paola coletto

THE BODY OF MASK

A journey into the essence of theatre masks!

led by

Paola Coletto

With Guest Teachers

Marc Frost and Ofer Ravid

January 10th trough January 21st 2011

Combining a strong emotional awareness with a powerful body alertness, mask is a complete training for any theatre artist, laying the foundation for work on characters for all theatre genres.

PROGRAM

This hands-on, practical experience proposes an introductory research on fundamental gestural approaches to specific types of theatre masks, traversing the study of Neutral Mask, Larval Mask and Primary Mask, to the half masks of the Human Comedy and Commedia dell’Arte.

My aim with this work is not to give you new techniques or new rules but to share with you my knowledge and understanding of the world of masks, in its essence, for you to bring it to life and use it as a tool to support your own artistic purpose.

	The Neutral Mask is a pedagogical tool that serves as a basic reference point for all mask work. It proposes to the actor an experience grounded in a state of balance, calm and silence: the here and now of space.

	Larval Masks were transposed from the ancient Carnival masks from the city of Basel, in Switzerland by Jacques Lecoq as powerful training tools. They have a tremendous pedagogical value in any artists’ physical training because they ask for amplified gesture in order for the body to give the mask life.

	Primary Masks are unique half-masks that propose e ssentialized human characters defined by a single, dominant dynamic in space. They challenge the actor to embody very specific human characteristics where primary emotions take precedence over intelligence and understanding. At this stage, the mouth of the performer is revealed for the invention of language.

	Expressive Half Masks and Commedia dell’ Arte Masks are phenomenal instruments for playing. They introduce the actor to a precise physical definition of character through the play of urgency and survival. This style demands from the actor a very high level of physicality where the body is completely engaged and constantly receptive.