In recent years, many artists have experienced a world increasingly fragmented by polarization and cultural commercialization. In this context, the mask becomes a tool to return to what is essential: the body, the encounter, and the shared act of theatre.

The mask strips away individuality to reveal the collective dimension of human experience. It invites the performer to engage with fundamental dramatic tensions—between impulse and control, presence and disappearance, the comic and the tragic. Through this work, theatre re-emerges as a living, relational act: immediate, physical, and shared with the audience.

In a time shaped by digital mediation and individual representation, Contemporary Commedia dell’Arte offers a return to play, transformation, and direct connection.

THE WORK

This laboratory is grounded in practice. Through daily physical training and guided exploration, participants will engage with the core principles of mask performance.

The process will move progressively:

• from awareness of the body and presence

• to the exploration of archetypal dynamics

• toward improvisation and compositional structures

Participants will develop:

• precision and clarity in gesture

• responsiveness and presence on stage

• the ability to construct and transform characters through the body

• a deeper relationship with rhythm, space, and audience

The work values play, risk, and failure as essential tools for discovery.

TRAINING ELEMENTS

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

STRUCTURE

Each day combines:

• Physical training and movement studies

• Practical mask exploration

• Improvisation sessions

• Contextual talks on the history and contemporary relevance of masks

This dialogue between practice and reflection allows participants to connect technique with meaning and artistic intention.