Arte Mask example essay topic

Commedia dell' Arte The first question is why use 'com media dell' arte' as a training tool for modern actors at all, since drama and the business of acting has hopefully moved on since the Italian Comedians finally left Paris. The fact remains, however, that the dominant form of acting today that both exists as the aspiring young actor's performance role model and as a category of performance in itself is T.V. naturalism. We are lucky in that something both inspirational and technical has survived from those heady times. When contemporary acting technique does not provide all the answers that actors may be looking for, it is not surprising that they look towards the past for inspiration. It is in this grey area between researching historical certainties and reconstructing guessed at acting technique that we must look. These Martinelli's and Andre inis were the superstars of their day and the question that most often gets asked is 'how did they do it?' (Oliver Crick).

The fact that some of these performers were verging on genius is without dispute. This fact alone does not help us at all in training a contemporary performer. What can help us, though, is the wide variety of theories concerning the acting techniques, styles and training of these late entertainers. In a sense it is irrelevant where these theories come from and even how historically correct they are. As an actor (and a trainer of actors) one has a duty to choose what will work for an audience and to ignore the rest. The current historical theory as to how Isabella Andrei ni performed a particular' might come from an impeccable source, but if a contemporary audience is unappreciative, then dump it quick, and on with something will work.

There may be a case for re-creating 'com media dell " arte' as it was done, but does this really help the modern actor? Even in the more old-fashioned drama school period movement is meant to help an actor interpret a historical role, and is not mean't as an end in itself (David Claudon). One solution is to approach an actor at the beginning of their training, and see where knowledge of 'com media dell " arte' and its performance can expand a performer's range. The contemporary young actor's most familiar performance role model is that of television, and in identifying the differences between this and 'com media dell " arte' can be the first step. Once identified, these differences become very useful points to start exploration (John Rudlin). It is easy to understand that the distance over which a T.V. can communicate is a matter of metre's, depending on screen size.

An actor's training can begin with the question: 'How can communication occur over a greater distance?' This immediately leads us into questions of physical and emotional stylization, emotional range, voice training and most importantly, those techniques used to perform out of doors. The question which should always remain in the students' minds: 'How does one, on a six foot high trestle stage, communicate well enough with an audience in order to make them laugh?' One should begin by looking at the trainee actor's body and asking oneself whether anything about it changes when he or she comes onto the stage. This is the most fundamental question. Without change, there is no acting, no magic, no technique, hidden or otherwise. Not only do actors have to assimilate a physical, mental and emotional change when they enter the stage, but they have to do it on cue as well, otherwise the action fails to make sense and the rhythm of the piece dies. Actors, therefore, have to be seen and believed to have changed from their everyday habitual selves.

This is encapsulated in the phrase 'making a good entrance. ' How does 'com media dell " arte' help this fundamental piece of learning? To answer this question I will concentrate on one particular aspect of 'com media dell " arte,' that of its reputed outdoor performance (Crick). This brings us to the function of the mask. One of the important tools an actor has to help project over distance is their mask. Activating a 'com media dell " arte' mask involves extreme body positions which, being expanded versions of normal movement, read better over distance.

Let us start by simply putting one on an actor's face, and finding out what this tells us? A mask put on an unresponsive body simply lets us know that an unresponsive body is wearing a mask. It brings no special magic, no increased sense of being or anything. How then does the mask work over distance (Crick)? Well constructed com media dell " arte mask contains many keys to action. It contains within its design three elements: the devil, an animal and the role of the character.

The animal, of course, is specific to the character and role, and the devil is an indication as to the particular form of bad behaviour that this mask will follow. Fusing together these elements, a mask-maker produces a shape that is no longer purely human. Hence, if this mask is worn by a human, there are discrepancies between mask and body which negate each others' expressiveness. It becomes necessary, therefore, for the human to adjust his or her body shape to fit the mask. This struggle to take on the form of something which one is not is the core of an actor's training. With 'com media dell " arte's ince the masks are known, the students can both explore for themselves the efficacy of each mask, and also be guided by the teacher when their own invention, technique or fear lets them down (Crick).

The process of activating a mask can be as follows: first, the student transfers the face of the mask onto his or her own, and then rests awhile to allow his or her emotional intuition to catch up with the outside expression. This feeling is then slowly translated into physical form as the whole body takes its cue from the, by now, emotionally supported facial expression. The mask is then put on again and we look for discrepancy between the face and the body. If none is apparent, magic has occurred and the mask is alive: a student has begun a journey with that particular mask. This is, however, merely the beginning (Mel Gordon p. 204). The design and stylization that comes from the three elements of mask design allow the actor at any point to move into animal movement, devilishly bad behaviour or simply carry out the dictates of the plot in role.

