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Chiara D’Anna – PaR PhD: A Journey Back Home. London Metropolitan University, 2019 A Journey Back Home Through a Mask for the 21st century: The Legacy of Commedia dell'Arte in Postdramatic Theatre with particular focus on the centrality of the actor in Devised Performance A Practice-as-Research PhD based on three years of research, culminating in this thesis, an ensemble devised performance A Floating Caravan Under the Moon (2015/16) and a solo piece Home/Finding Home (2017/18) Chiara D’Anna Covering document submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of London Metropolitan University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Practice-as-Research May 2019 1 Chiara D’Anna – PaR PhD: A Journey Back Home. London Metropolitan University, 2019 AKNOWLEDGEMENT First, I wish to thank my supervisor Gian Carlo Rossi, who has supported, inspired and pushed me throughout this project. His patience, optimism and total trust made this possible. For his invaluable support, I wish to thank my second supervisor Dr Jacek Ludwig Scarso who challenged me when I needed to be challenged and reassured me when I needed to be reassured. I would like to thank Lucy Richardson for her generous support not least of which was introducing me to the CrisisArt Festival at the Dell’Arte School in Arezzo. In addition, I wish to thank London Metropolitan University. The present research could not have taken place without the precious creative input of my students. I wish to thank all the students I have encountered over the last decade or so of teaching, in particular the actors who collaborated to my devised ensemble project: A Floating Caravan Under the Moon. A special thanks to Jacob Harrison, Esther Calle Peña, Jenny Whitehead and Anna Zehentbauer for their creativity, generosity and professionalism; and Sol Angelucci and Michelagelo Dousis for their great work on camera. Thank you Alessandro Marchese for your generous support in rehearsal and Lucy Berger for your invaluable help. I wish to thank the wonderful team at the CrisisArt Festival for their hospitality and the brilliant work they do. And I wish to thank the Commedia dell’Arte practitioners and scholars I have encountered throughout the years, in particular Claudia Contin for introducing me to the world of Commedia dell’Arte; Mauro Piombo, Geoff Beale, Paola Cavallin, Olly Crick, Laura Pasetti, Scott McGehee, John Kellam, Didi Hopkins and the dearly missed Dr Steven Knapper for our stimulating and engaging conversations on the contemporaneity of Commedia dell’Arte. On a personal level, thank you to my family and my ancestors for being always an incredible source of inspiration. Italian madness is great material for performance! Lastly, my gratitude goes to my partner Mikey and his sense of humour without whom this thesis might never have been written. Finally, I would like to dedicate this work to everyone in search of home. 2 Chiara D’Anna – PaR PhD: A Journey Back Home. London Metropolitan University, 2019 Table of Contents Abstract p. 5 Introduction p. 6 Chapter 1: Contextual Review p. 36 1.1 Commedia dell’Arte p. 36 1.2 Postdramatic Theatre p. 63 Chapter 2: Methodology p. 82 Chapter 3: Projects and Results p. 88 3.1 Artisan Theatre and the Experiential Mask p. 88 3.2 Accidental Narratives p. 115 3.3 Stage Resonances p. 142 3.4 Case studies: background information and scripts p. 168 3.4.1 A Floating Caravan Under the Moon (2015/16) p. 168 3.4.2 Home (2017) p. 185 Conclusion p. 205 Glossary p. 214 Appendices p. 221 Appendix 1: Flaminio Scala’s Il Finto Marito prologue (Italian) p. 221 Appendix 2: Interviews What is Commedia dell’Arte? p. 227 2a. Geoff Beale p. 227 2b. Laura Pasetti p. 236 2c. Olly Crick p. 242 2d. Paola Cavallin p. 259 2e. Scott McGehee p. 266 Appendix 3: A Floating Caravan Under the Moon (2015/16) p. 280 3a. Links to gallery; rehearsal notes (2015) p. 281 3 Chiara D’Anna – PaR PhD: A Journey Back Home. London Metropolitan University, 2019 3b. Links to videos and gallery; post-show notes (2016) p. 294 Appendix 4: Home (2017) p. 295 4a. Rehearsal Notes p. 295 4b. Links to videos and gallery p. 299 Appendix 5: Teaching Commedia dell’Arte and Devising p. 300 5a. Overview p. 301 5b. Commedia dell’Arte courses and students’ shows (2016/17) p. 302 5c. Devising with Text: The Mountain Giants (2016) p. 307 5d. Devising Workshops: Extraordinary Journeys (2015) p. 310 Bibliography p. 314 4 Chiara D’Anna – PaR PhD: A Journey Back Home. London Metropolitan University, 2019 ABSTRACT This study aims to cast new light on our understanding, interpretation and practical explorations of Commedia dell’Arte’s legacy and continuing relevance to contemporary performance. An original contribution to contemporary studies on the Commedia dell’Arte, this research highlights the striking similarities between Commedia’s core principles and Lehmann’s postdramatic theatre. Rather than a reinterpretation