Study Guides
Coming soon… A Level study guides for Servant to Two Masters and Berkoff.
To register your interest please email info@learningthroughtheatre.co.uk
An Illustrated Guide to the Movement of the Commedia dell’Arte
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“When teaching Commedia dell’Arte, I find a common obstacle faced by students is remembering the movements and mannerisms for each character. I developed a simple sketched notation to use in class that helped with recall. This guide pulls together all these sketches into a handy reference guide for others to use. Through repetition, movement memory kicks in, allowing the mind to be free to play and react to the narrative.”
– Cheryl StapletonPublished by Learning Through Theatre
This e-book is a resource for teachers, directors and performers that provides a form of sketched notation for the movement repertoires and character interplay. Commedia dell’Arte is a highly physical performance style and through adopting the body shape and movement patterns of the characters, much information about the personality can be discerned. It is not enough to wear a mask on your face: a complete physical transformation needs to take place before the character comes to life for an audience and this guide will show you how this can be achieved.
You can purchase this guide for your personal use or for educational use with an educational licence. The educational licence allows you to duplicate any or all parts of the book for teaching purposes.
The e-book is emailed as a PDF file once payment has been received. This is a manual process so may not be instaneous. If you want the book sent to a different email from the one you use for PayPal, please ensure this information is added or email: info@learningthroughtheatre.co.uk.
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Free Downloads
Introduction to Commedia dell'Arte Resource Pack
Published by Learning Through Theatre
The resource pack is a concise introduction to study of the Commedia dell’Arte covering historical context and character origins.
Seven Levels of ExaggerationTM
Published by Learning Through Theatre
Seven Levels of ExaggerationTM is a rehearsal technique to help performers discover the exaggeration needed for farce, commedia dell’arte, melodrama and expressionism. This is loosely based on Jacques Lecoq’s Seven Levels of Tension, drawing also on the techniques of Michael Chekhov.
The Houses of Commedia
Published by Learning Through Theatre
The characters of commedia dell’arte form a diverse community of personalities. Stock types frequently appeared across various productions by commedia troupes, although there were variations in names and social status. Numerous names are associated with the low-ranking servant types, known as zanni; some names were unique to a single production, created by an actor for their specific mask, while others recur consistently, becoming well-established within the tradition of commedia. There are various schools of thought regarding the composition of the cast of characters in Commedia dell'Arte. The Houses of Commedia outlined here serve as a foundational framework for exploring the intricate relationships and hierarchical structures within this theatrical tradition.
A Level Study Guides
'Accidental Death of an Anarchist' A-level Study Pack
£15.00
Click on the images to look inside:
by Dario Fo, translation by Gillian Hanna, adapted by Gavin Richards,
(relevant for AQA, Eduqas, Edexcel exam boards)
This study pack provides detailed notes for practical study of ‘Accidental Death of an Anarchist’ at A-Level. The focus is on comic characterisation taking inspiration from commedia dell’arte as a rehearsal methodology, providing techniques for comic creation of each character in the play. The pack also covers comic devices and techniques in detail, with specific examples from the text to demonstrate how they work. This pack supports practical study and provides a vocabulary for students to write about how comedy can be created in performance.
Purchase once, share with all your students.
Please complete the details below to be sent your copy by email. If you need the pack sent to a different email address, please add a note at the point of purchase.
This pack is provided free with every Accidental Death workshop booked. Are you interested in booking a workshop for your students? Find out more here: