Download Italian Renaissance Drama

Italian Renaissance Drama
By Massimo Ciocca
Italian Renaissance
• The word renaissance means: Re-birth
• The Italian Renaissance was the first signs of Renaissance in
Europe. It lasted between the late 13th century and the 16th
century. The Italian Renaissance was the rebirth of medieval
aged Europe. The medieval age turned into early modern
Europe. During these times, Italy and much of Europe went
through a cultural change. They started appreciating the arts.
Italian Theatre
• One of the arts that was appreciated and important in the
Italian Renaissance was theatre.
• The Renaissance theatre was influenced by the Greeks and
the Romans.
• Early in the Renaissance, plays were still performed outdoors
and in churches.
• During this Era, many people were influential and invented
different and unique techniques that revolutionized the
Renaissance Era.
Teatro Olimpico
• Teatro Olimpico is the oldest and first enclosed theatre in the
world. It began construction in 1580 and was finished in
1585.
The Stage
• The type of stage used during this time was the proscenium
stage. It is also known as a picture frame stage. The main
feature of this type of stage is the large opening known as the
proscenium arch which is where the audience would view the
play.
Main forms of drama
• During this era, there was 2 main types of drama.
• The Commedia dell’arte and the commedia d’erudita.
Commedia dell’arte
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Commedia dell’arte means the comedy of the actors guild.
It was popular between 1550s and the early 1800s.
This type of drama was all improvisation with a basic plot line.
They were performed by traveling theatre companies.
They had 6 basic characters:
Arlecchino
Capitano
Dottore
Flavio
Pantalone
Columbina
Why did they use masks?
• They were used to help identify the characters.
• The second purpose of the mask was to limit the view of the
actors, making them move their head from side to side to see
what was going on.
The Characters
• Actors had to improvise the entire play.
• The stock characters were separated into three groups.
1. The masters
The combination of the three made
2. The servants
the performance funny and
3. The lovers
interesting. The masters are usually
being made fun of by the servants.
The Lovers
• The lovers were the only characters that were not masked.
• The weren’t masked because they had natural beauty. All they
needed was makeup.
• One interesting feature about the lovers is that they never
touched, even in the
most passionate moment. They would come very close to
each other, in dramatic poses but wouldn't touch.
Companies
• They were groups of actors, each of whom had a specific role.
• The companies would travel all around Europe.
• The most widely known companies were called, Soldati, the
Ganassa, the Gelosi, the Confidenti and the Accessi.
• Each company has their own coat of arms.
Commedia d’erudita
• Is a form of theatre performed by amateurs for high class
people.
• It was a style of theatre created by the scholars of the time.
Costumes
• The costumes and fashion were taken from the Roman arts.
The men would wear
short doublets with
panty hose, an ankle
length gown with
shoulder pads and
plain shoes.
The women would
pull their hair back
tightly and hide it
by wearing a hat or
a hair piece. They
would wear dresses.
Famous Playwrights
• The Mandrake written in 1518 by Niccolo Machiavelli.
• Aminta written in 1573 by Torquato Tasso.