Commedia dell’ Arte Essay -- essays research papers fc

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). The fact that some of these performers were verging on genius is without dispute. This fact alone does not help us at all in training a contemporary performer. What can help us, though, is the wide variety of theories concerning the acting techniques, styles and training of these late entertainers. In a sense it is irrelevant where these theories come from and even how historically correct they are. As an actor (and a trainer of actors) one has a duty to choose what will work for an audience and to ignore the rest. The current historical theory as to how Isabella Andreini performed a particular "lazzi" might come from an impeccable source, but if a contemporary audience is unappreciative, then dump it quick, and on with something will work. There may be a case for re-creating "commedia dell'arte" as it was done, but does this really help the modern actor? Even in the more old-fashioned drama school period movement is meant to help an actor interpret a historical role, and is not mean't as an end in itself (David Claudon). One solution is to approach an actor at the beginning of their training, and see where knowledge of "commedia dell'arte" and its performance can expand a performer's range. The contemporary young actor's most familiar performance role model is that of televisi... ...terisation (Claudon). It may not be the whole answer, but it certainly plugs a few gaps that naturalism leaves open. "Commedia dell'arte" is also beneficial in any study of acting because it utilises a theatrical grammar, as well as a very intimate relationship with the audience (Crick). Now we can only wait until The Globe reopens to experiment with these theories in a purpose-built theatre. Works Cited Claudon, David. A Thumbnail History of Commedia Dell’Arte. 15 Oct. 2003 . Crick, Oliver. â€Å"The Uses of Commedia Dell'Arte in Training the Modern Actor.† Austin Commedia Society. 27 Nov. 2003 . Gordon, Mel. â€Å"Lazzi: the Comic Routines of the Commedia Dell’Arte.† New York; Performing Arts Journal Publications, c1983 (1992 printing). Lea, Kathleen M. â€Å"Italian Popular Comedy; a Study in the Commedia Dell’Arte, 1560- 1620, with special reference to the English stage.† New York: Russell & Russell, 1962. Rudlin, John. â€Å"Commedia Dell’Arte: an Actor’s Handbook.† London; New York: Routledge, 1994.