Drama: 'The Word to Action' in the Italian Commedia dell'Arte

This course is ideal for those who have an all-round interest in the theatre. The programme combines the theory and practice of drama and creative development through a combination of theoretical seminars and practical workshops with Stefano Guizzi, actor of the Piccolo Teatro of Milan. The two approaches are seen not merely as complementary but as indivisible in the study of drama and theatre.

The theoretical part involves the study of drama from the printed page to the actual staging and will focus in particular on the typical Italian genre, La Commedia dell’Arte and its great influence around the world over the centuries. Students will thus explore the ways in which the changing forms of theatre and cultural shifts in Italian society have influenced the development of drama into its present diversity as well as the theoretical elements involved in the creation of performance. Students will be encouraged to build a script based on a renaissance canovaccio and oriented to the actual staging of a short play.

Parallel to the historical and theoretical course, the actor Stefano Guizzi will be teaching practical classes, introducing the students to Commedia dell'Arte and to the basic techniques of acting with masks. This part of the course will explore physical and vocal training, improvisation techniques, the use of masks on stage. We will approach the main characters of Commedia (Arlecchino, Colombina, the Magnifico, the Capitano, the Dottore...), tracing them throughout European theatre in their numerous metamorphoses. The students will practice on a "canovaccio" (scenario) from the XVIIth Century, writing and staging their own "Scene Di Commedia."

Lectures, seminars and tutorials are complemented by scene-study workshops and field trips to milanese important theatres such as Teatro alla Scala and Piccolo Teatro.