Theatre is known as one of the greatest art forms of all time, since it is the one way that human beings can connect and relate to one another. Theatre has been highly recognized throughout all of history by various cultures, societies, customs, and traditions. One of the highly recognized forms of theatre is known as Commedia dell' arte. Commedia dell' arte is a theatrical form characterized by improvised dialogue and a cast of colorful stock characters. Commedia emerged in Italy in the fifteenth century, through performances by various troupes in the streets and marketplaces, and rapidly gained popularity throughout Europe. The development of Commedia impacted the world of theatre and the European culture majorly, because without its' presence there would have not been a voice for politics, economics, or the people, and there would not be have been a way to escape from the real world. The way we hear the voice of the people and escape from reality is through the actors, who embody what message the world wants to vocalize. Without the presence of the characters the stories would not be as clear, because their personality, behavior, movement, and acting choices define the story and define the society as a whole.
Commedia dell' arte defined society through its use of big and bold stock characters. Each stock character of Commedia evolved a distinct set of attributes, such as characteristic speech, gestures, props, and costume, which all became standard to the portrayal of their character. The characters were also seen as the subtext for the story and as the literary and social stereotypes of the society itself. These aspects allowed each person to be engaged by a performance, since they could relate to at least one of the chara...
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...hole society in one magical performance.
Works Cited
Price, Lindsay. "Issue 67Commedia Dell'arte." Commedia Dell'arte:: Spotlight: E-News from Theatrefolk. Theatre Folk, 20 Feb. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.
Oreglia, Giacomo, and Lovett Fielding. Edwards. The Commedia Dell'arte ... Translated by Lovett F. Edwards, Etc. [With Illustrations.]. Pp. Xvi. 158. Methuen & Co.: London, 1968. Print.
Smith, Winifred. The commedia dell’arte: a study in Italian popular comedy.
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Human Race Theatre. "Commedia Dell'arte: An Overview"
Human Race Theatre. March 2007. Web. 17 Oct. 2013
Felix, Talia, and Lawrence Langner. "La Commedia Dell'Arte." La Commedia Dell'Arte.
Web Ring, Dec. 2011. Web. 17 Oct. 2013
Arts, Shane. "Commedia Stock Characters." Commedia Stock Characters.
Dallas Hub Theatre, Sept. 2005. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.
Pause for a second and think about a play or musical that you have seen. Consider the plot, whether you liked it or not and if the experience was positive or negative. Think about the characters, the costumes, and the emotions that were emitted. The discourse community of theatre is unique in the way that it is so complex and there are many different parts that ultimately come together to create a dynamic whole. The term discourse community is rather broad, but John Swales in his article “The Concept of Discourse Community” gives six characteristics that define it. Swales lists them saying,
In each and every culture theater exists. However, they are not always portrayed in the same way and could take up many different forms. What differ them from others is influenced by the convention of what governs them. What happen on stage depends on the conventions of the theater. Convention is define as “Rules governing a given style of theater, such as fourth-wall verisimilitude or bare stage. These rule should not be violated, but often are, as when actors “break” the fourth wall by delivering a line directly toward the audience” (Altshuler and Janaro 208). The condition governing the staging and performance are known as theatrical conventions, in which what the audiences agree to accept as what is real (Altshuler and Janaro 173). In comparing an Elizabethan and a modern theater to each other there are many differences and similarities between the two. By comparing William Shakespeare “Hamlet” to Lorraine Hansberry “A Raisin in the Sun”, we can see that there is a major difference between the two
Theatre Journal 57.4 (2005): 598-600. Print.
My work proposes a broader view of the theatre-film interface, one that relies on intertextuality as its interpretive method. I believe it is valuable-both pedagogically and theoretically-to ask broad questions about the aesthetic, narrative, and ideological exchanges between the history of theatre and contemporary film and television. For example, this paper will study how the "Chinese Restaurant" episode of the sitcom, Seinfeld, intertextually reworks Samuel Beckett's modernist play, Waiting for Godot. In each text, characters encounter an existential plight as they are forced to wait interminably, and thus confront their powerlessness at the hands of larger social forces. As a pedagogical matter, this connection encourages the students to see academic culture in the guise of having to read Beckett's play for my course, not as foreign and alienating, but instead as continuous with their understanding of leisure activities like watching sitcoms. As a theoretical matter, this intertextual connection allows important ideological matters to come into bold relie...
I went to see Around the World in eighty Days with a very open mind as it was the first professional play I have gone to see and after I left I was absolutely stunned. After experiencing the dynamic magic that is professional theatre I became positive I would never pay to see a film in a theatre ever again. I never thought film actors and stage actors were the same but now I know unequivocally that the two are on separate planets. The vast differences in both planets truly makes one appreciate theatre for all of its’ glory. While I never thought much of or respected actors, and why would anyone; stage actors are true workers, stage actors are true artists, stage actors are actual actors.
Throughout the history of the theatre its technology has helped to convey the story, amaze the audience, and to, at times, make the theatrical performance possible. Over the ages we have seen the growth of theatre shown in its technology, namely its staging, costumes, scenery, and lighting. We will trace the development and growth of these technologies from Ancient Greece through the end of the eighteenth-century.
