The first Physical Theatre Practitioner I will be looking at is Commedia Dell’Arte and the methods involved with it.
Commedia Dell’Arte came out in Venice in the 1600’s. It was mainly a very interesting and popular form of street theatre based on improvising varios scenarios with stock characters. Some scenarios include universal types of masters, servants and lovers. This is a form of theatre characterised by lots of different masked types. This type of performance was mainly based of sketches and scenarios implemented into their improvised performances.
The characters in each sketch represented everyone in society at that time. Everyone got paid and it was the first time women got seen on stage. This was a huge change at that time as usually
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This meant that each actor had to fully understand how a story or performance was constructed.
Commedia Dell’Arte also used Lazzi, which was the comic business. Lazzi is verbal or physical that interruptes the action of the scene and takes it off in another direction then brings it back to the backbone of the story firmly. Thus making sure the audience understand what is going on.
In Commedia Dell’Arte they use mainly 7 types of stock characters. The National Theatre uses this image (below) to symbolise the main types of stock characters.
At the top of this hierachy is Magnifico who is the ruler and king. This character has a very straight posture and overlooks all the other characters, he is seen to be commanding and has all the other characters look up to him. He is the most powerful character and thinks a lot. Many people in the National Theatre see him as being like an eagle which is mainly due to his mask looking like an
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He is a very needy character.
The next character is the Doctor who is a man of learning which has so much knowledge he doesn’t understand anything. He is also a master and loves to argue with Pantalone. He moves with his stomach.
The two characters below the Doctor and Pantalone are Harlequino and Brighella. These two characters are both servants. Brighella is the cunning servant and Harlequino is the stupid servant. Harlequino doesn’t use logic very well and so pounders on actions which are very unlikely whereas Brighella uses logic to outwit people. Brighella is a great womanizer and is very proud of his position as a hard working servant. Harlequino is a very in the moment character.
The first actor and first actress towards the top of the diagram are very grand and always takes up a lot of space. They are very serious characters which could kill and do the masters bidding. They would not wear masks usually but still act like they are wearing masks on
Lorenzo de Ponte’s libretto provides the main character traits of Don Giovanni , Leporello , and The Commendatore. It gives an easy way of distinguishing between the characters. Don Giovanni is portrayed as being smart , charming , and brave , yet selfish , arrogant , womanizing , and pompous. We see all of these traits in the final dinner scene. These opposing traits set up a love hate relationship of Don Giovanni.
In the play, Olivia has a steward, Malvolio, unpopular with servants, mean, authoritarian, control freak. Malvolio is tricked into believing he is loved by Olivia. Malvolio behaves as if she is in love with him and he is eventually locked up for madness. After reading and reviewing the play, Malvolio’s epiphany moments stood out the most for me. Malvolio, the puritanical, was the head servant in Lady Olivia’s household. Although Malvolio is very efficient, he also very self-righteous, and frowns upon most of the things such as drinking, singing, and fun. He fantasies about marrying his mistress and living higher than his social class.
“Devised theatre can start from anything. It is determined and defined by a group of people who set up an initial framework or structure to explore and experiment with ideas, images, concepts, themes, or specific stimuli that might include music, text, objects, paintings, or movement.” (Alison Oddey 1). Devised theatre, also called collaborative creation, is a form of theatre in which the script is created through a collaborative process with the actors and the playwright, rather than the traditional method of theatre with a premade script. Devised theatre is created through the process, collaboration, and multi-vision of the group. Similar to improvisational theatre, a devised theatre play is created in the rehearsal process from the performers interacting with each other. By the time the devised play is performed the work is a cohesive piece that is, for the most part, set in stone. This form of theatre is a modern form of theatre, that came about from the collaboration of many different type of artists, because of the need of the performers to have some input into what they are performing. The devised theatre form is most utilized in the USA, Great Britain, and Australia, but especially in our country. Devised theatre utilizes physical movements, rather than focusing on only the language.
many more. This was purposefully done in an attempt to make the audience relate to a certain character. In doing so, they could imagine that they were indeed a part of the play to some extent. As a result, these characters have significant religious meanings and serve as a form of inspiration to other women. This would mainly apply to those women who were in attendance. This would include women of all classes that simply wanted to watch a play.
