'Teaching Commedia dell'Arte'

A practical and insightful guide for teachers of Commedia dell'Arte

by Tony Kishawi

The theatre tradition of Commedia dell'Arte is a much written about subject, and deservedly so. Utilised by great 20th Century theatre pedagogues such as Vlevolod Meyerhold and Jacques Le Coq, it is a fantastic acting tool, as well as essential knowledge for all dramatists, being as it is, the root of so much of our modern theatre and comedy. And of course, it still makes us laugh.

We know Commedia is great, but how do you create great Commedia? Many books present the characters, offer exercises and scenarios, designed to get your students heading in the right direction. But often, the students flounder - they don't get it, they don't like it, and the end result, well, it just isn't funny. It's not just what you teach, it's how you teach it. 'Teaching Commedia del'Arte' equips you the teacher with that all-important 'how' – a tried and true, step by step, practical approach to mask work that will enable your students to discover the playful spirit of Commedia and create inspired, original performance.

"To me, this is the most valuable resource, as you can find a lot of information floating around on what the characters are like, what their purpose and characteristics are –but having exercises to teach these and have students remember and understand is the most important thing".
Hayley Milner, drama teacher. Marsden State High School, Qld.

Acclaimed director, performer and teacher Tony Kishawi writes from the point of view of a 'hands-on' theatre-maker, drawing on over thirty years professional experience. He gives away all his secrets here! Teaching Commedia dell'Arte' is primarily a book for teachers of theatre, but also actors, directors, and anyone interested in creating exciting, immediate performance.

FRI 7:30pm Woodward Theatre, QUT Kelvin Grove campus

'Teaching Commedia dell'Arte'  by Tony Kishawi

Why Teach Commedia?
Masks are a fantastic acting tool. Whether an actor ends up performing masked theatre, or not, engaging in mask work can elevate an actor’s skills, and while the gregarious extroverted actor stands to gain from working with masks, the benefits can be remarkable.
Shy, sensitive actors can learn to come out of themselves with the aid of a mask. It is likely that they play up to a mask character because the character is so clearly defined; once the mask goes on, there is a clear expectation of what that mask character is to do. It is a caricature, an exaggerated character, so the actor has to rise to that level. It means that they can be loud and large in their movements — which may have been something that they were too intimidated to do before (thinking that they should be more subtle in their acting). Mask work gives them a chance to go over the top, to play it at 110 percent.
More broadly, there is freedom in wearing a mask; the actor can do something from behind a mask that he wouldn’t normally do. This is something that most people understand. Beyond that, if an actor has created a mask character so successfully that he has found his improvisational dialogue, then he won’t need to go away and learn any new lines. He can be in character and know what to say. He’ll have the ability to walk into a scene and be spontaneous because the Mask is doing the actions, rather than the actor himself. Soon the actor realizes that he can improvise; that he can make up dialog impulsively — and captivate an audience.

Mask work enables the actor to build a confidence that no other exercise seems to be able to. Students of masks get the feeling — even in the drama classroom — of having the audience in the palm of their hands. In time, and with their fellow performers, actors start to experiment with slapstick, clowning, and other simple comic routines, along with the ad-libbed dialog. They improvise freely.

Once this happens, the teacher can take the student to a mirror and ask them to form the same expression on their face as they see on the mask. The actor can then slowly lift the mask and see how close they have come to making that expression. The actor can use the same voice that they discovered through the mask. It can then be explained that they have used the mask as a tool to get to the character, and that now they can go onstage and be an exaggerated, improvisational, confident actor who can display a strong physicality in their performance. Students’ eyes light up when they realize the possibilities, and that’s an end in itself. Thus, studying masks is not just for masked performance. It can be very, very good actor training.

Commedia is the perfect medium for drama teaching. In so many high school drama classes the students are intimidated by their own peer groups. The drama class has a stigma of being for students who aspire to stardom, and drama students are sometimes ridiculed outside of the class. Within the class itself there are also cliques. The ‘cool’ kids get up and do every exercise well, while the more shyer students hang back and are always last to get up. However, when masks come into play this situation is often reversed; the shy students shine from behind the mask because they’ve discovered some freedom, and the confident ones may get a bit lost, because they can't use the tricks that they usually do, as the mask gets in the way. I've seen students throw masks across the room in frustration! The shy students watch the others struggling, and they get a little lift, thinking, 'hey, they can’t do this, but I can.'

Teaching: Essential Preliminary Tips

Start with the Mask first
It is of course important for students to learn the history of Commedia and the stock characteristics of the Masks and so on, BUT it should not be the first thing they learn: As teachers of Commedia (and as actors), if we start from the mask first, and then add the techniques, we discover that it all falls together quite easily.  Let the student discover the Mask completely fresh, with no prior knowledge of its characteristics or even its name. If the student has prior knowledge the danger is they will want to ‘get it right’. 

‘Getting it right’ is the death of creativity
‘Getting it right’ is what students are trained to be concerned about in school - but creatively speaking it is death (and the actor’s creativity is what makes Commedia work). In fact, if a teacher says, “Here is the scene, here is the character, and here’s what I want you to do…” many of the students will want to volunteer, and the teacher will get just what he or she asked for - and nothing more.