Befriending the Commedia dell'Arte of Flaminio Scala

The most important theatrical movement in sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century Europe, the commedia dellarte has inspired playwrights, artists, and musicians including Molire, Dario Fo, Picasso, and Stravinsky. Because of its stock characters, improvised dialogue, and extravagant theatricalism, the commedia dellarte is often assumed to be a superficial comic style. With Befriending the Commedia dellArte of Flaminio Scala, Natalie Crohn Schmitt demolishes that assumption. By reconstructing the commedia dellarte scenarios published by troupe manager Flaminio Scala (15471624), Schmitt demonstrates that in its Golden Age the commedia dellarte relied as much on craftsmanship as on improvisation and that Scalas scenarios are a treasure trove of social commentary on early modern daily life in Italy. In the book, Schmitt makes use of her intensive research into the social and cultural history of sixteenth-century Italy and the aesthetic principles of the period. She combines this research with her insights drawn from studying with contemporary commedia dellarte performers and from directing a production of one of Scalas scenarios. The result is a new perspective on the commedia dellarte that illuminates the styles full richness.