Renaissance Italy Led to theatrical conventions that would eventually displace those of Shakespeare’s theatre and dominate Western theatrical practices until the 19 th Century

In the early 16 th century, plays imitating classical forms began to be written in Italian To present such plays was considered a mark of a ruler’s cultural enlightenment Theatrical entertainments soon became standard features of court festivals given to celebrate betrothals, weddings, births of royal children, visits of emissaries from other states, etc.

The Italians were trying to replicate the practices of the Romans but in doing so, created a new radical scenic practice that would dominate the European theatre into the 20 th century The principles of perspective drawing was developed in the 15 th Century Scenic Practices

The principles of Perspective were so important that eventually they had been adapted to the stage This is important because it signaled a movement away from the formal and architectural stage toward the representational and pictorial stage Scenic Practices

What does that mean to be representational? Represents a SPECIFIC place No longer a standard façade that represented all places

The side wings, backdrops and overhead borders were drawn as seen from a fixed viewpoint (originally the seat of the ruler) The floor of the stage raked upwards towards the back Scenic Practices Goal was to create a convincing picture

Proscenium arch-came about so as not to ruin the perspective (audience could not see around or above the setting to achieve perspective) At first, the arch was a part of the scenery but eventually became a part of the permanent architecture of the theatre Oldest permanent proscenium-Teatro Farnese built in 1618 in Parma, Italy The prosc soon became a standard feature of theatres and remained so until recently; even today, the picture- frame stage is the most common type

With a single setting, they had to come up with ways to move from one locale to another: They used 2-D wings set up parallel to the front of the stage (one per location), one would be pulled offstage to reveal the one directly behind it Scenic Practices Until the 19 th century, scene changes were made in full view of the audience

From Intermezzi to Opera Intermezzi- “interludes” between the regular acts, were elaborate, had many special effects, music, song and dance These intermezzi eventually evolved into the Opera form in the 1590’s Opera soon became a popular form By 1637 there were 4 public opera houses in Venice

Opera Houses: a reinforcement of class structure Gallery-cheapest seats for working class people Boxes: upper class could be private Divided so that people could attend the theatre without having to intermingle with other classes The pit

Commedia Dell’Arte Comedy of Professional Artists By 1600, commedia troupes were traveling all over Europe They could play almost anywhere Because the actor was most important, they would work with elaborate sets if available but could function with almost nothing The script was a scenario. The actors improvised all the dialogue and fleshed out the action. The details differed from performance to performance

Commedia Dell’Arte An actor played the same character with its standard attributes and costume Therefore performers became very familiar with their characters This facilitated improvisation Performers made everything up as they went along Lazzi-comic business Would be indicated in the script generally as lazzi of fear or fight lazzi For improvisation to work performers had to keep in mind where the scene was headed to make the plot work as a whole

Commedia Dell’Arte Actors who played the young fashionable men and women kept notebooks where they kept track of popular poetry, literature, sayings, etc. Stock Characters-commonly known character based on stereotypes: Lovers masters servants

Commedia Dell’Arte Lovers Were the most realistic Young and handsome Did not wear masks and dressed in the latest fashions Each company had at least one pair of lovers, most had two Children of the masters Love affair was opposed by the parents and aided by the servants

Commedia Dell’Arte Masters- Most common were Pantalone, Dottore and Capitano Pantalone-elderly Venetian merchant Dottore, usually P’s friend or rival was a lawyer or doctor who loved to show off his learning Capitano-a braggart and coward who boasted of his prowess in love and war only to be discredited

Commedia Dell’Arte Zanni-the servants Were the most varied Most companies had 2-one clever and one stupid Their actions kept the plots moving as they sought to help or thwart their masters Harlequin became the most popular He was an acrobat and dancer The British puppet character Punch comes from Harlequin

Commedia Dell’Arte Most companies were organized on the sharing plan, although younger actors and assistants may have been salaried Most traveled frequently, although some were able to settle down Commedia was most popular The Servant of Two Masters by Goldoni comes from the last days of Commedia, and is the closest commedia experience we have today, although it is scripted

Now for the French… Instability in the 16 th and 17 th centuries interrupted development of the theatre until: 1625-Cardinal Richeliieu, Louis XIII’s prime minister, having secured absolute power for the king, set out to make France the cultural center of Europe He advocated the adoption of the proscenium stage and perspective scenery Also advocated that drama adhere to theoretical principles (would later be called the neoclassical ideal)

Neoclassical Ideals: Genres should be tragedy and comedy and should not be mixed Tragedy should treat royalty and nobles; comedy should treat middle and lower classes Characters should behave in a manner appropriate to their social status, gender and ethnicity (decorum) All plays should be written in five acts All plays should observe the unities of time, place and action The wicked must be punished and the good rewarded Neoclassicists believed that the purpose of all drama is to teach and to please

What Drama SHOULD be…upholding the status quo Most popular play written in France Le Cid was written by Pierre Corneille in 1636 Play was viciously attacked because it failed to adhere to some of the neoclassical rules Richelieu sent it to the French Academy (40 most eminent literary figures of the day) The academy faulted its deviation from the rules This ruling is important because it legitimized the neoclassical view Corneille then adopted the new mode which was later perfected by Jean Racine (Phaedra)

Moliere Moliere set the standard for Comedy Learned most from Commedia Just like Shakespeare, was involved in every aspect of his theatre: actor, playwright, manager Wrote Tartuffe-criticized those who acted as “spiritual police” while seeking pleasures for themselves in private Was banned by Louis XIV in New version was banned by in The archbishop of Paris threatened to excommunicate anyone who recited or performed the play in public or private By 1669, the opposition was mostly gone

17 th Century French Theatre Acting companies had a lot in common with the Elizabethan Organized on the Sharing Plan actors with hired assistants, stage hands, musicians and actors Major Difference: French companies included women, who had equal rights with the men and received comparable pay All the leading companies in Paris received a subsidy from the crown Active rep of 50 or more plays

Actors By the 18 th century, they were hired by their type and played those roles throughout their career A new actor learned the role from the person they were understudying or replacing so roles came to be played in a traditional manner handed down from one generation to the next Actors furnished their own costumes Females dressed in the fashions of the day Casting was simple because each actor played a limited range of roles

Lighting, Sets and Seating Stage was Lit by chandeliers, footlights and lamps Audience was also lit which encouraged interaction Sets were generalized. Only props used were tables, chairs and beds Audiences could sit on the stage for an extra fee- became very fashionable

By the 18 th Century, although there were still obvious differences among the theatres of various European countries, they shared the same basic conventions. The theatre had made the transition from festival offerings to professional, secular entertainment