Commedia Dell'Arte: An Actor's Handbook

by John Rudlin

There has been an enormous revival of interest in Commedia dell'arte. And it remians a central part of many drama school courses. In Commedia dell'arte in the Twentieth Century John Rublin first examines the orgins of this vital theatrical form and charts its recent revival through the work of companies like Tag, Theatre de Complicite and the influential methods of Jacques Lecoq. The second part of the book provides a unique practical guide for would-be practitioners: demonstrating how to approach the roles of Zanni, Arlecchion, Brighella, Pantalone, Dottore, and the Lovers in terms of movement, mask-work and voice. As well as offering a range of lazzi or comic business, improvisation exercises, sample monologues,and dialogues. No other book so clearly outlines the specific culture of Commedia or provides such a practical guide to its techniques. This immensely timely and useful handbook will be an essential purchase for all actors, students, and teachers.

Genres: Nonfiction, Theatre, Plays, Theory

296 pages, Paperback

First published February 24, 1994

Reviews

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not the target audience for this book, never having gotten into acting. But I still found it interesting.

The first part is an overview of how this form of acting evolved and was performed, being very popular for centuries, and how the masks would perform within their scenarios.

The second part is an overview of the "masks" -- that is, the rigid character types that had to improvise their actions within the mask's bounds. The basic categories were the zanni -- the servant class -- the young idiot in love (mostly with being in love), and the old men who blocked the romance.

The third discusses twentieth-century revivals, and wasn't of much interest to me.

There was an appendix about the right way to make masks, too.

[RKanimalkingdom · Rating 4 out of 5]

No theatre form fully dies until the culture which generated it disappears. Even then fragments remain for scholars to pore over, shards from which to make guesswork reconstructions

Wow, what a fantastic read to start off 2022. I love Commedia Dell'Arte. I love studying it, analyzing it, watching it, and just being mesmerized by our ability to laugh. Ihave been studying the Commedia Dell'Arte for a few years now and I stumbled upon John Rudlin’s book. The book is essentially what its title says—it’s a guide for actors, producers, and directors for performing Commedia Dell'Arte. We start with the history, the origin, the production methods, adaptions both classic and modern, and most importantly, the characters and their masks.

Review Continued Here

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in 2002. It sits on my desk and I refer to it often. It is an esssential book for every actor. Rudlin gives an overview, describes each character and includes scripts and exercises. I have used it many times.

[Ian Bond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a read for someone looking to learn a bit about Commedia, but a great read for actors and historians looking into what Commedia truly is and how it functions, both in the 17th and 18th century and today. Well worth reading if you want to understand Mask-work and the basis for western comedy a la Shakespeare and Moliere.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good overview of the commedia at form. A great starter for those not familiar with commedia del arte.

[P · Rating 4 out of 5]

For english readers this is a great overview of the history and some of the traditional characters.

[Lise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful.