Commedia dell'Arte Scenarios

Commedia dell'Arte Scenarios gathers together a collection of scenarios from some of the most important Commedia dell'Arte manuscripts, many of which have never been published in English before. Each script is accompanied by an editorial commentary that sets out its historical context and the backstory of its composition and dramaturgical strategies, as well as scene summaries, and character and properties lists. These supplementary materials not only create a comprehensive picture of each script’s performance methods but also offer a blueprint for readers looking to perform the scenarios as part of their own study or professional practice. This collection offers scholars, performers and students a wealth of original performance texts that brig to life one of the most foundational performance genres in world theatre.

Introduction: The Dramaturgy of the Commedia dell'Arte; Chapter 1: Abagaro Frescobaldi, Codex II-1586 (Madrid, Real Biblioteca); Chapter 2: Flaminio Scala, Il Teatro delle Favole Rappresentative (Venice, 1611); Chapter 3: Raccolta di scenari più scelti d’histrioni divisi in due volumi. Codices 651 and 652, manuscripts 45.G5 and 45.G6 (Rome, Biblioteca dell’Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei e Corsiniana); Chapter 4: Basilio Locatelli, Della scena de Soggetti comici et tragici di B. L. R. Manuscripts 1211 and 1212 (Rome, Biblioteca Casanatense); Chapter 5: Ciro Monarca, Dell’opere regie. Manuscript 4186 (Rome, Biblioteca Casanatense); Chapter 6: Anonymous Manuscript Correr. Manuscript 1040 (Venice, Museo Correr); Chapter 7: Gibaldone [...] Manuscripts XI.AA.40 and 41. (Naples, Biblioteca Nazionale); Bibliography

Sergio Costola is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Southwestern University.