Sound, Gesture, Movement, Mask: Mozartian Resonances of the Commedia Dell’Arte
Commedia Dell’Arte: The Survival Comedy
Wednesday, May 7
11am-12:30pm, Lincoln Hall B20
Puerto Rican director, actor, educator, mask-maker, deviser and artivist Robi Arce-Martínez will present on the historical and contemporary impact of the commedia dell’arte tradition, focusing on its origins in street theatre and its constant yet ever-changing configurations and representations over the intervening centuries. Free and open to the public.
Musical & Theatrical Techniques
Wednesday, May 7, 2-5pm
Thursday, May 8, 10am-12pm
Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards at 726 University Avenue
Workshop sessions focusing on the improvisatory techniques behind 18th-century musical idioms and the relationships among commedia dell’arte characters, focused on Mozart’s fragmentary score for a Viennese Carnival pantomime, K. 446 (416d). Both theatrical and musical improvisation rely heavily on conventions and yet elicit spontaneous invention from performers who are skilled at capturing the essences of characters and relationships through nuanced gestures. These sessions are for those interested in experimenting directly with theatrical and/or musical improvisation informed by the commedia dell’arte tradition.
Roundtable Discussion
Thursday, May 8, 1-3pm
Lincoln Hall 316 (Music Library Seminar Room)
A wide-ranging conversation reflecting on our activities, noting discoveries, and plotting next steps. Free and open to the public.
Robi Arce-Martínez is a Puerto Rican director, actor, educator, mask-maker, deviser and artivist that holds an MFA in Ensemble-Based Physical Theatre from Dell'Arte International. As a multi-faceted artist with more than 15 years of experience, Robi has performed, led workshops and toured with theatrical, circus and educational performances throughout his career in México, Venezuela, Argentina, Italy, Perú, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and several cities in the United States. His diverse body of work is based on identity and created through a fusion of styles, influenced by magical realism, surrealism, poetry and fueled by social justice & change. His passion is to explore the spaces in between and the poetry of movement, where actors shape the space with their bodies to create a physical, dynamic and poetic theatre that connects with people as sports connect with fans. Arce-Martínez is the co-founder of Moriviví Theatre, a theatre collective composed by a team of diverse Latino/a/e/x artists with multidisciplinary backgrounds seeking to create a space of empowerment and education through the celebration of the roots, stories, languages, and complexities of identity within the Latinx community. He is currently the Assistant Professor of Movement and Acting at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, NC. and is also a board member for the Elsewhere Museum in Greensboro, NC
