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Performance and Literature in the Commedia dell'Arte
The actors of the commedia dell'arte (the sixteenth-century Italian professional theater) usually did not perform from scripted drama. They improvised their performances from a shared plot and thorough knowledge of individual character roles. Robert Henke analyzes commedia dell'arte texts to demonstrate how the spoken word and written literature were combined in performance. Henke examines primary sources including performance accounts, actors' contracts, letters and other documents.
Other studies have concentrated on either the oral or literature aspects of the commedia dell'arte, but have not considered how they might have worked together
Provides close readings of many commedia dell'arte texts: performance accounts, actors' contracts, letters, popular poems, memorials of deceased actors, scenarios, etc., many never before analysed
Supplies detailed historical and cultural contexts for the commedia dell'arte