Commedia!

Instructor: Professor Stefano Boselli
               Department of French & Italian

Beloved characters such as the cunning and witty Harlequin or the beautiful Columbine first made their appearance in sixteenth century Italy. As Commedia dell'Arte subsequently spread throughout Europe, Western theatre was at a most important turning point. Acting became a profession and allowed the performers to claim a status and power never experienced before. Today commedia means a reappropriation of traditional techniques in mask, movement, and improvisation along with a rediscovery of its artistic heirs such as the Marx Brothers. In this course, students will be exposed to traditional and modern examples of commedia and will then follow a step by step process to generate new hilarious situations that fully belong to the contemporary world. They will be able to design and act in their own scenes about history, politics, science, and the arts, choosing what interests them most and taking a stand through the power and freedom allowed by the mask.