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An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is ὑποκριτής (hupokritḗs), literally "one who answers". The actor's interpretation of a role—the art of acting—pertains to the role played, whether based on a real person or fictional character. This can also be considered an "actor's role", which was called this due to scrolls being used in the theaters. Interpretation occurs even when the actor is "playing themselves", as in some forms of experimental performance art.
Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as commedia alla maschera, commedia improvviso, and commedia dell'arte all'improvviso. Characterized by masked "types", commedia was responsible for the rise of actresses such as Isabella Andreini and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. A commedia, such as The Tooth Puller, is both scripted and improvised. Characters' entrances and exits are scripted. A special characteristic of commedia is the lazzo, a joke or "something foolish or witty", usually well known to the performers and to some extent a scripted routine. Another characteristic of commedia is pantomime, which is mostly used by the character Arlecchino, now better known as Harlequin.
Vittoria Piisimi, was an Italian actress, singer, dancer, theatre director and musician. Known as la divina Vittoria Piisimi, she was one of the most famous Italian actors of the period. She and Isabella Andreini were the two most famed actresses of the era, and described as great rivals.
Vincenza Armani, was an Italian actress, singer, poet, musician, lace maker and sculptor. She was one of the most famous Italian actresses of the period and known as the 'Divine Vincenza Armani'. She and Barbara Flaminia were the two most known actresses of their time and described as great rivals. Being one of the two first well-documented actresses in Italy, which was the only country where actresses existed at the time, she belonged to the first actresses in modern Europe.
Flaminio Scala, commonly known by his stage name Flavio, was an Italian stage actor of commedia dell'arte, scenario writer, playwright, director, producer, manager, agent, and editor. Considered one of the most important figures in Renaissance theatre, Scala is remembered today as the author of the first published collection of commedia scenarios, Il Teatro delle Favole Rappresentative, short comic plays that served as inspiration to playwrights such as Lope de Vega, William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and Molière.
Virginia Ramponi-Andreini, also known by her stage name "La Florinda" was a celebrated Italian actress and singer. She was known for her performances in commedia dell'arte plays, many of them written for her by her husband Giambattista Andreini, and for having created the title role in Claudio Monteverdi's lost opera L'Arianna. She was born in Northern Italy in either Milan or Genoa. The exact date and place of her death are unknown.
Barbara Flaminia (1540–1586) was an Italian stage actress. She was one of the earliest actresses known in Europe and internationally known in her time. She and Vincenza Armani were the two most famed actresses in Italy in the 1560s and were described as great rivals.
The theatre of Italy originates from the Middle Ages, with its background dating back to the times of the ancient Greek colonies of Magna Graecia, in Southern Italy, the theatre of the Italic peoples and the theatre of ancient Rome. It can therefore be assumed that there were two main lines of which the ancient Italian theatre developed in the Middle Ages. The first, consisting of the dramatization of Catholic liturgies and of which more documentation is retained, and the second, formed by pagan forms of spectacle such as the staging for city festivals, the court preparations of the jesters and the songs of the troubadours.
References
- ↑ Mirella Schino, Dodici schede sul teatro italiano in Glynne Wickham, Storia del Teatro, Il Mulino, Bologna 1988
- ↑ Jan Sewell, Clare Smout, The Palgrave Handbook of the History of Women on Stage