It took me all day to write Shakespeare. And I got it wrong. How is that even spelled? My name is Benedetta. That's easy. But this guy—nobody knows how to write it, and then when you read it you have to say a different name. I still don't get why. But my teacher told me now that I'm home I have to do research on this guy. He's been dead forever too. I learned to say "O Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo?" But I don't even know who Romeo is. But I have to do it because I want a good grade at school. Romeo was in love with Juliet. And I'm in love with Elia. But I'm not going to stand there saying "O Elia, Elia, wherefore art thou Elia?" I say, "Elia, hey handsome, I love you!" But when I say "O Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo?" I put my hand out in front like the actors do when I go to the theater. This guy whose name I can't spell was English. He knew the king. He wrote tons of stuff. Then I even did research on commedia dell'arte. I know the actors used to be out on the street and they didn't read from scripts—they made it up as they went. And there were women too. They wore masks like at carnival.
I told my friend Flavio Insinna, who's a big actor, that I'm sorry I can't go see his show because we can't leave the house. He told me he's stuck at home too. I told him I'm doing research on commedia dell'arte and he said I had to add something important to my research. He said that when he improvises, first he studies really well—otherwise he'll look bad in front of everybody. I listened to Flavio, so that's why I'm studying so hard. I already typed up my research papers and sent them to my teacher. And I tell her every time we do the video lesson with all my classmates—I always say I'm happy to see them on the computer. And then in the evening they call me on the phone and we do video calls without the teachers. But writing that guy's name—the one who says "O Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo?"—that took me two hours. Writing Flavio Insinna? That was fast.