Training course on masks

Comedy is an art!

Promoted by the Italian Embassy in Athens and the Italian Institute of Culture in Athens

National Theatre of Greece – Drama School28 January - 01 February 2020

The workshopThe workshop is conducted by Enrico Bonavera and GiorgioBongiovanni.An apprentice of Ferruccio Soleri and trained in the field of ex-perimental theatre, collaborating with Eugenio Barba’s OdinTeatret, Bonavera, born in Genoa, has been a theatrical actorand teacher for more than forty years. As well as the Piccolo -with which he collaborated between 1987 and 1990, returningindefinitely in 2000 to play the roles of Brighella and Harlequin(performing as the lead for the last two seasons) in the legendaryHarlequin servant to two masters - has an autonomous careerbehind him which has taken him all over Italy and the world,working with the Commedia dell’Arte and its characters. In 2007he won the prestigious “Golden Harlequin” award at the MantuaEuropean Capital of Performance Festival. A teacher since theearly 1990s, since 2004 he has been a teacher at the Drama-turgy for Actors Course at the DAMS in Imperia, and has alsocollaborated with all the most important Italian and Europeantheatre schools, holding masterclasses and workshops abroad,from China to Latin America, both as part of the Piccolo’s toursas well as personal projects. Giorgio Bongiovanni graduatedfrom the Piccolo’s School of Theatre under the guidance ofGiorgio Strehler, making his debut on 26 October 1990 in theedition of Harlequin re-interpreted by the Maestro for his youngapprentices. Since then he has been Pantalone for more than1,300 performances, building a successful career as actor anddirector. As well as by Strehler, he has been directed on stageby Luca Ronconi, Robert Carsen, Stéphane Braunschweig,

Árpád Schilling, Lamberto Puggelli and Carlo Battistoni. He has performed in famous productions forthe television, above all Il commissario Montalbano). As director, as well as his beloved Goldoni (TheLiar, The Mistress of the Inn), he has also started a successful career as an opera director both inItaly and abroad, favouring composers such as Cimarosa, Donizetti, Rossini, Puccini and Jommelli,among others. He is constantly involved in teaching, concentrating on masterclasses and seminarsdedicated to the study of acting techniques for the Commedia dell’Arte, and he teaches Commediadell’Arte at the Luca Ronconi School of Theatre at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano.

As part of the “Tempo Forte”programme Ελλαδα

Comedy is an art!Training course on masksFor a number of years, the artists of the Piccolo Teatro di Milano – Teatrod’Europa have been offering a workshop complete with a final publicdemonstration aimed at the study, learning and practice of the techniques ofimprovisation and acting with the typical masks of the Commedia dell’Arte. Using the body, the voice, mime and gesture, students will take a journeythrough history from the eighteenth century and Carlo Goldoni’s theatricalreform, right up to Giorgio Strehler’s staging of The Servant of two masters,the most-seen Italian play in the world – performed in 48 different nations –and which still serves as a training ground for young graduates from thePiccolo’s School of Theatre. From 28 January to 1 February 2020, Enrico Bonavera and GiorgioBongiovanni will be holding a workshop at the Drama School in the NationalTheatre of Greece, Athens. On 1 February at 5 p.m., at the School’sAmphitheatre, the two artists and their pupils will present a finaldemonstration, the idea conclusion to the works done together.

From the Commedia dell’Arte to The Servant of two mastersBased on the verbal and gestural skill of the actors and atalent for improvisation, the Commedia dell’Arte emerged anddeveloped in Italy between the 16th and 18th centuries.It was an era in which companies of professional actors – the“comici dell’arte” – travelled from city to city, even goingabroad, to perform their plays in squares, fairs and theforegrounds of churches. The comici dell’arte improvise,basing their acting on a canovaccio, a plot which providesindications for the general development of the story to beperformed. The actors specialised in fixed roles, which theyoften played for their entire lives and even passed on to theirchildren. The lovers, the elderly and the servants are thetypical characters of the Commedia dell’Arte, oftencharacterised with a mask – a term which has becomesynonymous with “character” – and a costume whichaudiences learn to recognise and identify in all the shows,even those by different companies.The Servant of twomasters – which Strehler decided to call Harlequin Servant oftwo Masters to underline the centrality of the character – is amodel for understanding the transformation that theCommedia dell’Arte underwent in the mid-18th century,

