Tag Archives: buffoons

Improvisation in Commedia dell’Arte (Part 2)

When I work with Commedia dell’Arte I don’t let improvisation be the most important, even though it still is important. I do this for three reasons; Commedia dell’Arte is played from a plot, even though it is of less importance … Read the rest of this entry

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Sexfiaskon och en stol (Sex/six-failures and a chair)

Text and directing – Micke Klingvall Zanni – Yosefin Bouhler Pantalone – Per Mollan Flavio – Mårten Gunnarsson Flavia – Malin Andersson Capitano – Axel Boberg Signora – Manuela Bjelke Click here to see a trailer of Sexfiaskon och en Stol. This was a fall … Read the rest of this entry

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Commercialism in Commedia dell’Arte (Part 2)

The classical way is to wait until the hat is full before the show starts. The advantage with this way is that once “the hat is full” the actors don’t have to think about it and can concentrate on the … Read the rest of this entry

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Commercialism in Commedia dell’Arte (Part 1)

Commedia dell’Arte is commercial by nature. One of the earliest names on Commedia dell’Arte was Commedia Merceraria (One of the many early names it has). The troupes played it in order to make money as any profession would. Commedia dell’Arte … Read the rest of this entry

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Mask technique in Commedia dell’Arte in Commedia dell’Arte (Part 1)

First of all we must establish that the mask technique is used by every mask in Commedia dell’Arte, consequently also the masks that don’t actually have a mask in their face. That is so all masks are playing in the … Read the rest of this entry

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No 4:th wall in Commedia dell’Arte (Part 3)

We can take in the audience in the performance either as an organism in itself or turn to different individuals in the audience. The show becomes a play between the audience and the masks on stage. In this play the … Read the rest of this entry

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No 4:th wall in Commedia dell’Arte (Part 2)

One convention in Commedia dell’Arte is to take of the mask in the middle of the play explaining that a mistake has been made and he will now be repeating the gag or trick or blaming the director/author when a … Read the rest of this entry

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No 4:th wall in Commedia dell’Arte (Part 1)

In most theatre today there is an idea that the audience is supposed to sit down passively and don’t disturb the performance. We shut down the light in the house, demand total silence of the audience and then act like … Read the rest of this entry

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Tempo or rhythm

Commedia dell’Arte is always fast, it is always moving forward and there are no dead moments in it. Except from the fact that it is comedy and it requires a comedy tempo, it is a consequence of that it is … Read the rest of this entry

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Grotesque as an acting style in Commedia dell’Arte

The acting style in Commedia dell’Arte is very crude and rough, especially in early Commedia dell’Arte. The masks can be tremendously grotesque; the plots plain vulgar; situations – burlesque. Over time Commedia dell’Arte got more refined, soon it had become … Read the rest of this entry

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