![THREE ORANGES: MITS' final production for 2017 is inspired by commedia dell'arte. Photo: supplied THREE ORANGES: MITS' final production for 2017 is inspired by commedia dell'arte. Photo: supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/Fg3LhJFFwvjKJ2MeKPTdGu/206bbb49-6737-4d67-9c25-f18f959218a8.jpeg/r159_28_2412_1223_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Theatre goers were treated to a masked surprise on Friday at the opening of Mount Isa Theatrical Society’s colourful finish to a year of comedy.
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‘The Love of Three Oranges' is the story of an unhappy young prince who is cursed to go searching for three oranges, but finds laughter, friendship, and love along the way.
Director, Anna Telford, describes it as a physical comedy to garner big laughs.
“I think it’s physically going to be the funniest show this year. In our year of comedy, it's the shining glory. The actors have worked very hard to bring it to life over eight weeks,” Ms Telford said.
![For the love of local theatre, laughs, and the Three Oranges For the love of local theatre, laughs, and the Three Oranges](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/Fg3LhJFFwvjKJ2MeKPTdGu/8168dd1a-f221-48db-a0b6-4f1739c27731.jpeg/r0_0_593_838_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
“We really hope that it’s well supported by the community as our final show for the year of comedy.”
The story is told in the style of commedia dell’arte, where different masks represent familiar stock characters.
Commedia dell'arte originated in Italy and was popular throughout Europe from the 16th through the 18th century.
The Love of Three Oranges was originally a scenario created by an Italian playwright, Carl Gozzi, and has been used as the basis for many plays.
Ms Telford said this particular version was written by Hillary DePiano and provided by playscripts.com.
“Unfortunately Hillary DePiano is American, so god forbid she use the masks as they were intended, but we have endeavoured to do that,” Ms Telford said.
“Not all of them match the traditional characters, for instance all the country bumpkins are commedia dell’arte ‘zanni’, who are traditionally servants or tricksters from the countryside.”
Most of the cast was unfamiliar with the theatre style, so MITS organised a visit from Queensland theatre company, Homunculus.
“Homunculus specialises in commedia dell’arte to help bring physical characterisation to the characters and the masks,” Ms Telford said.
Actors have also been introduced to the concept of ‘lazzi’; a physical or vocal joke that is repeated multiple times.
“So we have one young character who does an irritating little giggle, and that is her lazzi,” Ms Telford said.
Ms Telford said the crew and cast work incredibly hard to bring the best possible theatre to Mount Isa.
"Everyone who’s involved with MITS is a volunteer, and they are committed to bringing the best theatre they can with the best value possible,” Ms Telford said.
“They rehearse two nights a week from 6.30 to 9pm, do set building for two to four hours on Saturday, and they rehearse all day Sunday. So they sacrifice a lot of time.
“Not only do they rehearse, but they paint and build, they cook the food, they upgrade the property, they work the bar. It’s one of the most productive volunteer groups in Mount Isa, in my opinion.”
The Love of Three Oranges opened on Friday October 27, and runs for four weeks with shows on Friday and Saturday nights.
Tickets including a two course meal are $40 from Impulse on West Street, with discounts for group bookings.