In the 1960’s, culture and society saw great upheavals and changes, changes that would affect every aspect of life in America. Naturally, theatre came to be affected in due time, as could be seen in the new subject matter found in the plots of new plays. One of the aspects that came to be affected was scenery of the time. Theater is a diverse and complex art. It requires collaboration among many artists, craftspeople, and managers in order to create a performance for audiences. Since the time of the ancient Greeks, theatrical events have included such production elements as costumes, scenery, properties, music, and choreography. Lighting and sound are more recent additions. Each element in today's theater has its own designer, composer, or choreographer, who collaborates with the director to focus the audience's attention on the actor in the special environment or seeing place. In addition to the actor and the audience in a space, other elements of theater include a written or improvised text, costumes, scenery, lights, sound, and properties (props). Most theatrical performances require the collaborative efforts of many creative people working toward a common goal: the production. Fundamental to the theater experience is the act of seeing and being seen; in fact, the word theater comes from the Greek word theatron, meaning "seeing place." Throughout the history of world cultures, actors have used a variety of locations for theater, including amphitheaters, churches, marketplaces, garages, street corners, warehouses, and formal buildings. It is not the building that makes theater but rather the use of space for actors to imitate human experience before audiences.
Societies progress can lead to intercultural similarities, and vastily obvious differences. These influences can be seen within the contemporary theatre of the times, explaining and progressing the status of community through storytelling and performance. The reactions to these changes are important, and help shape the society we have today. These elements are best seen between the medieval ans renaissance period.
Commedia Dell’ Arte was a distinctive form of stage art in the 1600’s and the famous playwright Moliere furthered its acceptance and import throughout his life. Originating in Italy, the popular art form spread quickly with the aid of traveling troops. One area that was greatly affected by this form of theater was France. The French people adored this theater and made it fit in with their culture. This can be seen in an essay by Gustave Lanson when he states, “In Paris Italian farce had replaced French farce.” The success of Commedia Dell’ Arte during the reign of Charles IX is well-known” (Lanson, 137). This effect can be seen through one of the country’s most famous playwrights, Moliere. Moliere was a renowned playwright and actor that continues to be well-known today. He was greatly influenced by Commedia Dell’ Arte. “Well-known definitions of the Commedia Dell’ Arte are that it was a semi-literary form of theatrical performance based primarily upon effective gestures and lazzi, and involving a limited number of generally accepted types who in their contrasting relation provide the setting for a light and flimsy action linked somehow by the eternal theme of love”( 704). His showing of the art form can be seen through his three most famous plays Tartuffe, The Misanthrope, and The Imaginary Invalid. As Lanson stated, “From soiling the noble and pure conception of comic genius given to us by The Misanthrope and Tartuffe” (Lanson, 134). With the progression from an earlier play to his final play, we can see where Moliere used aspects of Commedia Dell’ Arte and where he veered away to fit his own personal tastes and that of France’s. Moliere was born Jean-Baptise Poquelin in 1622 to a father who was an upholsterer for th...
Before I started Introduction to Theatre class, I had been only to a couple of plays in my life. Just in this semester I’ve been to about ten plays and have learned so much about the art of theatre. The information I retained from class will help out a lot in the future, but the most important part of this class was the shadowing experience of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. With being able to get an inside look at this play during rehearsal and then going to see the performance was an incredible experience. By going to the rehearsal and then seeing the show, I was able to learn and understand more on how the theatre works. From there, I could understand the long process the actors and directors have to go through before the opening show happens.
Theatre serves to reflect society. From Shakespeare to Sophocles, a playwright’s work illustrates the different mechanics within a culture, time period, or society. Theatre offers viewers the experience of taking a step back and looking in on themselves. In this way, theatre is a mirror of the world and the way it functions. In the time period from 1968 to 1983, the world was transitioning.
Theatre as we know it now was born more than two thousand years ago and has gone through many streams until it reached the current modernity. Among these streams is the avant-garde theatre. This theatre achieved a break in the traditional theatre and became the forefront of a new experimental theatre. Therefore it is necessary to ask how this theatre started, what impact it had on society and if this type of theatre is still common in our modern era.
For thousands of years, people have been arguing that theatre is a dying art form. Many people think theatre is all just cheesy singing and dancing or just boring old Shakespeare, but there is much more to theatre than those two extremes. Theatre is important to our society because it teaches us more about real life than recorded media. Theatre has been around for thousands of years and began as a religious ceremony that evolved into an art form that teaches about the true essence of life. Theatre can incorporate profound, and provocative, observations of the human condition that can transcend time; lessons found in Greek plays can still be relevant to the modern world. People argue that the very essence of theatre is being snuffed out by modern
My experience watching a live theatre performance on stage was a fascinating one, most especially since it was my first time. I attended a staged performance of “The History Boys” in a small theatre called “The Little Theatre of Alexandria” at 8:00 pm on Wednesday June 8, 2016 in Alexandria, Virginia. The overall production of the play was a resounding experience for me particularly the performance of the actors and the design of the scene made the play seem real.
A mere mention of the term theatre acts as a relief to many people. It is in this place that a m...