DARIO F0’S ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST [ea ee gee compilediand, sthe}E:ducation'Department: ;eiDIRECTOR’S NOTES: Accidental Death of an Anarchist Dario Fo is an internationally acclaimed playwright, director, actor and composer. Born in 1926 in the village of Sangiano, in Lombardy, Italy, his upbringing would greatly influence his life and his career. His grandfather told stories to attract ‘customers to his produce cart. Fo's father, a fervent socialist, held a job as a railway station worker but, in his free time, was an amateur actor. Fo's mother wrote an autobiographical account of her childhood. The necessity of storytelling and performance was ingrained in Dario’s bloodline. In 1997, after receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature, he spoke about the people in his childhood community and how they affected his art: “They were the old storytellers, the master glass blowers, who taught me and other children the craftsmanship, the art, of spinning fantastic yarns, We would listen to them, bursting with laughter - laughter that would stick in our throats as the tragic allusion that surmounted each sarcasm would dawn on us” Alongside art, politics shared an integral role in Fo's development. During WWil, his family smuggled refugees, allied soldiers, and Jewish scientists into Switzerland. Toward the end of WWII, while attending college, Dario was conscripted to Mussolini's army but refused to fight, opting instead to hide in an attic until the war was over. Initially studying to be an architect, Fo made his acting debut in Milan in 1952 and began writing satirical cabarets, In 1954, he married Franca Rame, who was also from a theatrical family, and in 1959, they started their own theatre: Fo: Rame Theatre Company. Fo would write, direct, design, and compose the shows while Rame would frequently star. Ths is where Fo's career in the theatre took flight. To this date, Dario Fo has written over 70 plays. Due to its pointed and satirical nature, his work is commonly censored by authority, both religious and political. But his understanding of the power of storytelling and his commitment to the plight ‘of common man earned him the adoration of the public. Though he has been banned, threatened, rioted against, and arrested on behalf of his art, his plays continue to be performed in over 40 countries. “Comedy is a form of madness” ~ Dario Fo Accidental Death of an Anarchist takes place in Mila, Italy in 1970. In the 1960s, Italian labor unions gained significant strength, forcing the government to overprint money in order to pay wages, thereby causing run-away inflation. Toward the end of 1960s, unions began to strike, calling for better pay and working conditions. The youth of italy piggy-backed this cause and began protesting against thei professors, the church, and the communist party. Many of these strikes and protests were met with violent retribution from the police. This period of time was known as “Hot Autumn" Capitalizing on “Hot Autumn” were the neo-fascist groups, many of whom were backed and armed by the police. They began performing acts of terrorism in order to undermine the protests and strengthen the right-wing party. Giuseppe Pinelli was a 41-year-old railway worker and anarchist. On December 12th, 1969, a bomb went off at the Milan Bank of Agriculture. Pinelli was arrested, interrogated and kent in custody for three days. On December 15th, he fell to his death from the fourth floor of the police building. Fo wrote Accidental Death... in reaction to these events, Most of the information in the play is a dramatic reworking of the findings of the investigative journalists,he Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey Leo mes Reese! Teuesae cs Accidental Death of an Anarchist: A Synopsis TIME AND PLACE: A police station in Milan, italy. 1970. In a second story office, Inspector Bertozzo interrogates a man (referred to as “the Maniac” by the playwright). With a record cof impersonating dozens of people, the Maniac is currently accused of impersonating a psychologist and charging his patients astronomical fees. The Maniac wittily defends himself, claiming that he studied psychology by living in a mental institution and can therefore rightly call himself a psychologist. When Bertozzo0 threatens the Maniac, the Maniac reminds the Inspector of what the repercussions of harming him would be all of which he apparently learned from 2 lawyer at the mental Institution. ‘The Maniac’s sharp wit leads Bertozz0 to call into question the man’s claims of insanity. Frustrated, the inspector encourages the Maniac to give him his statement so that he can be released. Horrified, the Maniac begs Bertozzo to keep him at the police station, saying that he would sooner jump out of a window than brave the danger of the streets. As the Maniac attempts to jump out the window, the inspector and the constable chase him around the room to prevent him from killing himself. Finally Bertozz0 forces the Maniac to leave, and then rushes off to a meeting. ‘The Maniac sneaks back into the empty room and begins, rifling through the inspector's files. As he is about to destroy the records of his charges, he discovers a file that refers to the sudden death of a man (an accused anarchist) while in the process of being interrogated at the police station. rings. The Maniac answers it and begins