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Presentation NotesWhy know history?Understand how people interacted with the same toolsHow can we then use the tools to interact with our world?Identify patterns and connections that relate to our current society Surfaced in 16th century in Northern Italy, prominent through end of the 18th End of the Italian Renaissance: humanist – reveal human failings with humor Emerging out of carnival and other existing forms of theater: Actors took existing folk forms, improvised masking, music and dance, and developed them into what we now refer to as commedia dell’arte (comedy of skill indicating a certain level of professionalism)First company recorded 1545, women appear after 1560 – first political pointOther than commedia, women performers were strip tease artists….and this reputation was sometimes put on commedia women100 years before English stage Some scholars have talked about them as sexual objects, that commedia fetishized them – may have been true in some casesSometimes little clothing, sexual situations, Catholic church detested BUT Women with agency who refused to be victimsAlthough prevented from fully expressing themselves throughout the centuries at the level of performance, women have managed to overcome and resist their marginalization and, have created an alternative tradition of performance art and of comic expression. Even when the traditional theaters were off limits to them as actresses, they did perform as mimes, singers, dancers, jugglers. When they could not get into the theaters, they performed in the streets. When the streets were hostile to them, they became courtesans and performed for their “benefactors,” in palaces and mansions. When the word was forbidden to them, they spoke with their bodies and with their hands.Isabella AndreiniUsed her image to portray the Ideal woman to be accepted in the profession as a man would haveLeft this huge body of workSome say that improvisation flourished thanks to women’s oral culture Techniques passed on selectively to siblings, children, younger members of the troupeSimilar to Noh except that Noh had the treatises of Zeami and we really don’t have any specific primary sources/ manuals from the time of commedia – precious family secretSometimes a Mask would be passed down through 3-4 generations Relationships often mirrored onstage such that actors playing married characters were married in real lifeJust one example of how these people lived commediaLearned improv directly onstage (babies sometimes incorporated into plays at weeks old), traveled through childhood : this was their world Historical Context for the TimeGreat Italian Wars 1494 to 1559City-states of Italy, Papal States, Republic of Venice, France, Spain, Holy Roman Empire, England, Scotland, Ottoman EmpireStruggle for power and territory marked by alliances and betrayals, useless treatiesFrench Wars of religion 1562-1598Great Turkish War 1683-1669 where Venice captured Peloponnese, but ceded back during conflicts between 1714-18Time of separation Traveling troupes enjoyed international celebrity – Why?Couldn’t stay in one place long because of frequent opposition Church and Parliaments (NOT Royalty)Decree of Paris Parliament in 1588 “forbade all comedians either French or Italian to perform plays, acrobatics, or any subtleties whatsoever under penalty of an arbitrary fine and corporal punishment” (Duchartre 89) But various courts wanted them; lessened divide between warring nations, increased divide between power structures in individual nations…..they came in and fucked with everythingLeft people wanting more, didn’t want to stay too long because they wanted people to long for their return – always seeking new, higher-paying audiences (adjust prices where they knew people could pay more)And people did, stories of people in Italy using the only money they had to pay for theater instead of food Didn’t always speak the language, but the broad, gestural, acrobatic comedy and lazzi allowed people to enjoy across barriers of language, culture, class, age, education…..In fact, when they tried to translate into French in late 17th century, the comedy didn’t workWhy do you think they were famous – what do you think was so attractive about that? Ok, so they were foreign, somewhat mysterious, and forbidden….it’s like the bad boy crush, or Rock Star – What do we have like this??? it’s the R rated movie we weren’t allowed to see, the raunchy comedian– let’s think of this more than museum piece Certain companies favored in certain foreign courtsSome had theaters built for them which allowed for more elaborate settingsThe great companies (like the Gelosi) were requested at events of national significance Called to the wedding of Henry IIIs daughter in 1572 and captured by Huguenots along the way – became political bargaining tool Huge obligation to please the courts – elderly player died en route to the King of France Isabella Andreini had a baby god-fathered by a Prince and her death mourned with full pomp and ceremony in France Why did they face opposition?Scandal, as aboveDescribed as a “vile race that spreads disarray wherever it goes…When they enter a city, immediately a drum makes it known that the gentlemen players have arrived. The Signora, dressed as a man and with sword in hand, advances to survey the field, inviting the public to a comedy or tragedy or pastoral…to which the