I thought among the most creative part of the 10-Minute Plays in which Vincent acted this past week at his school were the "Lazzi" transitions between scripted plays. In the Renaissance Italian comedy tradition, Lazzi performance meant improvisation, somewhat like the "Drew Carey Show" spinoff "Whose Line Is That Anyway." Vincent and other members of his 10-minute play ensemble didn't do lots of improvisation, but there transition involved very short vignettes that creatively drew from the scripted plays and each other and introduced new ideas (often apparent non sequiturs). One such transition in which Vincent performed was a depiction and commentary about a central part of the experience at Vincent's school: waiting for and riding the city (Transit Authority of River City = TARC) bus (in Vincent's case, just from school to home - we give him a ride to school). (In the scene pictured Vincent is essentially part of the bus - the Number 17 - which he takes occasionally.) It turns Vincent - with fellow cast members - came up with the ideas for at least a couple of these transitions, including one from Peter Pan, in which a robber kills a fairy by saying "I don't believe in fairies," steals her wallet, and then threatens another fairy. The plays and the transitions were full of references to popular culture, I've mentioned before, including the Ninjas vs. Pirates contest/debate in which two characters from Harry Potter end up taking over.
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