Commedia dell' Arte

Commedia dell' Arte

Recently at school,we've started a Commedia dell Arte show called ''Scapino!'',and so I figured I could write about the form of theatre.

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Commedia dell' Arte,which is Italian Comedy,is a form theatre characterized by masked ''types''.Commedia dell' Arte began in the 16th century in Italy and was a lot of improved performances based on sketches or scenarios.

Italian theatre historians believe Commedia was a response to the political and economic crisis of the 16th century and became the first entirely professional form of theatre.

Pantalone,a stock character

The charcters of Commedia usually represent fixed social types known as''stock charcters'',like foolish old men,devious servants,or military officers full of false bravado.

Characters like Pantalone,a miserly Venetian merchant,or Arlecchino,a mischievious servant from Bergamo.Sadly,during the Napoleonic occupation of Italy,Commedia dell' Arte was outlawed.

The Servant of Two Masters

But that never stopped the theatre of today,plenty of theaters everywhere,whether it be traveling companies or school casts,directors everywhere still find beauty and art within these shows.

Thanks for reading,Check out next week's post!!!!

Je vous remercie Monsieur Stanislavski:An Introduction to Method Acting

Constantin Stanislavski
January 17,1863 - August 7,1938

Je Vous Remercie Monsieur Stanislavski: An Introduction to Method Acting

Recently,I had been reading Constantin Stanislavski's ''An Actor Prepares'', one of the three volumes on method acting.As many may know,Mr. Stanislavski is the greatest of all acting teachers and has wrote his life memoir,''My Life in Art'',his notes for the production if individual plays and his classes recollected by others.

Method acting is any technique used by actors to become their characters,who ever they may be.

Stanislavski talked about in his book,that after his short performance as Shakespeare's Othello,the class was given the Director's criticism.Stanislavski said he couldn't remember what he did as his character. Tortsov ,his director, explains his actions as Othello and it soon came back to Stanislavski.He asked why this is,Tortsov explains that he acted with his subconscious,which he says is very good.Tortsov says that,''The best that could happen to the actor is that he can be carried away by the play,regardless of his own will,the actor lives the part,not noticing how he feels,not thinking about what he does, and it all moves of its own accord,subconsciously and intuitively.''

Only a select few of actors can summon such emotion and life to a character that makes a method actor.

Those actors and actresses than can,God Bless You!