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102 pages

English

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This vintage book is a fascinating and detailed study on the history of masks and marionettes, with information on early development, popularity and influence throughout the ages, notable practitioners, and much more. “Masks And Marionettes” constitutes a fantastic exploration of context and culture surrounding its subject, and will be of considerable utility to those with an interest in the history of Commedia dell'arte. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on puppets and marionettes.

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Publié par	Read Books Ltd.
Date de parution	28 juin 2021
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781528760430
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0500€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

MASKS
AND
MARIONETTES
BY
JOSEPH SPENCER KENNARD
Copyright 2013 Read Books Ltd. This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any way without the express permission of the publisher in writing
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Introduction to
Puppets and Marionettes
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure, animated or manipulated by a puppeteer. They are used in puppetry ; a very ancient form of theatre. There are a staggering variety of puppets, and they can be made of a wide range of materials, dependent on their form and intended use.
Puppetry was first practised in Ancient Greece and the oldest written records of puppetry can be found in the works of Herodotus and Xenophon, dating from the fifth century BC. The Greek word translated as puppet is ( nevrospastos ), which literally means drawn by strings, string-pulling , from ? ( nevron ), meaning either sinew or string and ( spa? ), meaning draw or pull. Aristotle (384-322 BC) discussed puppets in his work On the Motion of Animals . He stated that the movements of animals may be compared with those of automatic puppets, which are set going on the occasion of a tiny movement; the levers are released, and strike the twisted strings against one another.
Puppetry by its nature is a flexible and inventive medium, and many puppet companies work with combinations of puppet forms, and incorporate real objects into their performances. They might, for example, incorporate performing objects such as torn paper for snow, or a sign board with words as narrative devices within a production. Some key types of puppet are the black light puppet ; a form puppetry where the mannequins are operated on a stage, lit only with ultraviolet lighting. The hand puppet (better known as the glove puppet) is controlled by one hand which occupies the interior of the puppet. The Punch and Judy puppets are familiar examples of this type. Larger varieties of hand puppets place the puppeteer s hand in just the puppet s head, and the body then hangs over the entire arm. Perhaps one of the most interesting, and ethereal types of puppet is the shadow puppet ; a cut-out figure, held between a source of light and a translucent screen. Shadow puppets can form solid silhouettes or be decorated with various amounts of cut-out details, even with coloured light introduced to provide yet another dimension. Javanese shadow puppets known as Wayang Kulit are a classic example of this.
Marionettes are one of the oldest forms of performance puppetry, the term meaning little Mary in French. Both Archimedes and Plato s work refers directly to Marionettes, and the Iliad and the Odyssey were first presented using these mannequins. Our present day puppetry probably extends back to these plays, performed to the common people of the fifth century BC. Marionettes, or string puppets , are suspended and controlled by a number of strings, plus sometimes a central rod attached to a control bar held from above by the puppeteer. Basic strings for operation are usually attached to the head, back, hands (to control the arms) and just above the knee (to control the legs). This form of puppetry is complex and sophisticated to operate, requiring greater manipulative control than a finger, glove or rod puppet. In modern times, marionettes are sometimes referred to as puppets , but the term marionettes is more precise, distinguishing them from other forms of puppetry, such as finger, glove, rod and shadow puppetry.
In the eighteenth century, operas were specifically composed for marionettes, Gluck, Haydn, de Falla and Respighi all composed adult operas for marionettes. Today in Salzburg in Austria, the Salzburg Marionette Theatre still continues the tradition of presenting full length opera using marionettes in their own purpose built theatre. In the UK, the renaissance of Marionettes during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was driven by W. H. Whanslaw and Waldo Lanchester, two of the co-founders of the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild . The only purpose-built UK marionette theatre, founded by Eric Bramall and continued by Chris Somerville, is The Harlequin Puppet Theatre (built 1958) in Rhos on Sea, North Wales. There are many other theatres across the country however, that occasionally perform with marionettes. With the rise of television and film, marionettes found a rise in popularity especially in children s programming. The Disney produced story of Pinocchio was released in 1940 is solely focused on the adventures of a marionette. In the following decade, Bil Baird and Cora Eisenberg presented a great number of marionette shows for television, and were also responsible for the Lonely Goatherd sequence from the classic film The Sound of Music .
