Theatre History II
Cary Mazer profile
TR 10:30-12
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the basic materials and methods of theatre history and historiography, as applied to a particular topic, organized around a specific period, national group, or aesthetic issue. The topic this year is "Commedia dell' Arte and its Legacy." The course begins with an examination of the Italian Renaissance masked improvisational popular theatre ll' Arte, and then explores the ways that elements and images of Commedia (including masks, stock character types, etc.) were adopted or incorporated into other theatre forms in later periods. These periods include: the Theatre of Moliere in 17th Century France; 18th Century English Harlequinades; Punch and Judy; 19th Century French boulevard theatre and the tradition of mime theatre; English Christmas Pantomime; minstrel shows, burlesque, and American popular entertainment; Commedia and the 20th Century avant garde; and contemporary "new vaudeville."
updated 2006-10-10
