The Theatre of the Italian Renaissance
Objectives
After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:
- Compare and contrast the different types of Renaissance drama in Italy.
- Identify the conventions of the commedia dell’arte.
- Identify the neoclassical ideals, including decorum, verisimilitude, and the unities of time, place and action.
- Differentiate between descriptive and prescriptive criticism.
- Identify the prominent theater buildings and innovative scenic elements in Renaissance Italy.
Lecture Topics
How did theatre emerge in Renaissance Italy?
Who were the major scenic designers in Renaissance Italy?
How did commedia dell’arte influence other forms of theater?
Discussion
How did the concept of perspective affect scenic design in Renaissance Italy?
Compare and contrast neoclassicism with actual practices in Ancient Greece and Rome.
Should theatre be didactic?
How did theatre practitioners find out about and become interested in classic dramatic traditions?
Multiple-Choice
Please choose the answer that best completes each sentence.
1. Which of the following is true of commedia dell'arte:
A. It is improvized.
B.The actors repeat comic bits.
C. It uses stock characters.
*D. All of the above
2. One important ideal, known as ______, meant that all drama should be "true to life."
A. decorum
*B. verisimilitude
C. Vive la joie
D. Genre
3. ______were short pieces depicting mythological tales; they were presented between the acts of full-length plays.
A. Pastorals
*B. Intermezzi
C. Commedia dell'arte
D. Lazzi
4. Repeated bits of physical comic business are known as:
A. intermezzi
B. capitano
C. slapstick
*D. lazzi
5. Criticism which argues for a certain point of view is known as:
*A. prescriptive
B. descriptive
C. intermezzi
D. masque
6. The Italian equivalent of the Greek satyr plays was the ______, the characters of which are usually shepherds or creatures who inhabit the forest or countryside.
A. intermezzi
B. libretto
*C. pastoral
D. opera
7. Renaissance scholars, in keeping with their desire to revive classical forms, believed they were recreating the Greek tragic style when they developed ______.
A. commedia dell'arte
*B. opera
C. genre
D. intermezzi
8. The oldest surviving theater constructed during the Italian Renaissance was the:
*A. Teatro Olimpico
B. Sabbioneta Theater
C. Teatro Farnese
D. Teatro Novissimo
9. At Novissimo, ______perfected the pole-and-chariot method of scene shifting.
A. Antonio Minturno
B. Francesco Andreini
C. Castelvetro
*D. Giacomo Torelli
10. The subject matter of a(n) ______is romance, and usually has a happy ending.
A. commedia
B. intermezzi
*C. pastoral
D. decorum
11. The ______is used as a framing device to restrict the view of the audience.
A. ekkyklema
B. deus ex machine
*C. proscenium arch
D. periaktoi
12. One of the most important developments in the Italian Renaissance scene design was the introduction of ______drawing, whereby the set had the illusion of depth.
A. unified
B. two-dimensional
C. mechanical
*D. perspective
13. A major movement in Renaissance literature was ______, which focused on people rather than gods.
*A. humanism
B. decorum
C. pastoralism
D. existentialism
14. The most popular of the comic servants in commedia dell’arte was:
A. Dottore
B. Pantalone
*C. Arlecchino
D. Capitano
15. Servants in commedia dell’arte, known as ______, were sometimes sly and other times foolish.
A. lazzi
*B. zanni
C. zibaldoni
D. pantalone
16. Harlequin carried a ______, which was a wooden sword used in comic fight scenes.
*A. slapstick
B. innamorato
C. lazzi
D. shutter
17. ______was the most acclaimed commedia dell’arte troupe in Europe.
A. I Fideli
*B. I Gelosi
C. I Confidenti
D. I Accesi
18. The ______is significant because it is the prototype of the proscenium arch theatre.
A. Teatro Olimpico
B. Teatro Sabbioneta
C. Teatro Serlio
*D. Teatro Farnese
19. In Italian theatre, the raucous area where audience members stood on the house floor was the
A. galleries
B. box
*C. pit
D. archway
20. ______, in his book, Architettura, detailed many of the early methods for creating perspective settings.
A. Nicola Sabbattini
*B. Sebastiano Serlio
C. Giovan Battisa Aleotti
D. Julius Caesar Scaliger
21. Stages in the Renaissance were often ______, meaning they were slightly inclined or seated.
A. dropped
B. shuttered
*C. raked
D. none of the above
22. A problem posed by Serlio’s angle-wing setting was:
*A. it was virtually impossible to shift scenes during a performance.
B. it prevented the use of perspective painting.
C. it did not work with a raked stage.
D. all of the above
23. ______formulated the unities of time, place, and action and argued that theater was invented to “please the ignorant multitude.”
A. Antonio Minturno
B. Sebastiano Serlio
C. Nocola Sabbattini
*D. Lodovico Castelvetro
24. One of the neoclassical ideals was ______, which meant each character was expected to follow set behavior, which was deemed appropriate for their position in society.
A. perpective
B. genre
*C. decorum
D. verisimilitude
25. Which of the following conventions did the neoclassicists oppose?
A. chorus
B. soliloquy
C. onstage violence
*D. all of the above
True/False
Please choose whether the statement is true or false.
26. The invention of the printing press aided the spread of literature rediscovered from the past.
*True
False
27. The Italian Renaissance is best known for its great playwrighting.
True
*False
28. The libretto, or text, of an opera is often secondary to the music.
*True
False
29. Actors from commedia dell’arte were world renown for their ability to memorize entire full-length scripts quickly and exactly.
True
*False
30. Women were not allowed to perform in commedia dell’arte.
True
*False
31. Commedia actors played the same stock characters through most of their careers.
*True
False
32. The most successful commedia companies were organized by families.
*True
False
33. Sebastiano called for a unity of stage scenery, so that all types of plays could be performed on the same stage.
True
*False
34. Flat wings were a series of individual wings on each side of the stage, parallel to the audience.
*True
False
35. Audiences sat in a darkened auditorium to fully appreciate the lighting and scenic designs.
True
*False
Essays
36. What were the major innovations in scenic design and practices in the Italian Renaissance?
37. Discuss a play you have read for class in terms of whether or not it adheres to the neoclassical ideals.