Performance and Literature in the Commedia Dell'arte

ISBN-13: 9780521643245 / Angielski / Twarda / 2002 / 278 str.

Robert Henke

Opis

The actors of the commedia dell'arte (the sixteenth-century Italian professional theater) usually did not perform from scripted drama. They improvised their performances from a shared plot and thorough knowledge of individual character roles. Robert Henke analyzes commedia dell'arte texts to demonstrate how the spoken word and written literature were combined in performance. Henke examines primary sources including performance accounts, actors' contracts, letters and other documents.

Recenzje

Review of the hardback: '… teacher friendly … inspired insights … this engaging and worthwhile perspective on the commedia dell'arte offers plenty of food for thought.' Journal of Theatre Research International

Spis treści

List of figures; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. Improvisation and characters; 3. Residual orality in early modern Italy and the commedia dell'arte; 4. Venetian buffoni; 5. Early male actors; 6. Early actresses; 7. Zanni texts, 1576–88; 8. Conclusions and caprices: early texts of the Dottore and Pantalone; 9. Tristano Martinelli: a company buffone; 10. Theatrical and literary 'composition' in Francesco Andreini and Flaminio Scala; 11. The generation of Cecchini: technical, moral and dramaturgical publications; Notes; Bibliography.