Tag Archives: Theatrestudio

The mask and the actor

The mask demands energy and size. It is all about filling the mask with life. Since the mask is stylized and extends parts of the face or is larger than life, it demands another form of dynamism than the realistic. … Read the rest of this entry

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The origins of mask (Part 1 – The hunt)

Masks are developed from hunting. When the hunters were trying to get closer to their pray they dressed in hides and furs from the animals they were hunting. It was not only the looks and the scents from the hunters … Read the rest of this entry

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Carnival and the popular feast (Part 1)

As we have seen in Charlatano and the square in Commedia dell’Arte the market square and the life in the streets were a form of refuge from the hard everyday life and the oppression of the state and the church. … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in 2 Vulgar Comedy | 9 Comments

Dottore’s prolog

Here comes another prolog. It is a later text from Lo spirit delle maschere (The spirits of the masks) by Giueseppe Petrai written 1901. But it is a good example of a Dottore’s prolog. “Do you laugh because I happened … Read the rest of this entry

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Charlatano and the square in Commedia dell’Arte (Part 2)

Off course there has been jesters and actors around all the time despite prohibitions and censorship. It is just that we have no written witness descriptions since it mostly played in the country side for ordinary people who could not … Read the rest of this entry

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Grammelot

The onomatopoetic, language mimicking, voice illustrating, sound that Dario Fo calls Grammelot was born in France when the Commedia dell’Arte actors where antagonized by the church in Italy during the counterreformation. They turned to Europe instead, but not only to … Read the rest of this entry

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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

The roots to all western popular comedy

I see Commedia dell’Arte as the roots to all western popular comedy. There are naturally roots to Commedia dell’Arte as well, but if we see it as the first professional form of theatre in Europe and if we consider that … Read the rest of this entry

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

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

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The Stage

Traditionally a Commedia dell’Arte stage was used to be a banco, made of wood, about two meters tall and not much bigger than a horse driven cart, about 3 x 4 meters. It usually had a simple backdrop and where … Read the rest of this entry

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