Masks can have different shapes and characters, but all masks have in common the ability to reveal the depth of human essence. Bringing text beyond daily life, it filters substance and eliminates anecdotes.
(Jacques Le Coq)

The Mask is that artifice that immediately declares: theatre.

To approach the world of masks is to approach the beginnings of Theatre. It is to understand the roots and branches of the meanings of being and pretending; to deeply penetrate human soul; to situate oneself and others in the headlong dash towards the mystery of divinity and death.
Mask is a renunciation of the predominance of the actor's ego, the narcissism of being mirrored by a recognizing and applauding audience. A theatrical mask denotes. It does not hide. It reveals. It does not hide. It unmasks; it does not mask. To wear a mask is to change the body, as well as the face, and to enter a game outside daily life; it is to essentialize expression and to wipe off anecdotal waste. "When an actor must express a passion, he has to realize the mimesis of a natural phenomenon, which means taking on the corresponding tension of the soul that will determine all his bodily movements: a very difficult operation, that requires intelligence from the actor, a whole science" (Teofrasto). The mask reveals and forces such a science, such an art. In the words of Lecoq "Mask acting is not an exact science, but an exact art".

APPLICATION
Workshop places will be secured by sending a letter with your request, your personal data and a photo. Please enclose your C.V
Once accepted, a deposit of 30% of the rate is required. You can pay:

by Iinternational postal order to
"Accademia Teatrale Veneta", Giudecca 494/B, Venezia 301331
c/c 89767776

or by bank transfer code
IBANcode: IT57I063450200007400660451W
BIC/SWIFT code: BPPIITRRXXX
(Bank expenses are totally on charge of the applicant)

The outstanding balancemust be paid on the first day of the workshop.
On request, accomodation and food facilities at lowrates will be provided.

The neutral mask is a means to discover, to recognize and to assume the "neutral state" that exists before action, a state of receptivity to all around us, a state of balance from which it will be easier to understand and express imbalances and...
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For several years now Commedia dell'Arte has become the subject of passionate debate and renewed study by theatrical practicioners all over the world. The tantalising vision of a style of total performance, that relies on ensemble play and on the actor's virtuosity and dramatic instinct, continues to have its grip on the imagination.
An actor of Commedia dell'Arte was required to maintain excellent interpretative qualities, mime, acrobatic and musical skills as well as a good cultural level.
At its height Commedia had a far-reaching impact on European drama and has been rightly hailed as the one great school of Western Theatre.
Shakespeare, Molière, Lope de Vega, Goldoni and many others were inspired by (or directly used) Commedia dell'Arte in their plays...
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In the workshop we will use perfect reproductions of mask miniatures found in the greek necropolis of the Lipari Island, reconstructed and studied in a two year project by Adriano Iurissevich in collaboration with Malcolm Knight of the...
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