CommediaDellStElsewhere

Commedia Dell'St. Elsewhere is a lousy name, but for the moment, it'll do.

Characters

The schtick with Commedia is that most (if not all) characters are stock archetypes. They should have straightforward and obvious objectives and distinct, identifiable personalities. This lets players work on the nuances of the character and focus on narrative. The characters should be so strong that the audience should already know what a character would do or say, leaving the player to exceed the audience's expectations.

The Staff

Note that many of these roles are gender-neutral and can be played out by doctors, nurses, orderlies, and interns.

• The Father Figure
• The Penny-Pinching Image-Conscious Administrator
• God's Gift to Mankind (The Arrogant Asshole)
• The Incompetent
• The Revolutionary
• The Weasel
• The Martyr
• The Peacekeeper
• The Tart / The Rake
• The Naive Intern (FNG)
• The Joker
• The Sarcastic Ambulance Driver

The Patients

Note that while most patients change from week to week, there are a few that are in the hospital forever.

• The Ever-Lingering Comatose Patient
• The Interminably Ill Patient Always on the Brink of Either Remission or Death
• The Terminal Patient That Rapidly Cycles Through Kübler-Ross' Five Stages of Death
• The Teenage Mom
• The Freckle-Faced Kid With Inflamed Tonsils
• The Freckle-Faced Kid With an Inoperable Brain Tumor
• The Heart Patient Who Won't Take Medication, Quit Smoking, or Stop Eating Bacon
• The Hypochondriac
• The Tragic Drive-By Shooting Victim, Preferably a Bookish Urban Youth With Dreams of Escaping The Ghetto By Getting Into Harvard Medical School (See The Mascot below.)

Everybody Else

• The Evil Malpractice Attorney
• Assorted Grieving Loved Ones
• The Bitter Parent That Won't Believe The Doctor Did Everything Humanly Possible
• The Mascot (see above)
• Gladys the Florist / Louie The Newstand Vendor

Suggested Show Titles

• TBD

Frame

Intro

Condense down the Hippocratic Oath into something we can voiceover in 60-90 seconds. It'd be really cool if we could do this as a dramatic video intro (slow-mo, fades, E.R.-esque mood lighting -- the whole nine yards!)

The Modern Hippocratic Oath

I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.

I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.

I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.

I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.

If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.

Costume

We never use costumes at The Hideout. Like not ever. I say we hit the uniform supply houses and get scrubs and lab coats. Throw in some clipboards and we're golden.

Goals

• Narrative! Narrative! Narrative!
• Overwrought melodrama. Emote big!
• Conflict & resolution
• Getting there and going beyond - making things happen

Setups

• TBD