Mime, mask and magic
S Tweg
8 points
* 2.5 hours per week
* First semester
* Clayton
*
Prerequisites: completion of first-year DTS/ENH1060/1160
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 practice some very basic skills and techniques.
Assessment second year 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: 50%
Assessment third year 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: 50%
* Students undertaking this course at third-year
level will be expected to demonstrate a deeper acquaintance with primary and
secondary historical sources.
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
Duchartre P The Italian comedy 1966
Pietropaulo D (ed.) The science of buffoonery 1989
Richards K and L The Commedia dell'Arte: A documentary history 1990
| Published by Monash University, Clayton, Victoria
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