Commedia all'italiana, a genre of Italian film satires that emerged in the late 1950s and sustained through the late 1970s, is primarily understood through its close relationship to Italian culture. ...The evolution of the genre appears to be less tied to the revision of iconography and narrative codes of previous films than it is to the trajectory of Italian society during its years of prominence. The following thesis will attempt to find a definition of commedia all'italiana that is discrete from the genre's strong link to Italian culture by isolating the films' common narrative strategies. The aim in constructing this definition, which will be called the " commedia all'italiana narrative methodology," is to negotiate the possibility of formal elaboration upon the genre by a modern filmmaker, even outside of the strictly Italian context of the films in question. The viability of this endeavor will be put to the test in the final chapter, a plot outline for a feature film, entitled Commedia Vasca, that emulates the narrative approaches assembled in the commedia all'italiana narrative methodology. This thesis begins by presenting the common understanding of commedia all'italiana, with a particular focus on the genre's close connection to Italian society. The second chapter tracks the formation of the commedia all'italiana narrative methodology by isolating and analyzing distinct and adaptable narrative strategies at play among the films of commedia all'italiana. Then the thesis changes course to set up the creative experiment in narrative adaptation, Commedia Vasca, which will engage with Basque culture, rather than Italian. The plot outline for the film is preceded by a short summary of relevant Basque history and the ways the cultural specificities of the Basque Country influenced the process of utilizing and adapting the commedia all'italiana narrative methodology.
Giorgio Strehler Directs Carlo Goldoni uses Giorgio Strehler’s Goldoni productions (and Arlecchino servitore di due padroni in particular) as a means to defining his directorial aesthetic. The book ...provides a framework for examining the director’s career that is expansive rather than restrictive, using Goldoni and Arlecchino servitore di due padroni as a through-line for Strehler’s fifty-year career at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano. This research defines Strehler’s multifaceted style and brings to light interrelationships among his various works, creating a base from which a variety of subsequent critical inquiries can be made. It also establishes Strehler’s identity within the larger scope of the Italian theatre as a whole. Finally, it creates the critical challenge of finding more expansive notions of directorial style and concept that unite diverse ideologies without delimiting our understanding of the director. Crucial to understanding Strehler’s work with Arlecchino servitore di due padroni is his consistent reinterpretation of the play, which received no less than five distinct productions during Strehler’s lengthy career. His repeated reworking of existing productions provides a baseline for examining what elements were maintained and what elements changed or evolved. The four key influences that defined Strehler’s aesthetic in his work with Arlecchino were commedia dell’Arte, Bertolt Brecht, “refractive theatricality” and Jacques Copeau. Through these productions, Strehler created a dialogue with his audience and helped change the reputation of Carlo Goldoni both in his own country and abroad.
This thesis documents my journey as an actor of faith, and an MFA candidate, through the development and production of the role of Beatrice Rasponi in an adaptation by Dr. Michael Kirkland of Carlo ...Goldoni’s The Servant of Two Masters at Regent University. The introduction offers a brief summary of perceived challenges I expect to face and ideas to overcome them. Chapter One consists of my historical research of the playwright, play, time period, and my character. Chapter Two includes my textual analysis of the play, including plot structure, controlling and counter ideas, and spine phrases for all major characters. Chapter Three contains an in depth character analysis of Beatrice Rasponi, including an imagined backstory, moment to moment beat work, and physical techniques I plan on utilizing to bring the character to life. Chapter Four includes a rehearsal and performance journal documenting my progress along the way. Chapter Five is my conclusion, and contains discoveries and breakthroughs, response to criticism, advice for other actors, and a reflection on faith and acting. The Appendices contain our rehearsal schedule, production photos, the playbill, and my free associative writing.
