I have respect for authors who manage to write incredibly long, complicated sentences — but with such consummate skill and daring that I inhale deeply and then read it aloud, trying to see if I can make it to the end in all one exhale. These sentences enter the text to condense a moment into […]
Barry Unsworth and the Best Long Sentence Read More »
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 »
"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,
The Mask is a Terrible, Mysterious Instrument Read More »
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
Research Notes: Trance States in Mask Work II Read More »
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
Excerpt from The Innamorati: Anna Surrenders Read More »
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
Excerpt From The Innamorati: Anna and the Masks Read More »
When I was in Italy, I happen to read a murder mystery set in the 16th century — the same time period I was using to set The Innamorati. I read the first 100 pages which took place over a two day period in the story and not once had the characters eaten anything. I
Research Notes II: Culinary Arts Read More »
This excerpt is taken from Chapter Eight in The Innamorati when Erminia finds herself in the piazza, watching a performance of the Commedia troupe, the Libertini. She is stunned by the magic of Anna Forseti's masks. And their power incite in her the longing to be fully the fantastic creature that she is, threatening to
Excerpt from The Innamorati: Erminia’s Song Read More »
I posted a few field drawings of my mother Jeanette Snyder yesterday, and wanted to add some more of them because I think they are charming — and remind me of the days when field researchers lugged heavy tape recorders, cameras, and note books, just in case all that heavy technology failed, leaving only the
More Field Drawings: Darjeeling, India 1964. Tibetan Lhamo Performances. Read More »
I have been working through my mother Jeanette Snyder's papers — including a cash of drawings, and strips of contact sheet photographs (many that were never developed and for which the negatives disappeared many years ago) on her research of the Tibetan Lhamo in 1964. She rote a wonderful article "The World Beneath the Tents"
Bittersweet: An Afternoon Under the Tent Watching the A Ice Lhamo Perform Read More »