From the 1950s onwards, the BBC in the United Kingdom produced a wide series of marionette programmes for children, most notably from The BBC Television Puppet Theatre based in Lime Grove Studios from 1955-1964. Usually under the title Watch With Mother , the various programmes included Whirligig, The Woodentops, Bill and Ben, Muffin The Mule and Andy Pandy . Later in the 1960s, Gerry Anderson with his wife, Sylvia Anderson made a number of hit series, Fireball XL5, Stingray and Thunderbirds , which pioneered a technique combining marionettes and electronics. This allowed for radio control moving of the mouth of a marionette, and became known as supermarionation. As is clear from this incredibly brief history, the purpose, nature and capabilities of puppets and especially marionettes has changed enormously over the centuries. They still continue to delight and fascinate many audiences though, young and old alike.
JOSEPH SPENCER KENNARD DOCTOR OF THE SORBONNE, PARIS
TO I. B. K. I N M EMORIAM
CONTENTS
MASKS
I. ORIGIN OF THE COMMEDIA DELL ARTE
The Commedia dell Arte is Art and it is Psychology-It is a theatre of music, dance, colour and light-It depicts human frailties, parodies human foibles-Italian Commedia dell Arte is of Roman, Greek and Etruscan origin-In Italian Commedia dell Arte, dialects are spoken, masks are used and realism and obscenity are common- I Gelosi, the most famous of all the Commedia dell Arte Companies, arrives in Florence .
II. FAMOUS PLAYERS AND FAMOUS COMPANIES
Angelo Beolco, surnamed Ruzzante- the Joker-(born 1502) was an early and famous actor in Commedia dell Arte- He shared in the revival of Italian Comedy, and its use of dialects-Giancarli of Rovigo was another actor famous in Commedia dell Arte- In 1570 the Italian Art Theatre came to Paris and there remained popular for over two hundred years-Francesco Andreini and his wife, Isabella, his son and son s wife ( Florinda ), Tabarino and Flaminio Scala were among the most famous actors in Commedia dell Arte-The Confidenti, Accesi, and Desiosi were among the most famous Art Theatre Companies-The Commedia dell Arte not only was an institution in France but exerted an important influence upon English Comedy .
III. COMPOSITION OF THE DRAMATIC COMPANIES-JOYS AND SORROWS OF THE ACTORS
A Commedia dell Arte Company consisted, usually, of three women and seven men-Pantalone, Arlecchino, Pulcinella, and Brighella are basic types-Joys and sorrows of Commedia dell Arte actors-Today they live in luxury, tomorrow they are cold and hungry-Pride, scandal, jealousy and immorality of the actors-Insults, decrees, regulations and punishments are their portion.-Improvised Comedy reached its zenith about 1650 .
IV. THE PLOT-THE SCENARIO-IMPROVISATION-ZIBALDONI
Improvised and Studied Comedy had many types and subjects in common-The ludicrous interpolations in a play are called lazzi- Playing impromptu adds vivacity to the acting-In the Art Theatre each actor had his own commonplace-book or Zibaldone a collection of jests and speeches adapted to his part in the play-The Commedia dell Arte deliberately chose the obscene and the absurd-In the Commedia dell Arte Isabella is a coquette, the Doctor an erudite ass and crooked-nosed Pulcinella makes absurd gestures and funny speeches-Brighella is a fawning scoundrel, a thief and liar-Capitano is a coward, a bully and a ridiculous soldier-lover-Pedrolino and Pierrot are the same-He is a cunning ruffian-The Colombina soubrette is beautiful, charming and frequently virtuous .
V. FURTHER SCENARIOS AND MASKS OF THE COMMEDIA DELL ARTE
The Plays of Flaminio Scala-The Dentist -Actors used their stage-names in private life-Pantalone and Doctor Graziano are the two old men of the Commedia dell Arte plays-Arlecchino is a liar, swindler and sometimes thief, but he is a most amusing character-Biancolelli (Dominique) was perhaps the greatest and Gherardi was another famous Arlecchino .
VI. GOLDONI AND GOZZI-DECAY AND DEATH OF THE COMMEDIA DELL ARTE
Goldoni is the greatest author of the Commedia dell Arte- His plays reveal every aspect of life-Le Cortesan, Colombina and Corralina are among his most charming characters-His immortal Pantalone is Goldoni s mouthpiece and the central figure in the Goldonian Comedy-Carlo Gozzi was Goldoni s jealous rival-His Fiabe are often vulgar caricatures, but attained popularity -The Little Green Bird is Gozzi s best play-Gozzi s quarrel with Goldoni, his Fiabe, his love for Teodora Ricci and his Memoirs, sum up his life .
ITALIAN MARIONETTES
I. ORIGIN OF ITALIAN MARIONETTES
Marionettes were before history began-Italian Marionettes have Roman, Grecian and Egyptian ancestry-Socrates, Plato and Aristotle draw lessons from marionettes-Roman marionettes assumed many forms-In the early Christian Church and all through the Middle Ages, Marionettes were used in sacred representations and even in churches .
II. ITALIAN MARIONETTES GO ABROAD
Origin of the word Marionette-Burattini, Bagattelli, Bamboccie and Pupazzi are other names-Enormous popularity, of marionettes in Italy and in France-D