The first question is why use "commedia dell' arte" as a training tool for modern actors at all, since drama and the business of acting has hopefully moved on since the Italian Comedians finally left Paris. The fact remains, however, that the dominant form of acting today that both exists as the aspiring young actor's performance role model and as a category of performance in itself is T.V. naturalism. We are lucky in that something both inspirational and technical has survived from those heady times. When contemporary acting technique does not provide all the answers that actors may be looking for, it is not surprising that they look towards the past for inspiration. It is in this grey area between researching historical certainties and reconstructing guessed at acting technique that we must look. These Martinellis and Andreinis were the superstars of their day and the question that most often gets asked is "how did they do it?"(Oliver Crick).
In William Shakespeare’s play “Twelfth Night” the alleged Puritan Malvolio is the unpopular rigidity, hypocritical and gullible steward made to look a fool by those he has humiliated (Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Maria, Fabian and Feste) which appeals to the audience. Malvolio is more the victim of his own psychic propensities than he is Maria’s gull, as his own beliefs appear to engineer his downfall. In Suzann Collins trilogy the “Hunger Games” the down to earth “pure” President Snow obtains those exact qualities of Malvolio. He appears to be on the people’s side but we soon learn that he overwhelms himself with power and takes himself down.
Commedia Del’Arte is a form of theatre that is a semi-improvised variation of comedy originating in Italy and lasted for about four hundred years. These comedies focused more on the manner of performance, rather than the subject matter of the play. Commedia Del’Arte relied on a universal-adaptor cast of stock characters, whose roles, characteristics and costumes were well defined and widely known. Actors would travel in troupes that usually consisted of 10 to 15 performers and were usually run by a single leader. The actors wore elaborate masks that exaggerated facial features to convey their character’s personality. Troupes traveled with everything that they needed: costumes, props, and simple, portable stages that they could set up in any outdoor space. As troupes gained more success, they would acquire wealthy patrons who would sometimes provide theatres for them to perform in. By the end of the sixteenth century, popular comedies were traveling throughout Europe.
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.
Imagine the trauma of those that experienced World War II, were victims of the Nazis and Fascist, and lived under the threat of nuclear bombing. Those events and experiences were significant, challenging the conventional ways people were living their lives. This influenced theatre in a big way, through a type of theatre called Avant-Garde (Franks). Avant-Garde was known to introduce original ideas, forms, and techniques. Often considered Experimental Theatre, it lacked logically-constructed plots and pushed the limits of the stage (Franks). It evolved into a form of theatre, known as the Theatre of the Absurd, which challenged the norm of the post-World War II society (Culik). Through unique methods, the Theatre of the Absurd made a major impact on drama and life, challenging the power that realism had on the theatre and people during the 1950s.
During this time, women were introduced in a completely diverted way then a male actor. Women
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...
In this paper, I will be focusing briefly on my knowledge and understanding of the concept of Applied theatre and one of its theatre form, which is Theatre in Education. The term Applied Theatre is a broad range of dramatic activity carried out by a crowd of diverse bodies and groups.
Malvolio is presented by Shakespeare as a serious puritan. The audience find his seriousness amusing when it is placed in contrast with the comedy provided by other characters such as Belch. Although Malvolio is only a servant, he is described to be pretentious and overly confident. Maria, who is another character of a similar status in society, uses other characters – Belch, Aguecheek and Fabian – to plot to ridicule Malvolio in front of everyone, especially Olivia. This ridicule is effective because the audience will laugh at a fool and Malvolio becomes a fool for Olivia’s love. Shakespeare tries to encourage the audience to laugh at Malvolio's puritanical ways as well as his wish to raise his status and he uses comedy features such as dramatic irony, physical comedy, word play and satire to aid Malvolio’s characterisation. However, Malvolio does ultimately invite our sympathy.
Volpone’s intimate relationship with Mosca causes him to lose his status as a master. Mosca’s roles in the house are different than Volpone’s other servants-Nano, Castrone, and Androgyno. Instead of taking care of domestic issues, he is his master’s strategic partner in plotting schemes. After Mosca successfully carries out Volpone’s first trick on two men who are behind Volpone’s legacy, Volpone declares to his “good rascal” that he wants to “kiss thee” (Act 1, Scene 4). As he speaks to Mosca, Volpone disregards the class difference between him and his servant. Volpone never uses close physical language to other servants in the house. More importantly, Mosca is also the only servant who receives Volpone’s praises for his deceptive talent and satisfactory performance of the plan. Mosca is even allowed to be in his master’s chamber to admire the gold and treasures Volpone has been collecting. Volpone’s cozy language and special treatment to Mosca gradually makes Mosca feel t...
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.