speaking with a police Inspector from the fourth floor. The man on the other end of the phone warns the Maniac (who pretends to be aman named Anghiari) that a High Court Judge has been sent up from Rome. ‘The Maniac speculates that the judge has been specifically sent to deal with the mysterious death of the anarchist. Following. ‘the barrage of insults he hurls at the fourth-floor inspector, the Maniac decides to impersonate the High Court Judge. Inspector Bertozzo re-enters the office as the Maniac disguises himself, causing some confusion, The phone ‘The Maniac then goes to the fourth floor and waits for the Inspector (identified as the Inspector in the Sports Coat) with whom he had just spoken on the phone. After thoroughly aggravating the man, the Maniac identifies himself as the judge from the High Court, cals for the Superintendent, and begins questioning the two men about the death of the anarchist. He prompts them tore-enact theanarchis's SUA interrogation, WER eee CRIs According to ETE Marae LI (onl the two men, Urea a) viel Eee te aT especially since it is a Sere wholly made-up word. seized bya Deen ds *raptus? which culminated DL cee! el adj. 1. of or pertaining to actors or suicidal leap can out of the a ce window. With Sree uae encouragement overly dramatic, n behavior from the Ce Maniac, the Peaeet Superintendent and the Dee ear Inspector ee emer reveal that the SU ae “anarchist” was actually an innocent man they had randomly arrested, to whom they told several ies to in order to get him to “confess.” In addition, they disclose that they fabricated information to give to the media about the anarchist and his death. The Maniac (still disguised as the Judge) tells the two that the government is furious with them, and that they will be heavily punished. Then, in an act lkely reminiscent of the true events of the anarchist’s interrogation, the Maniac tries to force the Superintendant and the inspector to jump out the window. At that moment, the constable walks into the office. As the shamed officers try to regain their composure, the Maniac tells the constable that the men were merely experiencing a “raptus." He then gives them a taste of their own medicine, by telling them that what he said before was a lie: the government Is, In fact, delighted with them. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!-~ With further cunning, the Maniac prods the men to confess that they rewrote the report of the anarchists fall from the windoweS ese Ayo) Raw UR aaa Eee MY. Uge ge een oe aC ‘to make themselves seem innocent of his death. He then further mocks the men by collaborating with them to write an leven more outrageous rewrite of the report that makes the men seem even less guilty of the man’s death, After continuous mocking that goes over the heads of the Inspector and the Superintendent, a journalist, Maria Felett, arrives to interview the Superintendent. In order to quell the ‘men's fear that the High Court Judge's visit will leak to the press, the Maniac removes his disguise and impersonates Captain, Piccinni. The reporter's superior intelligence and wealth of facts soon has the Superintendent and the Inspector once again scrambling to cover up thelr guilt. The Maniac pretends to ald them in their feeble defense, Inspector Bertozzo enters the office, almost blowing the Maniac’s cover. He claims to have a replica of a bomb, planted by a left-wing political group, that went off at the bank on the same day that the anarchist had been arrested and taken to police headquarters. The reporter sees clearly that the bombing—one among over @ hundred—was carried out by Who’s Who in the Play: ‘The Maniac—a wily histromanaic, bent on exposing political corruption. The Constable—a blundering police officer whose ‘greatest skill is following unreasonable orders. Inspector Bertozzo—an irritable officer who fears that the press will discover the wrongdoings at police headquarters. ‘The Superintendent—the chief officer at the police station whose goal is to cover up his mistakes and the corruption of the system. ‘The Inspector in the Sports Coat—the subordinate of the superintendent, who is also intent on creating lies to prove his innocence. Maria Feletti—an aggressive reporter who is the first of many to learn of the corruption as exposed by the Maniac. fascists rather than anarchists. Moreover, the fascists were aided and abetted by the police in order to put blame on the leftist groups. The Maniac confirms her suspicions that the anarchist was an Innocent pawn in the police system's corrupt plan to cover up their past wrongdoings. ‘The Inspectors and the Superintendent are baffled by the Maniac’s eagerness to uncover their corruption, but just as Bertozzo is about to expose the Maniac as an infamous identity- thief, the journalist reveals that she has known all along that. he is in fact the Bishop. Revealing his clerical garb, the Maniac explains that, as Bishop, he is responsible for Vatican relations with the Italian police. As the Maniac is ironically convincing the journalist that scandal isa truly good thing, Bertozz0 pulls ‘gun on him, and has the constable handcuff everyone to the wall so that they will stay and listen to the Maniac’s confession of his true identity. The Maniac indeed confesses, and then reveals his final secret: he has recorded the entire event and will distribute the evidence of the police department's