This thesis is a documentation of my MFA Acting thesis process through the development and production of the role of Truffaldino in Carlo Goldoni’s The Servant of Two Masters at Regent University. ...The introduction offers a summary of perceived challenges I expect to face during this rehearsal process and ideas to overcome them. Chapter One consists of my historical research of the play, the genre of Commedia Dell'arte, and interviews discussing The Servant of Two Masters with a critical lens. Chapter Two includes my textual analysis of the play, including plot structure, controlling and counter ideas, and spine phrases for all major characters. Chapter Three contains an in-depth character analysis of Truffaldino, including an imaginative free-written backstory, example beats in the script using practical aesthetics according to the structure in A Practical Handbook for The Actor, and perceived physical and vocal challenges associated with the role. Chapter Four includes a personal journal written during my rehearsal and performance process for this production. Chapter Five is a conclusion to my thesis which includes personal insights and discoveries made along my process, the evolution of my beat work explored in chapter three, personal reactions to criticism of my work, things I would change if I could play the role of Truffaldino again, and parting words of advice for other actors taking on the role in the future. The appendices include production photos, two production playbills (One for the Servant of Two Masters, the other for an original Commedia Scenario entitled The School for Sausage ), and select free associative writing as the character Truffaldino.
This thesis is a review of what I’ve learned as a student during my three years in the program for Master of Fine Arts in Acting at Regent University. I am basing my description below on the material ...learned in classes such as methods of acting, text analysis, and voice and movement techniques. In this thesis, I’ll explain the different techniques I have used to develop my role (Brighella) in the play The Servant of Two Masters . I will also elaborate on various subjects, each one of which is used as the base and the foundation for developing my role in the play. These subjects are included in the segments of my thesis as follows; in the introduction I briefly elaborate on some of the obstacles I encountered in preparation for my role. In Chapter 1 I will talk about my research on historical biography of the playwright and the play as well as my review on the play’s genre and its specific acting style on the stage. Chapter 2 will discuss a textual analysis of the play, its plot structure, and its counter and controlling ideas. Moreover, the spine phrases for all major characters in the play are included in this chapter. Chapter 3 consists of elaborations on character analysis, which takes us to a journey starting from the back-story, then to working with beats, and finally ending with discussions on how I implemented for my role the techniques of acting and body movements which I learned during my years at Regent University. Chapter 4 serves as a journal for rehearsals and performances of the play. This is where I will include the details of how I will apply what I learned through my research about the character to my act. Chapter 5 summarizes briefly all the previous chapters together with elaborations on how I took advantage of the guidance I received from my professors in playing my role. The appendix contains our rehearsal schedule, production photos, and the playbill.
This thesis examines the role of solid and painted masks in Giorgio Strehler's successive stagings of Carlo Goldoni's Servant of Two Masters at the Piccolo Teatro of Milan between 1947 and 1997. ...Through my description and analysis of documentary evidence about these stagings, the Piccolo Teatro, Giorgio Strehler, his mask-makers Amleto and Donato Sartori, his actors, and lighting designer, I demonstrate that masks were used in the above-mentioned productions as rhetorical tools that expressed Strehler's relationship with Goldoni (the man and his work), communicated his political convictions on stage, partook in his attempted reform of the Italian theatre after World War II, displayed his vision of theatre history, proved his endorsement of the actors' potential in performance, and helped position the Piccolo Teatro within an Italian and pan-European artistic elite. My examination of video recordings and photographs of the productions, letters of personal correspondence, theatre reviews, transcriptions of interviews, and programme notes, among other documents, traces the evolution of Strehler's interpretative vision of the Commedia dell'Arte over fifty years. This vision, as I argue in the introduction and conclusion to my thesis, helped shape how other theatre directors, educators, as well as actors, mask-makers, and, arguably, academics have come to imagine Goldoni's work, Commedia dell'Arte, and masked performance. A close study of Strehler's successive stagings of The Servant of Two Masters and of the use of masks within them will therefore allow for a better understanding of Strehler's trajectory in the theatre, but will also exemplify how the use of a particular theatrical object (the mask) in a series of productions that were successful worldwide influenced how many of us now perceive a performance tradition (Commedia), a theatre (the Piccolo Teatro), and a play (The Servant of Two Masters).
Risalendo all’indietro, da Goldoni a Cervantes e a Lope, il contributo prova ad inquadrare l’eredità lontana dei termini «comedia» e «arte», nella discesa dall’Ars poetica, secondo una linea non ...normativa, nella fondazione di un’ars drammatica o «comica» nel rapporto tra scrittura e pubblico nell’Europa moderna. Rapporto che è peraltro il centro originale dell’antico discorso di Orazio.
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