In the spirit of the Commedia dell'Arte players they hoped to be able to perform anywhere, from a town square to a village hall, a school to a theatre. To support its education programme, Trestle developed a series of three mask sets with teaching notes to accompany them in 1994.

What is a trestle mask?

Trestle theatre masks are playful, they transform performers and transfix audiences. With a mask on you have the freedom to explore your world through another's eyes. They are worn from Brazil to Singapore, Canada to Australia and are unique in their universal usage in mask theatre and performance.

What are trestle masks made of?

From here our small team hand craft all of the Trestle Masks, vacuum forming, cutting, sanding, and painting each one by hand. Each mask is made from a clay mould that our mask makers design and create for every new set or commission.

What is a trestle stage?

a stage on wheels that can be moved from place to place through a town. Platform stage or trestle stage. in medieval times the platform or trestle stage was a version of a thrust stage. found space. involved a close look at the physical arrangement of the playing area and its relationship to the audience.

Who founded trestle theatre?

Trestle Theatre Company was founded in 1981 by Sally Cook, Alan Riley and Toby Wilsher, three graduates from the BA Performance Arts course of Middlesex Polytechnic, and the support of John Wright, their course leader.

Working with Trestle Masks: Skills and Ideas

What is Traverse in drama?

A traverse stage is long and narrow with the audience sitting on either side, like a catwalk. As with theatre in the round, the audience can see each other, which helps to remind them that they are at the theatre and immerse them in the action on stage.

What does trestle Theatre company do?

Trestle is a mask and physical theatre company: our mission is to inspire creativity through participation and dialogue and we do this by approaching opportunities with an open mind, playful approach and our ever surprising and engaging masks.

Who wore masks in commedia dell arte?

There are four or five classes that the masks can be grouped into: the old men such as Pantalone and il Dottore; the young and adventurous man, il Capitano; the servant sometimes named Zanni; and another old man though more crooked and crippled Pulcinella.

What do the two masks mean?

When used together, the two drama masks are a symbol for the theater. The laughing mask symbolizes comedy, while the crying mask represents tragedy. Modern audiences sometimes ascribe additional meanings: the range of human emotion, for example, or the extremes of the human experience.

Why do actors wear masks?

Why did the Actors wear masks? Actors wore masks so that the audience may see the facial expression clearly, allow them to tell the characters apart and make the theme of the story (comedy or tragedy) clearly obvious to the spectators.

What is masking in acting?

A piece of theatrical scenery used to conceal a part of the stage from the audience.

Who did not wear masks Commedia dell arte?

Innamorati usually wore no mask, soubrettes/servettas usually wore no mask, and some zanni like Mezzetin, Scaramouch and Pedrolino have a longer documented tradition for going unmasked than they do for covering their faces.

What 3 groups did Commedia characters belong to?

• The Servants (eg: Arlecchino or Columbina)
• The Masters (eg: Pantalone)
• The Lovers (eg: Isabella and Flavio )

How were commedia masks different from Greek masks?

The masks of the Greek Comedy represent “characters, not stereotypes” (Prosperi 1982). ... The masks of Commedia, on the other hand, are monochromatic and are made of leather, which makes them incredibly light. Commedia masks also do not have eyes, they have holes through which the actors' eyes can be seen.

Why is it called Theatre in the round?

During the late 17th century the proscenium stage, which limited audiences to the area directly in front of the stage, came to dominate theatre. To the arena, or theatre-in-the-round, belongs the excitement of the circus, the bullring, and such sports...

What does thrust staging mean in drama?

A thrust stage is where the acting area in front of the proscenium arch comes forward so that some of the audience are sitting on three sides of the action of the play.

What is end-on staging?

End-on Stage

Theatre in the round is a staging configuration when the audience are seated around all sides of the stage. Advantages: The audience is close to the stage and there is an extended first row. The actors enter and exit through the audience, which can make the audience feel more engaged.

How does Zanni speak?

The support knee is bent and the other leg is extended with his toe pointed. He switches his feet a lot while speaking or listening within the same position, and without his head moving up and down. Zanni's elbows are usually bent and arms half lifted.

Which is the stock character who speaks in gibberish?

Even when a local company performed, much of the dialogue would not have been understood. Regardless of region, the oft-used character il Capitano would have spoken in Spanish, il Dottore in Bolognese, and l'Arlecchino in utter gibberish.

Is commedia dell'arte still used today?

Conclusion. While much of the purest form of Commedia has been lost to the history books, the majority of its influence today is still widely felt in all forms of theatre today. Fortunately with companies like Odyssey Theatre, much of the art is being recaptured and brought back to its former glory.

When were masks first used in drama?

Dating back to the 14th century, the masks all have names and represent a variety of characters, such as women, nonhumans, children and old men. The masks are standardized as in Greek theatre.

Who is the first actor who introduced the use of mask?

He is credited with introducing a new style in which one singer or actor performed the words of individual characters in the stories, distinguishing between the characters with the aid of different masks. This new style was called tragedy, and Thespis was the most popular exponent of it.

When were masks first used in Greek Theatre?

The use of masks in ancient Greek theater draw their origin from the ancient Dionysian cult. Thespis was the first writer, who used a mask. The members of the chorus wore masks, usually similar to each other but completely different from the leading actors. Picture 1 portrays a sort of mask suitable for the chorus.

Do actors have to wear masks while filming?

All cast and crew must wear a face mask and must wash or sanitize hands before touching props, costumes, or set materials. During filming, cast may use these items without wearing a face mask.