corruption to every newspaper in the country. Edmond Genest (The Superintendent), Philip Goodwin (Inspector Bertozz0), Jeffrey M. Bender (Constable Pisani), and ‘Andrew Weems (The Inspector in the Sports Coat) in Accidental Death of an Anarchist Photo: Gey Goodstein, ©2011Peso ee About the Playwright Dario Fo was born on March 24, 1926, in Lombardy, Italy. In his early life, he moved to Milan to study art and architecture. ‘Towards the end of WWII, Fo was conscripted into the army of the Salo Republic. He managed to escape enlisting by hiding in an attic, and, after the war, he returned to his studies. In 1950, Fo enthralled listeners with a series of “poer nano” ("poor little thing") monologues of his own creation—usually comic re-interpretations of Biblical or otherwise classical stories. While working with the Nava-Parenti company in Milan, Fo met his future wife and partner, Franca Rame—a life-long performer who had been born to a family of travelling actors and puppeteers. Fo and Rame were married in 1954 and became each other's greatest collaborators. In the late 1950s, Fo and Rame established the Fo-Rame Company. Based in Milan, Fo wrote and performed in many farces for the company, while Rame performed and acted as. primary administrator, In 1962, Fo-Rame wrote for a national TV series ("Canzonissima”), and sparked tremendous controversy ‘through their attention to the working class and his satirization of corrupt or ineffectual authorities. The couple received death threats and massive cuts to their scripts from the censors at the Italian National Television (RAl). Fo and Rame quit the show in protest of the censorship. And while the Italian Actors Union (SAI) showed them support, Fo and Rame were still sued, ‘Throughout the mi many plays that were highly critical of corruption in the Italian ‘government and scrutinized the dogmatic aspects of Italian society. These plays incited violence from Fascist groups, 1960s, Fo and Rame wrote and performed resulting in threats and an attempted assault on Fo and Rame. ‘The italian Communist Party provided Fo and Rame with guards, ‘While Rame was a member of the Italian Communist Party, Fo ‘was extremely critical of the organization. Eventually Rame ‘gave back her party member card and broke from the Italian Communist Party completely. In 1968, Fo and Rame disbanded their company inorder to form Associazione Nuova Scena, an independent theatre collective that used portable stages to entertain the working class in non-traditional theatre spaces, such as community halls, sports venues, and public plazas. In 1969, Dario Fo staged “Mistero Bufo,” which became an enormous success that ran for more than 5,000 performances. Foand Rame eventually eft Nuova Scena due to political differences with the company, and began the Collettivo Teatrale La Comune. it was during this period that Fo wrote Accidental Death of An Anarchist. He was inspired by the frenzy following a terrorist attack on the Banca Nazionale dellAgricoltura in Milan, in which a man—labeled by the Italian media as “an anarchist"—died after falling or being thrown out of a police precinct window, ‘Throughout the 1970s, Fo-Rame was met with resistance, ‘censorship, and violence for their political messages. Despite this opposition, the couple continued to write, stage, and perform plays well into the 1990s. In 1997, Dario Fo was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. In 2006, Fo took an active role in the political systems he so frequently criticized by running for mayor of Milan, the most economically important city of Italy. He finished second with over 20% of the votes. ‘As of 2010, both Fo and Rame were independent members of the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC ~ Partito della Rifondazione Comunista), and Fo remains an active participant and campaigner on various political social and cultural issues.Unset a eo In His OWn Words: an excerpt from Dario Fo’s Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech -.| mustn’t forget those of the small town on Lago Maggiore where I was born and raised, a town with a rich oral tradition. They were the old storytellers, the master glass blowers who taught me and other children the craftsmanship, the art, of spinning fantastic yarns. We would listen to them, bursting with Joughter—laughter that would stick in our throats as the tragic allusion that surmounted each sarcasm would dawn on us. To this day {keep fresh in my mind the story of the Rock of Caldé. “Many years ago’, began the old glass blower, “way up on the crest of that steep cliff that rises from the lake there was ‘a town called Caldé. As it happened, this town was sitting on a loose splinter of rock that slowly, day by day, was sliding down towards the precipice. It was a splendid little town, with ‘a campanile, a fortified tower at the very peak and a cluster of hhouses, one after the other. It’s @ town that once was and that ‘now is gone. It disappeared in the 15th Century. “Hey; shouted the peasants and fishermen down in the valley below. “You're sliding, you'll fall down from there’ “But the cliff dwellers wouldn't listen to them, they even laughed ‘and made fun of them: ‘You think you're pretty smart, trying to ‘scare us into running away from our houses and our land so you can grab them instead. But we're not that stupid” “So they continued to prune their vines, sow their fields, marry and make love. They went to mass. They felt the rock slide under their houses but they didn’t think much about it. Just the rock setting. Quite normal, they said, reassuring each other. “The great splinter of rock was about to sink into the lake. ‘Watch out, you've got water up to your ankles, shouted the people along the shore. ‘Nonsense, that’s just drainage water {from the fountains, it's just abit humid’ said the people of the town, and so, slowly but surely, the whole town was swallowed by the lake. “Even today’; continued the old glass blower, "if you look down into the water from that outcrop that still juts out from the lake, ‘and ifin that same moment a thunderstorm breaks out, and the lightning illuminates the bottom of the lake, you can still see ~ incredible as it may seem!