One of the most instructive texts on the Commedia dell’ Arte that I read while researching The Innamorati was John Rudlin’s classic Commedia dell’ Arte: An Actor’s Handbook. It is a wonderful combination of history, explanation of the different stock characters and their individual personalities, mask work, and performance technique for Commedia. It has been argued […]
Research Notes: John Rudlin and Commedia’s Masks III. Read More »
This is a complicated moment in the novel when several threads come together, all for the purpose of resolving Anna’s terrifying possession. Having accepted the maenad’s mask, and now in its spell, Anna throws herself into the bloody revels of the maenads following Bacchus. Two men with separate interests in Anna have been searching for
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"The mask is a terrible, mysterious instrument. It has always given me and continues to give me a feeling of fear. With the mask we are on the threshold of a theatrical mystery whose demons reappear with static, immutable faces, which are the very roots of theater." — Giorgio Strehler. (Un Theatre Pour la Vie,
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Keith Johnstone’s Impro is a terrific book for actors looking for methods to feel at home and never without words on the stage. Johnstone’s emphasis is to understand and utilize improvisation effectively. The book is full of wonderful exercises and activities that do indeed have the ability to unlock spontaneous, creative speech to instigate, develop, and
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Anna's personal journey into the maze has to do with her belief that her anger at lost love incited her miscarriage. Within her own body she "feels" the curse like the twisting of thorns which keeps her in constant pain and makes it impossible for her to create the masks she loves. She believes, as
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When creating the characters of the masks in The Innamorati (and they are a lively bunch) I was profoundly influenced by both the traditions of the Commedia Dell 'Arte but also by Keith Johnstone's' brilliant work Impro, on improvisation for actors and the power of the mask to influence the actor through a form of
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Very early in the novel I sought to establish a fantastic relationship between Anna Forsetti and the Commedia masks she creates. The masks speak to her, they are very alive and responsive to her mood. For Anna there is an interconnection between the womb which creates a life within it and a mask like an
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Very early in the novel I sought to establish a fantastic relationship between Anna Forsetti and the Commedia masks she creates. It had to do with the idea that art and creativity have a fertile capacity when we dig deep and pull the unexpected from ourselves. (Writing this novel was a constant source of surprise
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Rediscovering earlier notes for my article The Swan Maiden's Feathered Robe — I always like to circle back to these notes because they continue to offer insights. These were notes made from BF LEavy, In Search of the Swan Maiden: A Narrative on Folklore and Gender. I have long been fascinated by the "Animal Bride" stories
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I have recently come across a host of wonderful green images of spring — a rarity in this desert to be treasured. It reminds of more northern places, where rhubarb leaves unfurl through spring snow, lambs gambol in wet green fields, and the air itself is heavy with dew and rain, and earthly scents. So
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