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Italian Renaissance Theatre

Italian Renaissance Theatre. Drama 1 Fall 2003. When?. The Italian Renaissance was from 1550-1700 AD. The plague was still around, so theatre was not incredibly popular. As before, it was kept alive by wandering troupes. New forms of theatre. Opera Dialogue is sung rather than spoken

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Italian Renaissance Theatre

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  1. Italian Renaissance Theatre Drama 1 Fall 2003

  2. When? • The Italian Renaissance was from 1550-1700 AD. • The plague was still around, so theatre was not incredibly popular. • As before, it was kept alive by wandering troupes.

  3. New forms of theatre • Opera • Dialogue is sung rather than spoken • Actually a mistaken recreation of the Grecian chorus led to the development of the form of theatre we now know as Opera • Commedia dell’arte • Performed by a troupe of actors that traveled from town to town • Entirely improvised (made up)

  4. Characters in the commedia • All characters were stock characters • There were three main groups of stock characters • The lovers • The masters • The servants

  5. Dottore

  6. The Lovers • The lovers were the only characters that did not wear masks • They were beautiful, well-educated, innocent, noble, and witty • They are often opposed in their love by one or more of the masters

  7. Columbina

  8. The Masters • Il Capitano (The Captain) • a braggart, cowardly soldier who claimed prowess in both love and battle but was often a failure in both • Il Dottore (The Doctor) • a physician or professor who often spouts inaccurate Latin • Pantalone (The Merchant) • a greedy, lustful, meddling man

  9. Pantalone

  10. The Servants • The servants were called zanni. • There were usually at least two servants, typically one smart and one less smart. • The leader of the zanni was Harlequin. • Much of the humor comes from the actions of the servants.

  11. Harlequin

  12. They were based on scenarios often given by the audience Interspersed in the action were lazzi, or comic bits Most of the lazzi were low comedy using physical humor Slapstick comedy developed and was named after the actual slapstick used to beat characters Commedia Design

  13. Capitano

  14. Commedia Costumes • All characters except the lovers wore masks. • Masks covered only the top half of the face and often had distinguishing features • The costumes were stock (repeated for characters in all scenarios)

  15. Set Design in Theatre • Perspective was used in all theatres including opera. • Scenery was layered to create a three dimensional effect. • The floor of the stage was painted with tiles using perspective to show depth.

  16. More Scenic Inventions • Created a chariot and pole system to enable multiple flats to be moved at the same time. • Stages were raked to create upstage and downstage areas.

  17. Humanistic Theatre • Highly formal. • Was performed by the upper class for the upper class. • Purity of form--tragedies were tragic, comedies were comic and there was NO mixing of the two.

  18. The Rules • Verisimilitude--events in the play must be realistic. • No violence on stage--do not offend the audience. • No low language--do not offend the audience. • Follow the unities of time, place, and action.

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