Introduction to the Theatre

THE 101 / University of Idaho

Chapter 14 / Italian Renaissance Theatre

Historical Background:

     During the 1400’s, the Duke of Milan was attempting to consolidate his power in the Lombard plain of Italy by conquering the city-state of Florence.   The Florentines were the last city-state to fall to the Duke of Milan and stubbornly refused to surrender.   During this protracted war, it was necessary to win the hearts of the people.   Both sides engaged in fierce diplomatic, political, and intellectual struggles.   A philosopher and humanist named Petrarch (a Florentine) and his intellectual heirs, Boccaccio and Leonardo Bruni, championed the idea of intellectual freedom and the rebirth of the classics (Greek and Roman philosophy).   The ability of the Florentines to embark on this Cultural Revolution in the middle of a war so sparked the civic interest of the people that they successfully defeated the powerful Duke of Milan.   Although it took nearly a century for this renewed interest in the classics to effectively spread across the European Continent, Renaissance ideals and thoughts were in vogue nearly twice that long in an era that spanned from the early 1400’s through the 1600’s ending with the Royal Period (Neoclassicism).   Indeed, many of the humanist thoughts found in philosophy, government, art, science, and trade are still taught today.   The fundamental thought in the Renaissance was that, "life is something to be enjoyed.”    In addition, the Renaissance ideal was that, "a balanced life within oneself and society" was to be pursued and maintained.   Religiously, salvation could be accomplished now, not after death, and thus the Renaissance marked a huge paradigm shift from a theological to a humanist view of people and the overriding mechanism of the world and of life.   It is this - the idea of the fully educated and rounded person that is the cornerstone of this class and the reason for its existence.  

     As stated before, the Renaissance starts in Italy and Spain at approximately the 1400's and reaches full blossom in the 1500's.   It includes the English Shakespearean Era and continues strongly into the 1600's where it is embraced by the French Academies and is labeled the Neoclassical Period.   While many countries were experimenting with new ideas in philosophy, art, science, trade, and government, there remained major geographical ‘specializations’ in these areas.   When we think of the Italian High Renaissance, we think of the fine arts and architecture.   We think of the Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Bramante.   In Spain and Portugal, there is a widespread discovery of the world through exploration, navigation, and cartography and the lives and exploits of Magellan, Vasco DeGama, Columbus, Galileo, and Copernicus come to mind.  In England, there is a rebirth of the literary arts.  Literature, language, and theatre become the highest forms of expression and Shakespeare, Marlowe, Webster, Ford, and Sir Francis Bacon take pen in hand and make their mark on the world.   And finally, in France there is a revolution in philosophy and social organization led by Voltaire.

     Although a remarkable period in history, this explosion of thought and creativity was no spontaneous event, but a complex period of time that was able to develop due to four key factors.   First, the fall of Byzantine Empire and subsequent termination of gothic culture and feudalism in Europe added greatly to a sense of personal responsibility and freedom.   Second, the growth of Medici wealth - due in part to Marco Polo, made Florence the trade capitol for the world and provided surplus income for the development of the arts and education.   Third, the humanist view of intellectual balance and learning influenced the Academies - social and academic clubs or societies aimed at the achievement of these goals and ideals.   In a sense, these loosely structured schools were a precursor to the modern day university.   And finally, Guttenberg’s invention of the printing press which allowed for the quick duplication of both the Bible and classical thought, and making education and the exchange of thought possible on a grand scale.

The Theater:

     With the reexamination of the classics by Italian scholars there were profound influences on not only Italian art and architecture but on theatre and theater architecture.   Standard reading for the theatre practitioner included The Poetics by Aristotle, The Art of Poetry by Horace, and De Architectura by Vitruvius.   In essence, these books became the primary texts for analyzing, building, and creating theatre.   In addition to these texts, perspective and the use of chiascuro - or a strong sense of light in painting to create focus and effect, was developed.  

    Often referred to in theatre as the ‘Age of Scenes and Machines,’ this is the period in which the proscenium stage developed from its humble court theatre beginnings to the grand opera staging of today.   Several people contributed to this development.   Initially, Sebastiani Serlio an architect assimilated both Greek and Roman theatre architecture and developed theories about theater buildings and their design and usage, discussing both their various forms and functions.   He compiled these theories in The Five Books of Architecture and it is within this text that the proscenium arch is developed.   He includes discussions on both lighting needs and scenic considerations for these various theater spaces.   Working in these new spaces were designers and artist who were called scenographers.   These scenographers were responsible for the whole look of the production from the set to the costumes to the lights.   The tradition of scenography continued until the specialization of these crafts in this century.   Of particular note is a family of designers called the Bibienna's whose elaborate productions still elicit awe today.

   Many of their drawings and designs remain intact and are cataloged in theatre texts.   To construct and move all this massive scenery, Nicola Sabbatini developed a scenic construction manual so that industry continuity could be maintained and that rudimentary safety guidelines could be followed.   Finally, Futtenbach developed the first text on lighting called The Noble Mirror of Art.