or re-contextualisation, my work can be described as a reinvention of Commedia Masks through a rediscovery of Commedia dell’Arte’s principles, as discussed by Flaminio Scala in his prologue to Il Finto Marito (1619); first and foremost, the notion of ‘Actor as Creator’ that is foundational to my practice. Utilising the ensemble devised piece, A Floating Caravan Under the Moon, and the solo-piece Home as case studies, this thesis discusses and analyses my work as a tutor, a director and a performer. It explores the efficacy of my physical approach to characterisation; more specifically my use of autobiographical material and Commedia dell’Arte techniques to develop a new Mask for the 21st century: the ‘Experiential Mask’. Moving beyond the traditional notion of Mask as fixed-type or stock character, this alive, malleable and adaptable Mask is created by the actors in response to their reality, their world and their culture. In answering the research question: How to develop a devising methodology drawing from Commedia dell’Arte’s techniques and principles without necessarily utilising the traditional types, masks and aesthetic? This thesis evaluates my approach to devising discussing three main areas of practice: my ethos (Chapter 3.1: Artisan Theatre), my dramaturgical approach (Chapter 3.2: Accidental Narratives) and my theatrical language (Chapter 3.3: Stage Resonances). Each chapter provides a contextualisation within postdramatic (devised) theatre, a description and evaluation of practical methodologies and an analysis of my findings. The Conclusions draw on my reflections, emphasising the similarities and differences with existing practices in the field and the originality of my work. The PhD Thesis Discussion video complements the text in this volume as an integral part of the thesis. All videos, pictures, and an e-copy of the thesis are also available on the USB provided. 5 Chiara D’Anna – PaR PhD: A Journey Back Home. London Metropolitan University, 2019 A Journey back Home through a Mask for the 21st century: The Legacy of Commedia dell'Arte in Postdramatic Theatre with particular focus on the centrality of the actor in Devised Performance INTRODUCTION The purpose of this research is to discover and define the legacy of Commedia dell’Arte in post-dramatic theatre. Improvisation, comic gags (lazzi), slapstick comedy and the use of masks are undoubtedly fundamental aspects of Commedia but there is something far more valuable and exciting that we inherited from this ancient form of theatre: its stage principles and in particular I would suggest, the notion of ‘Actor as Creator’. Through the practical exploration of Commedia principles and techniques, this research aims to demonstrate how performers, directors and theatre practitioners can use Commedia dell’Arte as a fertile ground to create devised performances today. Rather than a reinterpretation, re-contextualisation or adaptation, I prefer to describe my approach to Commedia as a rediscovery of its principles through a reinvention of its Masks1. This document provides a description and a critical analysis of a practice- based PhD research project undertaken at the Sir John Cass School of Art, Architecture & Design, London Metropolitan University between November 2014 and January 2018. This work offered me the opportunity to reflect on my 20 years of artistic practice. I would describe my experience of writing this PhD as a ‘mapping’ process. It helped me to ‘locate’ my work within the context of contemporary theatre and teaching practices and position my work within a wider historical context: the tradition of ‘Actors-Authors’. The central importance of the actor-author is indeed a distinctive feature of Italian theatre. ‘While the theatrical traditions of other European countries are author-centred, the theatre of Italy has been, through much of its development, actor-centred: from Ruzante and the Commedia dell'Arte to Dario Fo, De Filippo and Carmelo Bene’ (Farell, J. and Pippa, P, 2006). This practical research led me to the definition of a specific terminology for my practice. ‘Artisan Theatre’ refers to my ethos: my practice’s strong 1 Masks are Commedia dell’Arte characters or types. I will use the term ‘Mask’ with capital to refer to the characters and ‘mask’ without capital to refer to the leather mask, the object. 6 Chiara D’Anna – PaR PhD: A Journey Back Home. London Metropolitan University, 2019 connection with the tradition of popular theatre. The ‘Experiential Mask’ refers to the work on characters: malleable types that stemmed from the actors’ creativity through the application of Commedia dell’ Arte principles. ‘Accidental Narrative’ describes my dramaturgical approach: a character-led rather than situation-led narrative. Finally, I labelled ‘Stage Resonances’ the complex web of communicative processes taking place between actors and spectators; a ‘performance language’ that privileges actions and gestures over words.