Tag Archives: Colombina

Women in Commedia dell’Arte (Part 1)

We have to start with admitting that Commedia dell’Arte was a very masculine form of theatre, at least if we see it from today’s perspective. It sprung out in a time when women, in the greater parts of Italy, just … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in 1 Commedia dell'Arte, Mask theatre | Comment Now

A tribute to life

“It [Commedia dell’Arte] owed everything to the actor, very little to drama or literature. It trained its own players, created its own conditions, travelled with its own costumes and properties, sometimes with portable stage.”                        From “The Theatre – a Concise … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in 1 Commedia dell'Arte, 2 Vulgar Comedy | Comment Now

Playing Commedia dell’Arte indoors

When playing indoors some things work a little different. Lightning for instance has to be as “flat” as possible, meaning that the ligthning has to be coming from a low point. That is to have the eyes of the mask … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in 1 Commedia dell'Arte | Comment Now

Desiosi (The Desired) 1581 – 1603

They are first heard of in Pisa 1581.One of the reasons webring up Desiosi is that they were led by a woman, Diana Ponti, and were often called “Dianas Troup”. She was much celebrated and often the main attraction. Diana … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in 1 Commedia dell'Arte | Comment Now

A Servetta’s prolog

Here is a prolog by a Servetta from Domenico Brunis, from 1621, in my translation from Swedish. This might be one of the most used prologs today. It is one of the few saved prologs that are dramatic and can … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in 1 Commedia dell'Arte, Example texts | 1 Comment

Stage strategies (Part 2)

The second group of strategies he call dividing the stage: Windows are the easiest way to divide the stage. By using windows on the backdrop (as talked about in THE STAGE), where a mask can look out, we work on … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in 2 Vulgar Comedy | Comment Now

Commedia dell’Arte-performances at the Theatrestudio

The reason that I started working fulltime at the Theatrestudio at first was that I would direct and teach Commedia dell’Arte. I was just coming back from USA where I had finished the last year at Dell’Arte School of Physical … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in Mickes's productions | 4 Comments