Interesting things students have done in the past on their Theatre History presentations & scenes:

 

 

All Periods

·      played period music under parts of presentation

·      introduced themselves and the characters they will be playing

·      presented equal parts of presentation

·      explained why they were serving the food they chose

·      briefly told us the plot of the play and what has happened just before the scene begins

·      presented defining elements on big, easy to read poster cards with definitions

·      showed us significant clip from Changing Stages video and clarified the clip - telling us why the clip is important

·      recap history of period in terms of theatre events while other members pantomime the action of the events - making the history interesting and engaging

 

 

Italian Theatre

·      perform scene with comedia masks

·      fill scene with fun latzi

·      gave examples of lazi

·      food: spaghetti, pizza

 

 

NOTES

·      Italian drama began in market places of italian streets in ealy 1500's.  Players wore masks with exagerrated featuresto get attention drawn to their comical skills.  The caracters they created became known as Zanni. Finally, in 1550, it became an established genre.

·      CAPITANO:because Spain dominated Italy from 1520-1559, Commedia Del Arte actors ridiculed Spain by portraying the captin as Spanish.  He is an exagerrated fellow- boisterous, conceited, and vain.  A mockery of Spanish sodiers, who put on a bold front.  But underneath his bold exterior, he is a coward.  He struts in confidence, but when frightened, it is common to see hisarms and legs flapping in retreat.  The captain wears bright colors, such as yellow and red, a flowing cape, and is never seen without a sword.

·      DOTTORE (THE DOCTOR): The doctor is also pompous- he has dedicated his life to learning, but he knows nothing.  He meddles in other peoples business, and he has the "gift of gab"- he can talk his way out of almost any situation.  He falls easily to the pranks of servants and unsuccessfully courts young ladies.  An Elderly gentleman lacking in common sense.  Mainly portrayed as a physician, but later became a lawyer, astronomer, mathematician, or logician.  He wears black and white collars and cuffs and a black cape.

·      PANTELONE:  A retired merchant- either single with no hope of finding true love, or a married man trying to marry off his daughters.  He is cheap, ridiculous, and gullible.  Sensitive to the value of money, he is slave to it.  He is easily duped, although he does have a gentle heart. Arthritic, his body is pinched with age, but he becomes amazingly agile when he learns of trouble, but then reverts to old age.  He wears tight fitting red trousers, loose white shirt and fitted red jacket.  His belt always has a money pouch. SCAPINO (ARLECCHINO):  One of the very first characters.  He is either a numbskull slave, or a clown whose comedy is slapstick.  He is either very stupid, or has the wit of a seven year old brat.  He is a master of disguises- agile and acrobatic.  For him- everything is a game.  He is a trickster and enjoys tormenting the old, such as Dottore or Pantalone. He wears breeches along with a jacket covered in patches.  Craft and unprincipaled, who runs from real danger. COMMEDIA DEL ARTE:  -Means "comedy of professional artists"

·      Thrived in Italy from 1550-1750.

·      Improv originated from it.

·      1st theatre with professional actors who performed in organized companies.

·      Troups traveled from town to town and and performed in marketplaces, public squares, steeet corners and fairs.

·      Stage was a wooden platform with canvas scenery or peractois.

·      3 sided flats with scenery painted on each side.

·      Background  scenery was usualy a comic street scene with houses.

·      Directors posted scenarios backstage before each performance.

·      Many stories about mans weakness, vanities, greed, mistaken identities, or young lovers who want to get married but face many obstacles.

·      Actors relied on teamwork.

·      Performers must have: quick mind, nimble body, rich imagination, and natural talent.

·      Performers were expected to sing, dance, juggle, do mime, and acrobatics.

·      Performer used lazzi when actions died down. OTHER: -Opera's reintroduced soliloquies through arias.

·      Procenium introduced.

·      portable stages-outdoor theatre.

·      Actors had patrons.  DO's

·      Include: Stock Characters, Commedia Del Arte (and it's development), Lazzi, 1st scene artist, perspective, improvisation.

·      Use masks

·      Explain Lazzi characters (ex: Pantalone)

·      Talk about the neoclassical ideal and the renaissance and drama.

·      talk about 5 key elements: reality, morality, universality, purity, and verisimilitude (truth).

·      Know how to pronounce names and terms accurately.

·      Use visual aides (ex: drawings of stock charcaters).

·      Have food  (ex: Fontina cheese pizza)  DON'T

·      Don't do scenes without masks.

·      Don't forge to incorporate character traits and movement into scenes.

·      Don't forget to plan some lazzi.  

 

THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE (Inside)

·      renewed interest in classical world of Greece

·      no one cares about life after death "Enjoy life on earth"

·      Age of Man

·      Lavish

·      Displays and entertainment events: births, marriages, crownings

·      Temporal theatres created inside banquet halls, ballrooms, outside courtyards  New Permanent Theatres built based on Greek ruins

·      1st Proscenium arch

·      -comedies

·      -tragedies

·      -later mezzi= comic performance based on myth or bible themes between acts of plays-dazzling music, dances, EFX, costumes, scenery

·      -pastorals

·      -opera

·      -neo classic dramas

·      Serlio- 1st scenic artist   Book: Architectura

·      3 basic designs:

-       tragedy=Greek town

·      -comedy=Country town

·      -pastoral=Forest

 

·      Periactoi- a three sided flat with scenery painted on each side.

 

 

THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE (outside)

·      Commedia dell 'arte- Comedy of the professional artist

·      -traveling troupes  with portable platforms and painted canvas background

-       no written plays, but 800 scenarios exist on which they improved

·      -head of company = lead actor and director

·      -improvisation- prepared bits "stock speeches"

·      -stock characters

·      lovers, servants, old misers (Pantalone)

·      Dottore- The bumbling doctor or lawyer, the braggart solider- Capitano

·      Zanni- wise servant, Scapin, Pulcinello

·      lazzi- jokes, stunts, gestures, witty speeches

 

·      Two types of roles:

·      -straight- no masks

·      -exaggerated-masks

 

·      The Commedia dell'arte was the theater of the common people during the Renaissance. It was a theater of actors, of stage types, and of improvised plays. Three dell'arte characters: Harlequin, Pierrot, and Pulcinella (later Punch in England) are still well known; and the name of the jesting valet, Zanni (or zany), is used to describe any comic "cutup," on the stage or off.

 

·      A dell'arte company consisted of 10 or 12 strolling players. Each was assigned a stock part¯the Doctor, the Captain, Scaramuccia, or one of the others. Each character had his standard costume and established peculiarities. The Doctor, for example, always dressed in black and talked in a high-sounding manner. The troupe had no set plays. They had only scenarios or synopses of the action. The players depended on making up speeches as they went along and on stock comic situations which they slipped into easily. Their methods were like the modern creative dramatics programs carried on in many schools.