DTS2010

Mime, mask and magic

S Tweg

8 points - 2.5 hours per week - First semester - Clayton - Prerequisites: completion of first-year DTS1060/DTS1160/ENH1060/ENH1160

Objectives Students successfully completing this subject should have acquired a competence in analysing and demonstrating the content of traditional commedia material, together with a grasp of the form's historical evolution and a sense of its enduring relevance as a versatile performance mode for ensemble players.

Synopsis The aim of this subject in the very rich field of Commedia dell'Arte is to develop the students' critical awareness, understanding, and enjoyment, of a highly skilled traditional performance style and to provide a basic grounding in commedia theatrecraft. Sessions will cover such topics as variations between constructed narrative and improvisation within scenes, individual and ensemble use of language, special vocabulary for characters, the place of music in performance, the significance of the mask, costume and makeup as signifiers, the construction of full scenarios, satirical content of lazzi, and the ongoing tradition of commedia in modern artforms. Workshops will explore practical elements of commedia - students will not be expected to demonstrate great proficiency but should be willing to practise some very basic skills and techniques.

Assessment Seminar presentation with written-up paper (2000 words): 30% - Participation in workshops: 20% - Either performance piece with script and notes (4000 words) or design presentation with notes (4000 words) or essay (4000 words): 50%

Prescribed texts

Rudlin J Commedia dell'Arte. An actor's handbook Routledge, 1994
Gordon M Lazzi. The comic routines of the Commedia dell'Arte PAJ, 1983

Recommended texts

Barba E and Savarese N A dictionary of theatre anthropology 1991
Ducharte P The italian comedy Dover, 1966
Petropaulo D (ed.) The science of buffoonery O'Hara, Dovehouse, 1989
Richards K and L The commedia dell'Arte : A documentary history Blackwell, 1990

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