Free Essays on Comedia Dell Arte

One of the most popular forms of drama from the Italian Renaissance is Commedia Dell’arte. This drama is said to be an outgrowth of the Italian farce. (Herrick, 211) This all began around the fifteenth century, but did not become popular until the end of the sixteenth and all of the seventeenth century. Commedia dell’arte means an improvised or unwritten drama. There was never a script or set lines. However, the actors were given detailed plot outlines, also called scenarios, of what they would perform. In the outline the characters would be named, and given relationships, and the situations would be outlined as well. This information was then dived into scene, acts, prologues and epilogues. (Bellinger) With that information the actors would put everything together and began to improvise. The dialogue had to flow smoothly along with the storyline of the play. This caused the actors to be very discipline and be professional in everything that they do. The finest of them marked their parts with uniqueness, newness and vividness, and gave value to pieces that were usually worthless. Most of the actions were improvise except for certain gestures that the character is known for doing these were called Lazzi. Lazzi usually was acrobatic feats, juggling, or wrestling. An example of this would be a servant being so disgusted with an order his master gave that he does a somersault. Commedia dealt with the subject matter of disgraceful love intrigues, clever tricks to get money, out witting a simpleton. The actors began to form groups and travel together as troupes. By traveling they were not only popular in Italy, but in most of Western Europe. Since it was the same actors traveling around they would tend to be the same character. The actors tend to play the same part and rarely played more than one character. (Smith, 4) He would be typecast as that character and play it until he retired or died. The most popular characters were the †Å"... Free Essays on Comedia Dell Arte Free Essays on Comedia Dell Arte One of the most popular forms of drama from the Italian Renaissance is Commedia Dell’arte. This drama is said to be an outgrowth of the Italian farce. (Herrick, 211) This all began around the fifteenth century, but did not become popular until the end of the sixteenth and all of the seventeenth century. Commedia dell’arte means an improvised or unwritten drama. There was never a script or set lines. However, the actors were given detailed plot outlines, also called scenarios, of what they would perform. In the outline the characters would be named, and given relationships, and the situations would be outlined as well. This information was then dived into scene, acts, prologues and epilogues. (Bellinger) With that information the actors would put everything together and began to improvise. The dialogue had to flow smoothly along with the storyline of the play. This caused the actors to be very discipline and be professional in everything that they do. The finest of them marked their parts with uniqueness, newness and vividness, and gave value to pieces that were usually worthless. Most of the actions were improvise except for certain gestures that the character is known for doing these were called Lazzi. Lazzi usually was acrobatic feats, juggling, or wrestling. An example of this would be a servant being so disgusted with an order his master gave that he does a somersault. Commedia dealt with the subject matter of disgraceful love intrigues, clever tricks to get money, out witting a simpleton. The actors began to form groups and travel together as troupes. By traveling they were not only popular in Italy, but in most of Western Europe. Since it was the same actors traveling around they would tend to be the same character. The actors tend to play the same part and rarely played more than one character. (Smith, 4) He would be typecast as that character and play it until he retired or died. The most popular characters were the †Å"...

How Writers Can Become Songwriters

How Writers Can Become Songwriters I am lucky to make a living as both a songwriter and a â€Å"regular writer.† When I tell other writers about my songwriting, they typically respond with, â€Å"I wish I could do that!† My response is always, â€Å"Why don’t you?† I hear reasons like, â€Å"I don’t know how,† or â€Å"I can’t sing.† These excuses seem reasonable, but I’m here to tell you that if you’re a writer, you CAN be a songwriter and you CAN get paid for it! Here’s a step- 1. Analyze your strengths If you’re someone who doesn’t use a lot of creative writing, you’ll want to start putting some work into this. Songwriting is all about emotion. Take your latest piece of writing and see how it could be a song. If you’re thinking, â€Å"nothing I write could be a song,† here’s an example: Let’s say you’ve written an article about online shopping. It’s a straight-forward, how-to guide. What if the person shopping is buying things to care for a sick loved one? What if they have a spending addiction and need to stop? Use imaginative stories to find your lyrics. 2. Practice lyric writing Having a great story won’t matter if you can’t make it fit the music. This is the biggest issue with new lyric writers. They don’t know how to write in a way that will fit into a song. Songwriting is largely math-based. If line one has 6 syllables, line two should as well (you can play around with this once you’re experienced, but for now just keep it simple). Use a metronome and say your words out loud. Can you clearly speak them to a beat? If not, make edits. 3. Meet cowriters Now you’re ready to put your words to music! If you already play an instrument, you’re a step ahead. However, you can easily meet potential cowriters at open mic nights. I saw a woman read a poem she wrote at an open mic. She was so good that several people asked her to co-write after she was done! Practice speaking your words and getting into a rhythm, then perform them in front of musicians. If you’re stage-shy, post them on your website and social media. Connect with other writers and offer your awesome lyric writing skills. 4. Get co-writing credit This is where the money is. When you write a song with someone, whoever’s name is on the track gets paid. Determine how you’ll split royalties ahead of time (before the song is finished or released). Typically, if two people write a song they’ll split it 50/50. Decide how you want to split it and go from there. Do not give away your credit unless you are offered some type of up-front pay! 5. Get paid Now you’re at the point where you’ll pitch your songs to publishers. You and/or your co-writers will attend pitching events or submit Hopefully these tips will inspire you to try songwriting. It can be a fun and creative way to earn income, and you might write the next big hit!