Contemporary
Commedia dell’Arte
Dramatic Tension Between Life and Death
Directed by Carlos García Estévez
1 - 4 of May 2025, Amsterdam
In recent years, many artists have felt a world fragmented by polarization and cultural commercialization. The mask invites us to discover the bridge to the essential: the dramatic tension that defines our existence between life and death.
The mask possesses a unique ability to strip away individualities and reveal the collective. It is a fundamental element that connects us to the cycle of creation and transformation—a dance that defines us as humanity.
The mask invites a safe and reflective space to help us understand our emotions, roles, and values. Each gesture and movement reveals the boundaries between joy and loss, hope and mourning. The mask unveils a deeper and more authentic narrative toward a universal theater. A Contemporary Commedia dell’Arte; a Human Comedy.
- Carlos García Estévez. December 2024
The Laboratory will consist of engaging practical sessions where participants explore the art of mask performance through hands-on activities.
These sessions will be complemented by insightful talks on the history of masks and their relevance in today's artistic landscape.
By playful experimentation with thoughtful reflection, the laboratory offers a dynamic journey into the practical, theoretical and philosophical dimensions of masks, highlighting their significance in contemporary artistic practice.
This Open Laboratory is an offer to actors, dancers, performers and all other theatre practitioners or scholars looking to explore the physical and acting skills of Mask Performance.
The participants will be exposed to a deep study of the mask dimension of contemporary theatre.
The Open Laboratory approaches the basic elements
involved in Mask Performance such as:
The spirit of play and celebration
Human archetypes, caught in situations that range from tragic to comic
The architecture of gestures
Structure at the service of metamorphosis
Improvisation
Movement technique
Musicality, timing, space
Interaction and direct contact with the audience
Everyday stories through human passions
Masks by Den Durand & Donato Sartori
“He reinvented human comedy. Beyond clichés, touching the great
human emotions. Intelligent, open-minded and touching.”
Pascale Lecoq, École de Théâtre de Jacques Lecoq, Paris
Practical Information
CONTEMPORARY COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE
Dramatic Tension Between Life and Death
DATES 1 - 4 of May 2025, Amsterdam
PRICE 380€
LOCATION Polanentheater - Polanenstraat 174
1013 WC Amsterdam
www.polanentheater.nl
Accommodation is NOT included.
The activity will be directed in English. Work sessions can be translated in French, Italian and Spanish.
TO APPLY
Email your CV, PHOTO and a MOTIVATION LETTER to info@manifestopoetico.com
Applicants will then be selected.
