Tag Archives: Kulturama

Commedia Erudita – The gaze upon Commedia dell’Arte and its collaborators (Part 3)

Throughout the sixteenth century there were lots of encounters between the Commedia Erudita with its literary culture and Commedia dell’Arte with its practical know-how. The latter came here to meet the humanistic culture and especially the classic comedies. This contributed … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in 1 Commedia dell'Arte | 2 Comments

Commedia Erudita (part 1)

As we know the word renaissance comes from French (and the historian and author Jules Michelets in 1855) and means rebirth, referring to principles from ancient Greece and Rome. That goes for the theatre as well, as an important part … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in 1 Commedia dell'Arte | 3 Comments

The church censoring Commedia dell’Arte (2 of 2)

The defense of Commedia dell’Arte was foremost the idea that it was an edifying source of moral learning both social and on a personal level, instead of attracting to sin. It exposed the folly, the gluttony, the excesses, the hypocrites … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in 1 Commedia dell'Arte | 1 Comment

Commedia dell’Arte abroad

Commedia dell’Arte was definitely not just an Italian matter. It spread very soon all round Europe, above all in France, where Commedia dell’Arte was almost as at home as in Italy. When Gelosi and Zan Ganassa came to Paris in … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in 1 Commedia dell'Arte | Comment Now

3 reasons mask doesn’t use psychology

The characters of the masks are made of their physical limitations, posture, gestures and so on. It is only the outer of the masks that make up their character. There is no psychology possible, since it does not go through … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in Mask theatre | 1 Comment

Western bias of the mask

In the west we tend to think about the mask as something to hide behind, as if it were a tool to hide emotions, intentions or reactions. Nothing can be more wrong. The masks always tell the truth – it … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in Mask theatre | Comment Now

What is a mask?

A mask can be anything from a small clown nose to giant heads to be worn on big gantries. It can sometimes be hard to tell the difference between masks and puppets, make-up, costume, even props. I would define a … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in Mask theatre | 2 Comments

Vulgar Comedy and the Church (Part 5 – Opposition to theatre and comedy)

In the sixteenth century we also see how puritanism gain power and how and the Counter Reformation takes place. They wanted to purify the popular culture. They tried to stop the carnival and official festivities, since they though that the … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in 2 Vulgar Comedy | Comment Now

Vulgar Comedy and the Church (Part 3 – the Corpus Christi and the forming of comedy companies)

One example of how the theatre was used by the church was in the nativity scene. The first one was shown in 1223 by Francisco of Assisi. From the first puppets where used but soon the roles were played by … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in 2 Vulgar Comedy | 2 Comments

Vulgar Comedy and the Church (Part 2 – the Feast of the Ass and the Feast of Fools)

The church was not just a religious building during the middle ages and the renaissance. It was also a cultural center where one could very well be engaged in worldly matters, despite protests from the priests. For example the cathedral … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in 2 Vulgar Comedy | 4 Comments