Anyone standing outside the door of the third-floor studio where the Juilliard Ovation Society convened for the final member event of the 2002-03 season, An Exploration of Commedia dell'Arte, would have been greeted by peals of laughter. On April 1 (appropriately enough), fourth-year drama students treated members of the Ovation Society not only to a preview of their spring repertory production of The King Stag, but also to an enlightening demonstration of the rigorous training they go through in order to make us laugh.

Michael Kahn, the Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division and host for the evening, began by giving guests a brief history of drama at Juilliard, now in its third decade. He emphasized that one of the division's greatest strengths is its ability to change as the art changes. In particular, he highlighted one relatively recent development in Juilliard's acting program: the addition of training in commedia dell'arte, or what is known more generally as physical comedy or "clowning."

The Ovation Society got a preview of Carlo Gozzi’s The King Stag, which featured Jeffrey Biehl and Jessica Weixler. Photo by Jessica Katz

"It follows mask work, in which actors start to develop characterizations using their body, wearing masks that help them transform into character," he explained. "Not only do they use their bodies, but they're asked to really free their imaginations and go back to a state--maybe before they came to school--where they were actually completely free, completely imaginative, completely childlike." With this brief introduction, Kahn relinquished the floor to Christopher Bayes, the Juilliard faculty member who teaches physical comedy techniques to drama students during their second year of study.

In an effort to express the great importance of physical comedy in an actor's training, Bayes told audience members how his own discovery of "the world of the clown" had changed his life. "It's so much about the event of theater itself and the dialogue that happens between the actor and the audience. It's very pure in that way. I began to notice that I sort of missed that kind of open connection to the audience when I would go see theater, and I began to think ... maybe I should begin to pursue teaching other people about this work. It's a sort of insidious way for me to make the theater more fun when I go to see it."

Before inviting drama students to demonstrate a variety of the exercises they use in physical comedy training, Bayes asked audience members to consider how they could bring their own personal clown to life. "I want you to imagine what you might be like if you had never been told no, if you'd never been told to sit still, or to be quiet or to behave. You begin to get an idea of what your clown might be like. It takes a lot of muscular work. It takes a lot of forgetting. It takes a lot of trying and failing to begin to achieve a kind of openness, a kind of squirrelly playfulness, a kind of ferocious connection to your own personal sense of play, and it's really hard."

Bayes introduced a series of exercises, several of which revolved around laughter. The first somewhat resembled the child's game of telephone. The actors sat in a line, and the student on the end began the exercise by thinking of something amusing and letting it show on her face with a smile that she shared with the person next to her. The smiles transformed into laughter as they traveled down the line of students. Before you knew it, everyone was laughing--the students and the guests alike.

Andrei Belgrader, director of the Artist Diploma Program for Theater Directors at Juilliard, then took the floor in order to show the audience the connection between the study of physical comedy and the ways in which those techniques are put into practice for a formal stage production. Director and co-author of the adaptation of The King Stag, a comic fairytale by Carlo Gozzi, Belgrader introduced a scene that required the students to utilize comic timing, physical comedy, and even some improvisation.

The King Stag is the story of a king in search of his queen. Not just any wife will do for King Deramo (played by Jeffrey Biehl), and so he enlists his Magic Statue (Jasmine Jobity) to help him find the perfect mate. Before long, he finds himself having rejected as many as 748 candidates. In the featured scene, Smeraldina (Jessica Chastain), a crass character clearly not meant for royalty, tries to use her painfully non-existent womanly wiles to seduce the king. Though she exits feeling certain that she will be the next queen, the King is left with a sense of hopelessness that miraculously lifts when he meets his final contestant, the beautiful Angela (Jessica Weixler). The scene also featured Michael Urie and Christian Young as townspeople.

Since the Juilliard Ovation Society was created for individuals interested in going behind the scenes at Juilliard, this evening was an outstanding finale to the group's season of exclusive member events. Not only did the audience get a performance preview and an opportunity to reserve tickets to The King Stag, but they also learned some of the critical techniques actors in the Drama Division can bring to such a production. Overall, the evening exhibited not only the dedication of Juilliard actors, but also the energy and enthusiasm they each bring to the School. As President Polisi thoughtfully expressed, the presence of the Drama Division completes Juilliard as a vibrant performing arts institution.

The Ovation Society contributions support a wide range of activities at Juilliard, including scholarships, performances, outreach programs, and newly commissioned works. For more information about membership, please call Simone Wicha in the Office of Development and Public Affairs at (212) 799-5000, ext. 278, or visit our Web site at: www.juilliard.edu/giving.

Emily O'Neill is assistant director of annual giving.