THE SPIRIT OF THE MASK
Commedia dell'Arte Free Resources
As a Performing Art Educator you know yourself how beautiful it is to witness an actor find the spirt of the mask for the first time.
It is this discovery and deep connection with our theatrical history that drives Tony Kishawi to provide Theatre Coaches with these Commedia dell'Arte Resources, which are completely free, and that will aid in the delivery of the Commedia dell'Arte curriculum in the classroom and on the stage.
Tony Kishawi
Tony Kishawi is Australia's leading Commedia dell'Arte expert and in this series of Commedia dell'Arte resources, Tony imparts his extensive performing arts knowledge to guide you in your journey.
In this video, we explore a powerful idea at the heart of creativity: the moment when the “thinking self” runs out of things to say and the instinctive, impulsive “doing self” steps forward. This doing self is the part of us that wants to slam a shoe on the table, tip out a school bag, or act without overthinking. It is the beginning of play—the very engine of artistic creation. The speaker reflects on the complex nature of play, noting that even the Oxford English Dictionary dedicates inches of definitions to the word. Here, play is used in the sense…
In this 10-minute talk, Tony Kishawi explores how his understanding of Commedia dell’Arte evolved by studying the work of the great “gurus” who revived the art form in the 20th century: Jacques Lecoq, Antonio Fava, Carlo Mazzone-Clementi, Carlo Boso, and the extraordinary mask-maker Donato Sartori. Tony traces how Commedia was originally created—not by directors—but by ensembles of actors who travelled and performed together, generating their own material, improvising with audiences, refining lazzi, and passing them on through performance rather than documentation. He explains how the modern revival of Commedia began in the 1950s when Lecoq rediscovered the Sartori workshop and…
In this video, Nobel Prize–winning actor and playwright Dario Fo performs one of his most famous routines — a brilliant Commedia dell’Arte monologue that explores the origins of Zanni, the character who later evolved into Arlecchino. This piece comes from Fo’s celebrated body of work in which he revives the tradition of the medieval storytellers and the improvised comic roles of Commedia. In this routine, Fo dives into the historical roots of Zanni: the hungry, displaced peasants of 16th-century Northern Italy who were forced from their land by starvation and poverty. Zanni’s desperation, humour, and physicality eventually gave birth to…
How to Introduce Masks, Movement, Lazzi & Physical Theatre in the Drama Classroom If you’re teaching Commedia dell’Arte for the first time, this video gives you the essential tools to start your unit effectively — without overwhelming your students or falling into common teaching pitfalls. Many teachers begin with theory or character research, but the most powerful place to begin is the mask itself. Students learn Commedia best through physicality, improvisation, lazzi, and embodied exploration, not through memorising stock character descriptions. ⭐ WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS VIDEO ✔️ Why you should start with the mask instead of research✔️ How…
Remi a year 12 student studying at Queensland Academy for Creative Industries sent some questions. So I requested that I answer the questions via video because I prefer talking to typing! 1. How would you describe the physicality of Commedia (in general)? 2. Are there solo exercises you’ve used to develop/get into the physicality of a Commedia character? What are they? 3. (If you are familiar with the Butoh style), What are some similarities and differences you’ve found between the two styles? Thank you so much, Remi If anyone has any other questions for me, just contact me via FB…
Theatresports for lunch to enhance the Performing Arts. How to increase the performing arts in a heavenly Sports orientated High School. Answering a question posed by June Ash Moore on the Theatre Teachers Facebook Group. https
Duration 13 mins Before watching this interview, please watch the Dario Fo routine we discuss:👉 https://youtu.be/PhLv9mhQXQk In this 13-minute conversation, Tony sits down with Commedia dell’Arte scholar and performer Dr Olly Crick to unpack one of Dario Fo’s classic routines—his interpretation of the Zanni, the starving servant at the heart of Commedia tradition. Dario Fo’s performance, originally spoken in Italian, has been captioned into English so emerging actors, teachers, and students can access the deeper symbolic layers and political meaning behind this iconic piece. Olly Crick—renowned director, writer, and Commedia historian—breaks down why Fo’s work is never simply “traditional” but…
Transcription. I find teaching masks work Very interesting because it’s not just for teaching commedia You know like once you they’ve they found the spirit of the mask you introduced the history. Yes that’s right they find out, which character it was and they go “Hey i found that in my, mask When i was working? And that’s what the history, book, says he is, that’s fantastic I found it myself!”. So the student owns the work and you end up with wonderful performance if that happens but I found there were some students there was one confident Student that…
Okay thank you very much for your time here, I would like to extend the Pecha Kucha presentation by actually having our actors jump off the page and come up on stage so I got some students here from Kings and Nagle college to do a demonstration, but stay there, don’t don’t jump up just yet. I’ve got some notes hopefully I can get through the Pecha Kucha in time with my demonstrations of my workshops that we’ve been running here, just as a note to the slides are you will be seeing slowly turning over here are actually from…