Chiara Durazzini, artistic director and co-founder of the Commedia dell’Arte troupe Pazzi Lazzi, will talk about the history and characteristics of Commedia dell’Arte through its iconography and show some physicality typical of its characters. Commedia dell’Arte is a particular kind of theater that started in the Italian streets and “piazze” in the mid 1500s. It has influenced its contemporaries, like Shakespeare and Moliere, and many future directors and performers. Still today we can see some variations of “lazzi” (comic tricks) in slapsticks and sit coms. Italian Commedia is considered the first professional theater in the Western world, in fact in Medieval terms, the word “arte” means “craft”, therefore implying performances by professional actors. 

The program is supported in part by a grant of the Newton Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, and is an in person event.

Chiara Durazzini is a native of Florence, Italy, and has been working as a theatre actress both in Italy and in Boston. She is the co-founder and artistic director of the Commedia dell’Arte Troupe Pazzi Lazzi for which she performs, teaches and directs. She also often collaborates with other local theatre companies and works as a voice-over talent and Italian tutor. She obtained her Master’s degree in Art, Music and Theatre at the University of Bologna, Italy.

A versatile multi-instrumentalist, Dan Meyers is a flexible and engaging performer of both classical and folk music; his credits range from premieres of contemporary chamber music, to headlining a concert series in honor of Pete Seeger at the Newport Folk Festival, to playing Renaissance instruments on Broadway for Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Company.