Theories of directing in late Renaissance and early Baroque Italy

grantor: University of TorontoThe purpose of this thesis is to determine the status of the art of direction in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries in Italy, to appraise its first emergence as an independent craft, and to examine its changing artistic ideals in the context of the dominant styles of the time. To this effect I examine the following texts, which represent the earliest formal treatments of direction: Quattro dialoghi in materia di rappresentazioni sceniche (1565) by Leone De Sommi, also known as Leone Ebreo, professional director at the court of Mantua; Della poesia rappresentativa e del modo di rappresentare le favole sceniche (1598) by Angelo Ingegneri, director of the first production of Oedipus the King (1585) in modern Europe; and Il corago o vero alcune osservazioni per mettere ben in scena le composizioni drammatiche (1628), an anonymous treatise by a professional director in the early baroque theatre. Most theatre historians quickly dismiss the idea of the art of directing before the nineteenth and twentieth centuries on the grounds that there were no professional directors before this period and no formal treatments of the art of direction worthy of notice. By closely examining the theory and methodology of De Sommi, Ingegneri and the author of Il corago, I argue that their work in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries already has all the fundamental characteristics of the work of modern professional directors. I examine their approach to textual analysis, casting, working with actors, acting and technical rehearsals, costume and scenic design, use of stage machines, music and sound effects, and production organization. In the process, this thesis defines each author's concept of the role and function of the director and his strategic position in the hierarchy of theatrical production.Ph.D