Description

The Comic Mask in the Commedia dell’Arte

Actor Training, Improvisation and the poetics of Survival

The first aesthetic and methodological study on the Commedia dell’Arte. What is Commedia, what should it be? What can it be? What is not Commedia

This is not a study of what Commedia dell’Arte was; that history is the subject of virtually every other book on the subject.

Subjects covered: the structure of Commedia, it’s its poetics, its themes. The mask, its meaning, its use. The characters, their behaviours, how they interact.Commedia dell’Arte or commedia improvvisa, and Commedia Merecnaria, Commedia Zannata: Some say it has been dead for centuries, Other is that it never existed, others that it is useless today. But Commedia is not over. It continues dynamically with renewed vigour, True to its original international and universal spirit.

The author has been committed to expanding Commedia’s reach since the beginning of his professional career. This book is the fruit of continuous research and direct experience as a performer, stage director, and teacher. The principles established here are the sum of his experience and a point of departure towards new and greater achievements.