mob, by nature eager for novelties and curiosities, immediately rushes to get seats” (Rudlin 8) from a quote by Tommaso GarzoniWhat’s your response?Not subtle, disrupt the peace Along with this idea of fucking with everything, spirit of play, gender queerness…I think it would disrupt Wilbraham MA in 2018Goldoni: “this troupe in the ensemble aboard ship – was a droll spectacle to behold. There was a dozen people – as many actors as actresses – a prompter, a stage carpenter, a property-man, eight men-servants, four maids, nurses, children of all ages, dogs, cats, monkeys, parrots, birds, pigeons, a lamb – it was a Noah’s Ark.” (Duchartre 74)Has this biblical, magical tone that was able to manifest in real life Catholic Church, which controlled European government around this time (of course some exceptions)In Medieval period, non-religious performance banned, considered pagan, likely why troupes began to travelMedieval view of orifices (eyes, nose, mouth) as filters of good and evil, and laughter is a dangerous pollution coming from a sinful interiorLaughter seen as potential consequence of the original sin we’re born with Widely claimed that Jesus never laughed - presented as a model of godly humourlessness TBH, the troupes were scandalous, sometimes actors wore very little clothing, crude humor, obscenities, intense satire of the upper classesBUT: Commedia actors were probably Catholic – Goldoni certainly was Also, the actors themselves were often religious. 4 of the Andreini’s 5 children joined the church. I love the story on Duchartre 78; there was a disturbance during a performance but it turned out to be bells, that, when rung required everyone to pause in prayer. An actress who had “fainted” even joined the prayer, audience and cast joined in singing Ave Maria, the fainted actress bowed returned to her pose, and the play continued. They were just real peopleAND Important to note: the courts often had no issueGovernment accusations probably more likely due to a distaste for foreigners than an actual intolerance for the contentHow does this apply to values of today: often times our government/ authority structures don’t respond well when the status quo is testedTrump’s Shithole countries commentSo what was itImprovised comedy with tools to shape it Scenarios: plot outlines put up by a director figure, sometimes a more hands-on director like Scala, or originally a manager type figure which may have been one of the wivesStock charactersFrom Greco-roman forms (Renaissance)Geographically located How can we “locate” these characters Are they members of MMC “social classes” or majors Polical/social satire, ex. Il dottoreBirthmark from politicianCheeks flushed red with winePantalone meaning pantaloons – long underwear because his circulation wasn’t very goodLazzi: bits of stage business They would take cues from each otherPerformed on a movable trestle stage outside (with exceptions)Raised, hidden storage underneath (conceal the magic/effects)Why Improvised? Troupes also acted in scripted comedies/other genres – literate, even writers themselvesNo unified language – words not most importantTroupes often faced poverty, inconsistencies of space, players, circumstances – easier to have flexibilityStock Characters developed with such specific dialects, diffiucult for one writer to write dialogueMaybe allowed slightly more stability because they could stay slightly longer with a larger repertoireAvoid censorshipScenarios were tameBUT the lazzi were trademark, repeated, recognizable and dirty (Read them p. 33)Non-practical: not to say that they improvised only out of necessity Drama is more joyful and exciting when there is the possibility of failure (Jeremy Lopez)Audiences love watching actors/characters navigate obstaclesQuestions about the form it took? GoldoniComes after commedia’s primeSometimes blamed for demise…trying to save itEvolved from very political into more social/civicGoldoni believed the original purpose of comedy was “to correct vice and ridicule bad customs”Goldoni has a law background, social advocacy, his theater was an extension of that Maybe read from blue book about excess of the nobility who had no power – Can we see remnants of this? Ridiculing the ridiculousness of ruling classTrump hat colors at Mar A Lago Maybe even as simple as how people present themselves on Instagram Feud: Gozzi was his contemporary the actions of Goldoni were a direct assault on what he viewed as the rightful position of his class. He believed that representing the lower classes onstage in such a manner was giving them too much power, and would lead to disaster and the ruination of society – wrote counter-narratives, even pamphlets full of criticism Artistic conflict that embodied society’s battle over rights/status of marginalized vs. privileged This crazy story is a part of that Important (at least according to Epp and Bayes) that this is an early work LegacyEventually fell out of fashion especially with rise of French comedy, continued to settle, evolveMoliere Ridicule of upper class ShakespeareTodayAdaptations, like oursImprov: Whose LineSNLThe Amanda ShowBojack Horeseman, Family Guy, Simpson’s etc…Sitcoms: Friends (Joey maybe Tuffaldino)What else?Going forward: Particularly Regarding racial bias, gender non-binary momentum, Social media, #metoo,?and the current administration ................
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