     These developments in architecture, design, construction and lighting techniques resulted in two unique styles of theater - the Theatro Olympico at Paladi and the Teatro Fearnese at Alleoti.   The Theatro Olympico is a proscenium stage that uses a constructed false perspective.   Real houses exist on stage but disappear into a central focus point at the back of the theater.   If you were to walk back into the constructed theatre or ‘up the street’ you would discover that the doors get smaller and smaller.  This perspective is so complete that the floor is raked or slopes up to the back.   This sloped type of stage is where we get the terminology ‘upstage’ and ‘downstage’.   However, this type of stage limits the action of the actor to a downstage area and creates a rather presentational style of acting.   In contrast, the Teatro Farnese is the first true modern proscenium arch and allows for the actors to interact with the scenery more completely than at the Theatro Olympico.

Playwrights and Theatrical Conventions:

    Theatre of the Renaissance consisted mainly of Court Masques or entertainments written for the royalty and wealthy, which included music, poetry, and dance.   As balanced and educated citizens, the sponsors were often involved in the actual performance to showcase their singing, dancing or acting skills.  More formalized theatre consisted of comedy, tragedy, pastorals, and intermezzi.   While based on the Greek and Roman ideals of comedy and tragedy, the Italian stage added a more humanistic flavor and expressed a more relaxed nature of existence.   Comedies were more domestic in flavor and the tragedies were more heroic.   The pastorals tended to be love stories, which contained elements of romanticism and sentimentality for the country life.   Finally, the intermezzi were based on mythology and were allegorical in nature.   A highly ornate style of theatre that used a chorus, the intermezzi was a more public form of the court masque.   Eventually, the intermezzi evolved into opera, which is still very ornate and highly popular today.

    However, formal theatre in the Renaissance was exclusive by the nature of its cost.  Only the wealthy and privileged could afford to attend with any frequency and in reaction to this a competitive form of street theatre came into existence.   Easily performed in the market square Commedia dell' Arte was the common persons theater.   Commedia emphasized both social and popular themes through the use of simple plots.   Scenario based, the plays were acted out improvisationally and required highly skilled actors.   A wild form of comedy, Commedia used both body and bawdy humor complete with broad movements, wild gestures, and the use of a device called the slapstick to achieve its entertaining goals.   In addition, Commedia uses stock characters to tell its story.   Easily divided in to four roles requiring masks and two without.   The masked characters are divided into two pairs, the vecci (old men) and zanni (servants).   The young lovers do not wear masks because the plots revolve around their needs and/or their inability to fulfill those needs.   The vecci or old men are usually Dotore, an inept doctor or stupid teacher, and Pantallone, a foolish or miserly merchant.   Usually these vecci are making plans for the young lovers against their wishes.   The zanni or foils are usually represented by either Harlequin or Arlechino - a whimsical, somewhat intelligent clown and servant, or Brighela and Capitano - a braggart and a cowardly soldier, or Scaramouche - a wise servant and the voice of reason.   This wildly active and farcical style of comedy employs many sight gags, running jokes, and basically "slapstick" action.   In many ways, it was the I Love Lucy or The Dick Van Dyke Show of its day.   While many playwrights were undoubtedly involved in the theatre, they remain relatively obscure and unimportant.   However one Commedia writer, Goldoni, actually recorded finished Commedia improvisations and leaves us this legacy of a popular art form still performed across the European Continent today.

Staging and Spectacle

     A proscenium stage is a functional integrated machine of specific and necessary parts required to move and hang scenery.   The primary type of proscenium scenic design is called a ‘wing and drop’.  This type of design utilizes painted fabric borders (horizontal pieces), legs (vertical pieces), and drops (full stage paintings).   Both wings (borders and legs) and drops can be made out of fabric-covered frames called flats or just painted fabric pieces called drops.   Flats can be angled, tied together in threes (periaktoi), or cut to reveal a profile.   Drops may also have holes cut in them called ‘cut drops’ and are used in combination to create perspective.

     However, the most important elements of the proscenium are the mechanisms used to rig and move the scenery.   Since objects were tied off and ‘flown’, sailors were hired to do the work because of their knot tying and sail rigging skills.   Interestingly, this is why the theatrical term for this process is called rigging.    All scenery is tied to and flown from a batten or pipe that is as long as the stage is wide.   This pipe and the scenery are counterweighted and flown by the running line.   In addition, a proscenium has covered and removable holes in the floor which are called traps.   Traps can be used to hide scenery or allow for the quick entrance or exit of an actor from the stage with the use of a disappearance trap.   Scenery can also be moved by a ‘chariot and pole’ system, which is quite simply a tall mast secured to a wagon to which the scenery is attached.  In addition, a ‘shutter and groove’ system can be used.  This system resembles modern day sliding doors.   In addition to the manual operation of these systems, both the “chariot and pole” and ‘shutter and grove’ could be operated by the use of mechanical gear drives powered by a ship’s capstan.   The oldest surviving fully functional Italian Renaissance fly house and chariot and pole system is the Drottingholm Theater in Stockholm, Sweden.