commedia dell'arte

Although the commedia dell’arte, the Italian comedy, is today a dead form, the study is important historically because it is the source of our modern western performing arts. The important aspect in the actor’s development is the level of play demanded. Someone once described commedia as circus with a plot, and indeed commedia is at its best when the level of energy is at circus level. The students are obliged to push their own abilities to the level of the fantastic discovering another dimension of themselves in the process.