- the submerged town, with its streets still intact and even the inhabitants themselves, walking around ‘and glibly repeating to themselves: ‘Nothing has happened’. The {fish swim back and forth before their eyes, even into their ears. But they just brush them off: ‘Nothing to worry about. It’s just some kind of fish that’s learned to swim in the ai Disturbing though it may be, there’s no denying that a tale like this still has something to tell us. | repeat, | owe much to these master glass blowers of mine, and they -1 assure you - ‘are immensely grateful to you, members of this Academy, for rewarding one of their disciples. Above all others, this evening you're due the loud and solemn thanks of an extraordinary master of the stage, little-known not “Laughter does not please Tl a5 Al Te CLe Ed Emery (Translator) studied Greek and Latin at Cambridge University, where he aso served asthe president of the Universit’ Student Union. Very poltaly active, Emery ‘staged numerous protests on various issues, ranging from his opposition to the University’s exam system to his support of Irish and Chilean poltical prisoners. Emery’s work as a political activist and a translator has figured significantly in the current circulation of Italian New Left ideas in England. A series called Red Letters is comprised of Emery’s translations of Italian reformulations of Marxist theory. Emery has translated several works of Italian literature into English, Including Manuel VSzquez Montalbiin’s An Olympic Death, Mehdi Charet's Tea in the Harem, and Antonio Negri's Empire ‘and Beyond. He has also contributed to the circulation of the ‘work of the Greek scholar Elias Petropoulos, whose work was considered too controversial to be acknowledged in Greek academia, Currently, Emery is translating the rest of Dario Fo’s plays into English. When translating Accidental Death of on Anarchist, Emery chose to stay as close to the original text as possible by keeping all ofthe original cultural, popular and wholly Italian references in the play.he Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey Leo mes Reese! Teuesane cs only to you and to people in France, Norway, Finland ... but also to the people of Italy. Yet he was, until Shakespeare, doubtless the greatest playwright of renaissance Europe. I'm referring to Ruzzante Beolco, my greatest master along with Moliére: both ‘actors-playwrights, both mocked by the leading men of letters of their times, Above all, they were despised for bringing onto the stage the everyday life, joys and desperation of the common people; the hypocrisy and the arrogance of the high and mighty; {and the incessant injustice. And their major, unforgivable {fault was this: in telling these things, they made people laugh. Laughter does not please the mighty... A few days ago, a young actor of great talent said to me: “Maestro, you should try to project your energy, your enthusiasm, to young people. You have to give them this charge of yours. You have to share your professional knowledge and experience with them”. Franca - that’s my wife - and I looked ‘at each other and said: “He's right”. But when we teach others ‘our art, and share this charge of fantasy, what end will it serve? Where will t lead? In the past couple of months, Franca and | have visited a number of university campuses to hold workshops ‘and seminars before young audiences. It has been surprising — not to say disturbing—to discover their ignorance about the times we live in... But this absent-mindedness on the part of the young has been conferred upon them by those who are charged to educate and inform them: among the absent-minded and uninformed, school teachers and other educators deserve first ‘mention. Photo: Anders Wiklund These encounters have strengthened us in our conviction that ur job is - in keeping with the exhortation of the great Italian ‘poet Savinio - “to tell our own story”. Our task as intellectuals, {as persons who mount the pulpit or the stage, and who, most importantly, address young people, our task is not just to teach them method, like how fo use the arms, how to control breathing, how to use the stomach, the voice, the falsetto, the contracampo. It’s not enough to teach a technique or a style: we have to show them what is happening around us. They have to be able to tell their own story. A theatre, a literature, an artistic expression that does not speak for its own time has no relevance. Recently | took part in a large conference with lots of people where I tried to explain, especially to the younger participants, the ins and outs of a particular Italian court case, The original case resulted in seven separate proceedings, at the end of which three Italian left-wing politicians were sentenced to 21 years of imprisonment each, accused of having murdered a ppolice commissioner. 