There are three points of departure for the actor to explore from, and all of them lead to a greater gestural range. Having achieved a statue, based on the mask, the actor's problem is now how to give it life and movement (Crick). The next stage of training is that which, cunningly, gets over the barrier that most new drama students have: that of developing their speaking voice. It becomes obvious that with a larger than life mask, giving a larger than life body shape, the movement and action of the character will be larger than life (e.g. non-naturalistic). As the mask becomes active the performer has to push him or herself into naturalistic extremes to keep the mask alive.

They, hopefully, learn from this that these extremes are the norm for the masks. These masks have no minor difficulties to assail them, only huge problems. In order to proceed with this exploration they then have to solve three problems simultaneously. The first is to develop one's voice so as not to strain it unduly every time one uses a mask, the second is to learn to play with these emotional extremes, and the third is to use them within the context of a scene. It is at this stage when actors can be guided into the traditional shapes and attitudes of the character, which then support their own discoveries (Rudlin p. 152). This juncture is an ideal place to start feeding the students specific instances of the characters' body language.

Why is Pantalone's head forward, and why is the Doctor's head so often back; why are Harlequin's legs are so energetic and why are the lover's gestures as they are? Now the teacher can chose a learning scheme suitable for each individual student. Those who are capable of exploring attitudes, energy levels, and their own inner resources can be guided through that process. Those who need more encouragement, and have not yet learned to trust the passion for discovery or their own emotions can be given more hard concrete information to work with (Crick). This act of bringing a character alive brings with it the necessary next stage of an actor's training: what does a character do on stage? The stage life of each particular mask must now be considered.

The answer, in this case, is to look for conflicts and resolutions, and specifically those that are nearest and dearest to the character they are working with. With students, the temptation is to either underplay or overact first, which gives us either a rather warped and strange version of naturalism or else lots of shouting (hence the dangers of vocal strain). The middle path must be looked for, and in this there is the whole tradition of the 'com media dell " arte' to help. A character survives on stage because it is alive. Once you have students who are able to bring characters to life, then giving them the best scenes which historically brought the character to life reinforces the validness of their own discoveries. They can decide for themselves exactly what information is helpful in their exploration.

Pantalone telling his daughter she will have to marry the Doctor, and never see Fiorin do again, Harlequin dreaming of food, Columbia complaining about her mistress, and Brig hella scheming to rob the Captain all give very strong pointers to which information is useful, and which information is not. One of the problems any performer or actor faces is selecting his or her material. However, what becomes clear after a while is that 'com media dell " arte' works best as an ensemble art form. Each character or mask reflects a few aspects of humanity only, not all of it. The picture of humanity in general is made up of these individual components. This liberates the actors by directing their character research into very specific areas, and allows them to define the masks and characters by their stage function, rather than by personality.

All the actors have to do is to stick to the job their characters do within the context of the whole action. Isabella does not have to be a specialist at greed and cunning, and Harlequin does not have to be refined and beautiful. If they did each other's jobs there would no social contrast them, and the drama would die. The actors will eventually find that the more they can focus on the individual characteristics and needs of their character, the easier the ensemble play becomes (Crick). As 'com media dell " arte' was a theatrical form born out of the needs a specific period, so was Elizabethan theatre. It is fortunate that the words of one of the latter period's most well known jobbing playwright survives.

The main difficulty, that the young actor might face in dealing with Shakespeare's texts is again this historical and stylistic gap from T.V. naturalism (Crick). Historically speaking, there are many similarities between the 'com media dell " arte's tage and the Elizabethan playhouse, and these similarities spill over into the performance area. The difference is not so great between an Elizabethan actor's technique and that of his Italian counterpart: splendid soliloquies, role specialization, limited rehearsal time and a shared joy in words and their dramatic declamation. To approach Shakespeare in a comedic fashion, therefore, would be to concentrate on the of the text's imagery, the rhythm of the word and scene as well as non-naturalistic characterization (Claudon). It may not be the whole answer, but it certainly plugs a few gaps that naturalism leaves open. 'Commedia dell " arte' is also beneficial in any study of acting because it utilizes a theatrical grammar, as well as a very intimate relationship with the audience (Crick).

Now we can only wait until The Globe reopens to experiment with these theories in a purpose-built theatre.

Bibliography

Claudon, David. A Thumbnail History of Commedia Dell " Arte. 15 Oct. 2003.
Crick, Oliver. "The Uses of Commedia Dell " Arte in Training the Modern Actor". Austin Commedia Society. 27 Nov. 2003.
Gordon, Mel. "Laz zi: the Comic Routines of the Commedia Dell " Arte". New York; Performing Arts Journal Publications, c 1983 (1992 printing).
Lea, Kathleen M. "Italian Popular Comedy; a Study in the Commedia Dell " Arte, 1560-1620, with special reference to the English stage". New York: Russell & Russell, 1962.
Rudlin, John. "Commedia Dell " Arte: an Actor's Handbook". London; New York: Routledge, 1994.