Pe) a ee UU ae UT IMPROVISATION (1699) Mae DelV’Arte rappresentativa, premeditata ed all’improviso Bilingual Edition in English and Italian COUN CUae eat ET Te eee UT NeaDELUARTE RAPPRESENTATIVA PARTE SECONDA PROEMIO Al Rappresentare all impronto Non conoscivto daglt antichi, ma invenione de’ noste secali stato il rappresentate allimproviso le comedic; ‘non avendo io rtrovato chi di loro di cid parla si acess andi par chilla bellTtalia solo sia sin’ora cid sordco di fare poiché un famoso comico spagnuolo detto Adriano, ‘venuto com alti a rappresencare in Napoli le loro come- die non potea capire come si potesse fare una comedia col solo concerto di diversi personaggi,¢ disponerla in meno d'un'ora, Bellissima quanco difficile, eperioloea & impress, né vi sl devono porre se nom persone idonee, ed intendent,e che sappiano che vuol dire regola di lingua, Figure rettoriche, trop, e tutta Tarte rettoria, vendo da far allimproviso cid che premeditato fail poeta. Quindi benché la premeditata cappresentazione par che abbia i primo huogo nel ben ruscire, essere stimata, © prezsats, Ei awiene, perch il poeta vi studia in componera, © tutte le cose vanno regolate da un solo, evvi poi I'ass- sxcnaa,fatiga,« done di tant concert, e prove, che per forza devono riuscire, ¢ non riscendo d'ogni taccia son ddegni coloro che doppo un hungo travaglo portano fuori, in vece d'un perfetto parto, uno spoperzionaco embrione pieno di ercor e difet "Non cos le comedie allimproviso, dove la vasietd di anti personaggs, tra quall per forza Vha da essere chi Sia men perfetto © men abil, fache la ieregoaric ne ma- sea ed il dite quidguid in buccam venit non pub esere Senza mancamento. Quando perd da buoni rectant ven fata una commedia alimproviso, suole ruscite di ma- sera, che punto ala premeditata non cede; « ben disse {ell aurea pennat Medivarum, etn promptu babere quot Cpusque modi dicaner, magnon ad persplnitatis habet Sainmencun, Mi ido poi di coloro che avers a rappre- sentare solo premeditato, dicono non esser percd buo- tc chi allimproviso recita; poiché a chi perfettamence sa ‘appresentare allimprovso, ch® pit difficile; facllepit gi sara il recitare premeditao, ceil meno anzi havea Sempre limprovisante un colpo maestro, che mancandolt [Ememoria, o siccedendo qualche sbagio& abil ime- Gari, né accongere 'udienza faranne; quando colui che : pappagallo rappresenta, in ogni mancanza reste di Gin Top. TT. cap. 14. ON THE ART OF ACTING PART TWO PREFACE (On Improvisation in Performance “The staging of improvised comedies, which was unknown to the Ancients. is an invention of our times; | have not found 2 word about icin any of [their writings]. On the contrary it seems that undil now ony in fair Ialy has such a thing emerged. A famous Spanish comedian named Adriano, who tame to Naples with other [actors] to put on their com- ties, could not understand how one could produce @com- dy by simply coordinating teveral characters and staging itn less Grn an hour. An undertaking as fascinating 35 is eificue and risky, I should not be attempted except by ‘qualified and competent people, who know what the rules Of language mean, who understand] the figures of speech, tropes, and all the art of rhetoric, since they have to ac- comps alfmprowiso what a poet does with premeditation. ‘Thus.athough che scripted play appears to take first place in terms of being 2 success and wiring esteem and apprecix tion this only happens because ofthe poet’ effort in com posing it everything i directed by only one person. With the Felpeffortand tall of so many trial runs and rehearsals [the pity] cannot help but be a success. And tf then Ie is the fault of those who after such long labor bring forth not 4 perfect specimen, but a misshapen embryo full of errors and defects. “This does not apply to improvised comedies, where the reat variety of charactere—among whom there i sure to bre someone less perfect and less able—gves rise to uneven- ness. Saying quidqud in buccom vent [whotever frst comes to our ips] wil certainly esulein blunders. When an improvised Comedy is performed by good actors, however it generally succeeds jst as well as a seripted one. And that golden pen {Cicero} was right to say: Medtotm... [To hove something thought trough ond reody to utergreety enhances