Three Common Mistakes In Teaching Commedia dell' Arte and Commedia Masks

Tony Kishawi has been teaching and performing Commedia del'Arte for over 40 years. Go to his new website called Commedia Unmasked commediaunmasked.com
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Transcription:
Common mistake for teaching commedia is that the art department and the drama department get really excited they say let's work together.We will make the masks in art and will use them in the drama ,meaning that you will make your own commedia masks even though this is a good idea of the adjoining departments together ,it actually is not the best idea for the performance element because if the student is actually making the mask they are sort of clay in the papier-mâché and it takes quite lot of time of keeping Up the enthusiasm is very difficult , but when they get to put it on after it is finished. When they put it on they are wearing their creation which has the opposite effect of we know when you will mask you are actually free of visions ,one would hope that you do things from behind mask would normally do this is the common understanding of working masks .so if student is wearing their creation they are actually opening up that older guy will I make it here I am wearing it this is a reflection of me is has the opposite effect, if you had some students who made the masks and then gave them to the drama department maybe this might be different ,because the wearer has taken a responsibility for what mask looks like or what the artist actually decided to do. So I often recommend not to do, bring those two departments together.
The researching of commedia is not the best thing to send your student to do I have actually seen drama teacher, okay into commedia first week go all the computers gone by now we can find out about commedia , what they learn about characters and they learn about the period and all the things, whereas the actual fact what you're doing is filling their heads with information of what they should be doing, In other words they would be looking for tips and tricks and stuff of what they are going to do when they perform. I'd say that this actually fills a mind with things they don't need to know at this stage. My recommendation is you work with the masks first look at the mask face-to-face just look take the mask, don't worry about history put the mask on look in the mirror find out what that mask are currently is by causation and experimentation ,once the students have discovered the mask themselves then they can go back to history of the research, it comes after the fact, off course history is important but I much prefer the students a high so that's what I did that what I was wearing a mask because in history it says that this is that type of character , I found myself by working and rehearsing with the mask.
The assessment tasks most teachers will set improvisation as their assessment task because the common knowledge is the commedia is improvise art form .I think this is a very very difficult task to give your students. I even myself now with experience actors loving working with six or more years I would find it very difficult if I was to give them an assessment. Task of saying okay pull theme on head and to go away rehearse five minutes come back and perform this takes a lifetime experience to be able to pull this off successfully, so I actually try and discourage teachers from setting kind of assessment task. I might prefer they say work on theme and let them rehearse it but then when they get to perform it , allow them to integrate symmetrically the or audience living from the audience and then jump back to the script and then maybe back out living with the audience of the improvisation only take place during their performance into relationship with their audience their live audience this is where commedia excels.

[@sakurabloomltd.8667]

When I was taught Commedia in high school, it certainly did inform me about the history behind it. But I was taught I was truly taught the depth of the style in college. In high school, what we lacked was the mask work, the integration of physical characterization, and a strong sense of the Lazzi routines. It mostly became about sex jokes, which through no fault of our own; however, we were only scratching the surface of this style's limitless capabilities.

[@dennismurphy9957]

Well put! I couldn't agree more.

[@Lightwireontour]