thanks to the intervention of Carlo Goldoni (1707 – 1793). Despite his traditional background, theVenetian playwright maintained the supremacy of the dramaturg over the actor, and thefundamental importance of a written script which the actor had to learn by heart, limitingimprovisation. Characters ceased to be simple masks and were enriched with depth and realism.Written first as a canovaccio, The Servant of two Masters found its definitive form in 1745.

The masks and the characters from “Harlequin, Servant of Two masters” Harlequin In his own way, an enigmatic character, originally from the Bergamasquevalley. He is both cunning and naive at the same time. He wears a mask with felinetraits – and is as agile as a cat! – and a costume made of coloured patched ofmaterial, with – on his belt – a “batocio”, his typical bat, and a small purse in whichhe carries just a few items and where he hopes to be able to keep a coin or two. Heis a poor servant, always tormented by hunger and forced to rely on his wits in orderto stay alive. Despite this, he is always upbeat and full of life. Brighella From Bergamo, just like Harlequin, he wears a dark-coloured maskwith traits that give him an air of shrewdness. He wears a long, white, knee-length riding-coat, fairly wide trousers bordered with green along the seams –recalling the livery of the servants of noble families – and a handsome white hat.He is not as poor as Harlequin, and in fact rather than serving, he runs an inn. Pantalone An elderly character originating from Venice, he is the head of a family,with a daughter that causes him problems and who he seeks to “marry off well”, hewears a long and ample black overgarment, red trousers, Turkish slippers and a cap.Cunning yet cowardly, his long thin beard trembles with the slightest breeze. Anuncourageous wheeler-dealer, he always seeks to resolve everything. Of upper-classbackground, he has money, but is always trying to spend as little as possible. The Doctor A close friend of Pantalone, he is also elderly. His surname isLombardi and he is originally from Bologna. He’s quite the braggart, and claimsto be a man of culture, boasting degrees in law and medicine. Always dressed inblack, with a waistcoat and cape to hide his impressive belly, he wears a large hat –also black – and a half mask which covers his forehead and nose. He often speaksin a strange and invented form of Latin. He likes to eat generously and well.Silvio Doctor Lombardi’s young son. He dresses fashionably, has no mask on hisface, and is clean shaven and powdered. He carries a sword but is no fighter.Vain and impatient, he often renders himself ridiculous with his exaggerated andaffected airs. An excellent singer and poet, he has a silver tongue and is alwaysquarrelling with the beloved and capricious Clarice.Clarice A character based on irony and on the joys of seduction, Clarice, thedaughter of Pantalone, is an apparently fragile and helpless young woman who inreality is perfectly aware of her goal, which is to marry Silvio. Skilled at leading herfather by the nose, she always manages to do what she wants and to manipulateboth her father and her fiancée as she wishes, thanks to the help of her ever-faithful servant Smeraldina.Florindo The passionate suitor. Love can render him impetuous, brusque andquarrelsome. He draws his sword at the slightest provocation, but he has a kindheart and immense passion for his beloved Beatrice – whose brother he haskilled... the risks, the tears and the hyperbolic declarations are the traits of a veryaggressive temperament, all in stark contrast to the meek Silvio.Beatrice Just like Clarice, she is young and in love, but she has a more decisivecharacter and is by no means coquettish. She will not hesitate to disguise herselfas a man in search of her love, exposing herself to public criticism. She is anincredibly modern and independent woman, a model for future heroines ofGoldoni. Once back in female dress, she returns to her role as a young woman ofgood upbringing. Smeraldina The typical servant of the Commedia dell’Arte, seductive and astute.She has a very free and direct way of expressing herself and speaking her mind,even with her master, so much so that she often appears insolent. She iscunning, prudent and well-aware of everything that is going on around her. Sheplays along with Clarice’s schemes, although she does not share hersentimentality. She is the perfect woman for Harlequin!