clarity of presentation]. | ugh those who are accustomed f0 per forming only scripted comedies and who say that an actor who improvises isnot good for that very reason; because Whoever knows how to improvise perfectly whichis more Aifcut wil find it easier to acti a scripted comedy, which is less 50. Indeed, the actor who improvises wil aways be capable of a master stoke:ifhis memory fils,or he makes a mista, he is able to correct itand the audience wil notice nothing, whereas the actor who recites like a parrot will be left speechless at any apse. tol02 Perrucci, A Treatise on Acting “The trouble is that today everyone considers himself capar ble of plunging into comic improvisation, and the lowest dregs of society devote themselves to it. chinking it an easy ching ‘Their unawareness of the danger derives from ignorance and ambition. This is why the basest charlatans and mouneebanks, take ic into their heads to attract and entertain people with words inthe guise of so many crowing Herculeses in golden chains. They try t0 perform improvised comedies in public Squares,mangling te plots, talking nonsense, gesticuatng like madmen. and, what is worse, performing a thousand obsce: ties and ith acts, so thac they can afterward make a sordid profit from people's purses by seling them thelr quack rem- tdies of snake ols, polson antidotes and potions that bring on diseases not already present They are ike those utery igno- rant painters who take to copying the paintings of the most famous and celebrated artists; they make more serawls than brush strokes, with the dference that the former are like Apelles, or Titan, while the latter are bunglers in the manner of Aatharcus oF Zanino da Capugnano Leaving tis base and infamous rabble, worthy of every insult to its own destruc- tion, we sty that with a group of talenced improviers one can make something good in an orderly fashion, imitating the best cometans who perform this way (far there has never been a lack of them), and doing for pleasure what the others do for payment. Many academies have arisen to further this highly skled exercise, in Naples, in Bologna, and in many Ital ian ctes. In Palermo one emerged several years ago under the name of Squintenoti® les symbol was a book losing is pages with the moto Non qi ntenat [No insiders here) Their fules required that whoever went to hear them was forced to improvise f asked a rice tric on the pare ofthe ingenious Siciians! “To stage [improvised plays] in a proper manner is neces- sary to observe all he rules given for the scripted plays, since there is no diference becween the cwo as regards che thea: tre, costume, voice, delivery, memory, gestures, and actions. However, some preparation s needed in order to perform with greater ease and syle, so that it can be as successtul as Possible, mich lke a welhrehearsed play Should ic not meet fexpectations i¢ would be more excusable than if scripted play ac times did not satis: examples ofthis can be seen from the time of Terence, wien Hecyra was performed just once and then rejected, whereas The Eunuch was presented mary times to great applause. What does i macterifan improvised comedy is not successful when it relies more on luck than on anything ose! I as co please the rastes of so many. Accord- ing co Laertius, Popular mulitudin.. [It has to serve the many heoded beost of the masses), and an actor is more a Serms popul [Servant ofthe people] than an orator is. And fas the Father of Eloquence [Cicero] says, Quicquid proestcbias [there i nothing beter than tobe able, by speoking to hold the crcention of @ group of people] then | say nil perculosis (that Peerucci, Dell'arterappresemsativa male sié che oggt ogn'uno si stima abile per ingolfar- si nella comica improvis, ela pia vile feecia della plebe i simpiega,stimandola cosa facile: ma il non conoscere pericolo nasce dall'gnoranra e dallambizione: Onde che i vilissimi churmator esal’in banco, che hanno po- sto in testa dallettare le gent, ¢ trattenerli con parole a guisa di canci Ercoli gallici con auree catene, vogliono rappresentare nelle publiche piazze comedie allimprovi- 20, norpiando i sogetti, patlando allo proposio, gesten- do da mati, ¢ quel ch’ peggio facendo mille oscenich ¢ sporcherze, per pot cavate dalle borse quel sordide gua-