The Worlds of Harlequin: Commedia Dell'arte

Undergraduate / Graduate

This course is an introduction to the Italian art of theatrical improvisation or commedia dell'arte, a type of theater featuring masked characters and schematic plots. We will look at the influence of Boccaccio's Decameron on the formation of stock-characters, the introduction of women into the realm of theatrical professionalism, the art of costume and mask making, and the Italian knack for pantomime and gestural expression. Readings include such masterpieces in the tradition of comic theater as Machiavelli's The Mandrake and Goldoni's Harlequin Servant of Two Masters, as well as their renditions in film.