Physical and Visual Comedy
Tools and Technique Weekend Intensive with Franco Di Berardino aka 'Mr Mustache'
Techniques and practical tools to create non-verbal comedy with Franco Di Berardino
Circus Factory are delighted to welcome back Franco Di Berardino for a really special opportunity to learn from an absolute master crafts person in the art of physical and visual comedy. The workshop will provide practical tools for the creation of non-verbal comedy working both with the physical comedy of the body and focusing on on the mechanisms and structures of visual comedy.
Dates & Times (12 hours lesson total with additional time for breaks)
Saturday 26th November 2pm – 8pm & Sunday 27th November 10am – 6pm
Location: Circus Factory, Centre Park Road, Cork
Price for 2 day workshop
Full: €160.00 / 25% Discount (student / no waged / low waged): €120 – Use discount code: 25MUSTACHE!
Select here for Registration Link
Ages: 18+
This is a progressive learning environment over 2 days so unfortunately we cannot accommodate single day enrolments.
Workshop Description
PHYSICAL COMEDY OF THE BODY:
Our bodies will become our only means of expression, as the musician knows and explores all the possibilities and nuances of his instrument, we are going to do a job of this type on our body.
Comedy is a deformation of normality, you work on the deformation of the action and the normal gesture, which happens when you change parameters such as speed, intensity, structure of the movement, exaggeration, repetition, counter-timing. Working on the body, we are obviously working on ourselves, therefore we will also analyse our physicality, unique and original, exploiting our own personal characteristics and putting them at the service of comedy.
VISUAL COMEDY:
We will analyse the tools of visual comedy widely that is also used in the silent films of of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Jacque Tati, to name a few among the most important creators of visual comedy in the history.
The tools, like tools in a toolbox, will be treated one by one, each with its precise function for the construction of gags, structures and mechanisms perfect for the creation of non-verbal comic material.
Absurd, climax, anticlimax, exaggeration, failure, problem-solution, harmony-disharmony, challenge for an object, are some of the mechanisms we are going to use.
Laughter is the tip of the iceberg, the final product of rigorous technical and structured work, which requires a lot of study. The comic actor’s skill lies precisely in being able to give freshness, spontaneity and surprise in the face of what has actually been prepared, studied and tried many times.
About Franco:
Mr Mustache alias Franco Di Berardino began their artistic career in 2003. Franco studied mime theatre in the International mime theatre school in Buenos Aires and juggling and tight rope in the Circus schools “La arena” and “Escuela de circo criollo”. He studied theatrical clown in Italy with Andrè Casaca and in Spain with Eric De Bont. In Italy also studied comedy theatre with Domenico Lannutti, and corporal mime with Yves Lebreton. Franco studied chromatic accordion in the conservatory of L’Aquila and eccentric clown with Chriss Lynam. Mr Mustache has performed in International Festivals across 18 Countries, where he performs in both street theatre festivals and indoor theatre venues