... 39
Standing O ............................. 31
Not For Nuthin’ .................... xx
Catholic Schools ................. 33
HOW TO REACH US
COURIER L 4 IFE, JANUARY 24-30, 2020
BY ROSE ADAMS
Community board members
failed to reach a consensus
on the Industry City rezoning
during a messy, four-hour
meeting on Wednesday night
following a phone harassment
campaign that spooked board
members ahead of the important
vote, according to the civic
group’s lead staffer.
“Somebody apparently
had board members’ phone
numbers, so they were getting
phone calls,” said Jeremy
Laufer, district manager of
Community Board 7.
The meeting was the fi nal
chance for the local community
board to issue a set of recommendations
for Industry
City’s rezoning application,
which, if approved, would pave
the way for a $1-billion redevelopment
of the sprawling industrial
complex. The board’s
recommendations are only advisory,
but they’re likely to infl
uence the local councilman,
Carlos Menchaca, who holds
outsized power over the application’s
passage in the Council
since the land in questions sits
in his district.
However, board members
who supported the proposal
have faced intense pressure
from opponents of the rezoning
scheme, which activists
claim will drive up rents and
herald a wave of gentrifi cation
that threatens to push out the
area’s large immigrant population.
Members who testifi
ed in favor of the application
were routinely shouted down
by both their colleagues on the
board and protesters, according
to the board’s leader.
“I’ve heard of people feeling
shut down when they
hinted they were supportive
of the project,” said Cesar Zuniga,
Chairman of Community
Board 7.
The added threat of harassing
phone calls only added to
the sense of anxiety surrounding
STALEMATE: During a four-hour meeting on Jan. 15, members of Community Board 7 failed to reach an agreement
on their stance on the Industry City rezoning. Photo by Rose Adams
the vote, while spreading
fear that members’ personal
information had been made
public, Laufer said.
As a result, some board
members expressed deep concerns
that voting in favor of
the proposal could carry serious
consequences, according
to the board’s second-in-command.
“It’s been so divisive that
board members have been
afraid to vote,” said Patricia
Ruiz, the second vice chair.
At the meeting, board members
weighed in on all four articles
that make up Industry
City’s rezoning application:
The zoning map amendment,
which would change the
site’s designated zoning
The zoning text, which denotes
the approved uses of the
site
The special permit, which
determines the type of construction
allowed at the site
The de-mapping of 40th
Street, which would bring 40th
Street into Industry City’s private
ownership
Prior to the meeting, the
board’s land use committee had
created a four-page draft of recommendations
for the rezoning
scheme, following hourslong
committee meetings and a
rowdy public hearing in December.
The draft, which was voted
on during Wednesday night’s
meeting, called for “approval,
with conditions” of three of
the four articles — except for
the special permit, for which
it called for “disapproval, with
conditions.”
But at the meeting, several
members argued against the
wording of the drafted recommendations,
claiming that the
board should “disapprove” each
article “unless” developers
bend to their conditions, rather
than approve them if they stick
to the conditions. Proponents
conceded that the meaning
stayed the same, but believed
that an apparent disapproval
would give the board a stronger
stance. After several votes to
change the wording, the board
failed to come to a consensus,
and instead voted:
No position on the zoning
map amendment (did not win
a majority)
No position on the zoning
text (did not win a majority)
Disapproval with conditions
on the special permit
Disapproval with conditions
on the de-mapping of 40th
Street
In addition to the intense
pressure to oppose the rezoning,
members expressed confusion
over the board’s procedure.
Shortly after the vote,
several board members said
they regretted voting against
the fi rst two articles once they
realized that a ‘no’ vote didn’t
allow the board to change each
article’s wording — rather, it
left the board position-less.
“I would’ve voted differently,”
said one board member
who didn’t give her name.
Zuniga regretted the confusion
about the voting procedure,
and expressed optimism
that he would be able to schedule
a re-vote in the next few
days.
“It looks like the process
broke down and we weren’t
able to achieve what we wanted
to achieve,” Zuniga said.
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BOARD TO DEATH
CB 7 fails to reach concensus on Industry City rezoning amid harassment
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