ABOUT US

Create theatre which is meaningful

The commedia School

The Commedia School is a 2-year actor training program founded by Ole Brekke and Carlo Mazzone in Copenhagen, Denmark. Each September since 1978, a new group of students from around the world have been attracted to Northern Europe’s oldest physical theater school to develop themselves as performers.

The Commedia School is a physical theater school. The basis of the training is movement, the physical aspect of acting, which is often neglected in traditional acting programs. The course is grounded in the pedagogical methods of Carlo Mazzone-Clementi, Jacques Lecoq, and Moshe Feldenkrais. Because each class has students from many countries, the English language is used.

The school has started students on successful careers in many areas of performing – including stage, street theater, circus, puppet theater, magic, children’s theater, performance, cabaret and film. Performers educated at The Commedia School are today found at the top of their performing professions globally.

Why Study with Us

Theatre at it's Best

Because the performing arts have always been a precarious business – even more so today because of the global economic situation – it is vital that performers can create their own shows rather than depend on auditions to find work.

Creativity

With its emphasis on producing new material each week, the training at The Commedia School gives graduates a big advantage. They not only create their own shows, but also create new work situations for performers outside of normal venues. The Commedia School develops the skills and confidence that allow graduates to develop as independent artists, make their own opportunities and help broaden the theatre ecology

International School

Graduates have come from 35 different nations on all continents. That means anyone graduating from The Commedia School joins a global community of performers, with connections around the world.

Social Change

The Commedia School encourages students to become engaged with social change issues, both in Denmark and in their own countries. Every class travels at least once internationally, for example, in 2017 to Cairo for a two-week residency. and most recently, to Borçka Theatre festival in Turkey bringing theatre to remote mountain villages. Graduates are often found working in centers for refugees of natural disasters or war, or in other impoverished areas.

Developing The Creative Performer

The fundamental goal of The Commedia School is to develop the creative performer. The school encourages the students to create a theatre which is relevant to their personal lives and which touches the lives of the public.

We provide the technical training to develop solid performing skills and an understanding of popular theatre forms. At the same time we draw out that unique performing personality of each student.

Being in a group of many nationalities gives the students a rare opportunity for understanding themselves and their own expression as well appreciating many different ethnic expressions.

The principles of training the creative performer are those of Carlo Mazzone-Clementi and Ole Brekke

Birthing Theatrical Expression

At the end of two years training they will be at ease in themselves on stage, available and ready to play, confident in their technical ability, and aware of their responsibilities as professional artists.

They are ready to continue to stretch their limits of understanding of life, laughter, and its artistic theatrical expression. The principles of training the creative performer are those of Carlo Mazzone-Clementi and Ole Brekke who co-founded the school in Copenhagen. Carlo was active on the teaching staff for for fifteen years. He also founded the Dell’Arte School in California.

We provide the technical training to develop solid performing skills and an understanding of popular theatre forms. At the same time we draw out that unique performing personality of each student.

Being in a group of many nationalities gives the students a rare opportunity for understanding themselves and their own expression as well appreciating many different ethnic expressions.

The legacy of Carlo’s more than 50 years of teaching the art of comedy to hundreds of performers all over the world is very much present in the classes of the school.

The fundamental pedagogical methods used at the school are those developed by Jacques Lecoq of Paris. The school is a combination of the works of those two great figures in the area of actor training who were colleagues and close friends for over fifty years.

The work of these two great masters of the 20th century compliment one another here at The Commedia School.