've studied the documents of the case -as | did when | prepared Accidental Death of an Anarchist - and at the conference | recounted the facts pertaining tait, which are really quite absurd, even farcical. But at a certain point I realized | was speoking to deaf ears, for the simple reason that my audience was ignorant not only of the case itself, but of what had happened five years earlier, ten years earlier: the violence, the terrorism. They knew nothing about the massacres that occurred in Italy, the trains that blew up, the bombs in the ppiazze, or the farcical court cases that have dragged on since then. The terribly difficult thing is that in order to talk about what is happening today, | have to start with what happened thirty years ago and then work my way forward. It’s not enough to speak about the present. And pay attention, this isn’t just ‘about Italy: the same thing happens everywhere, all over Europe. I've tried in Spain and encountered the same difficulty; '’ve tried in France, in Germany, 've yet to try in Sweden, but | wil Dario Fo receiving his Nobel Prize from the hands of His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf lof Sweden al the Stockholm Concert Hall, 10 December 1997. Copyritt © Pica Presfoto AB 1957, S-105 17 Slockhokn, Sweden tephore 46 4-13 5240Mins oan Tes Ragone Fo’s Call to Action Accidentol Death of an Anarchist is based on true events ‘surrounding political corruption in Italy from the 1960s through the 1980s. Though the underlying story of the play may seem too absurd to be true, itis, in fact, closely based on the official documents and investigative journalism about a case involving ‘the death of a man named Giuseppe Pinell of a deadly bombing and arrested. Muddled records and official revisions of events obscured the fact that Pinelli was thrown from the window of the police station, and moreover, that his arrest was a cover-up for the fact that the government itself was responsible for the bombing, Pinelli was accused ‘As the working class of Italy became more active about their discontent with the political and economic climate in the 1960s, the government began to fear that its authority would be undermined. With change happening all across Europe and, ‘America, the italian government feared that the country was on the brink of a Socialist revolution. Their solution was to sanction terrorist attacks by an extreme right-wing group that was disguised as part of a communist insurgency. Their hope was to create a climate of tension that would cause citizens to create a right-wing coup in favor of the government. This tactic became known as the “Strategy of Tension:" From 1969 to 1984, the ‘government carried out 4,298 acts of terrorism. Police suspicion fell on neofacists and anarchists, among them, Guiseppi Pinell Guiseppi Pinelli was a 41 year old railway worker with a wife and two daughters. Pinelli had become intereste in his teens, serving as 2 courier for an anarchist group in Milan. He and his wife met at Esperanto classes. Both believed that a universal language would be the gateway to peace all ‘across Europe. Pinelli did not advocate violence. Instead, he anarchism advocated an ideology that he believed would bring peace to his country. A central figure in the Milanese anarchist circle, Pinelli coordinated youth organizations, ran the library for the ‘Anarcho-Syndichalist Union, and created a support network for the anarchists who had been falsely accused of bombings across Milan. (On December 12, 1969, 15 people were Killed and 58 wounded when a bomb went off ata bank in Milan. The incident became known as the Piazza Fontana Bombing. Guiseppi Pinelli was ‘among several people arrested on suspicion of plotting the attack. On the night of his arrest, he was found dead outside of the window of the police station. The official documents, regarding his death called ita suicide, another an “accidental death.” But forensic evidence showed that Pinells fall was ‘anything but a suicide, The remaining suspects were acquitted in 1985, with authorities unable to find them guilty. Fo was not the only person to take action against this, corruption. A newspaper run by the far-left published political ‘cartoons accusing the senior interrogating officer of Pinelli’ death. The paper was accused of libel and was tried in 1970, the same year that Fo opened Accidental Death of an Anarchist. Dario Fo and Franca Rame continued to be attacked for ‘speaking out against injustice. Though the “Strategy of Tension” ended in 1984, Fo's Accidental Death of an Anarchist remains ‘a shockingly relevant play, warning against corruption and Injustice in all societies. Further Reading Caesar, Michael, and Peter Hainsworth. Writers and Society in Contemporary Italy: a Collection of Essays. Leamington Spa: Serg Publ, 1984. Print. “Commedia DeltArte.” Humanracetheatre.org. Web, . Cowan, Suzanne. “The Throw-Away Theatre of Dario Fo." The Drama Review: TDR 39.2 (1975): 102-43. Print. Domenico, Macer. “Dario Fo: Jester of the Working Clas," World Literature Today: A Literary Quarterly of the University of Oklahoma 72.2 (1998): 9-14. Hirst, David. Dario Fo and Franca Rame. New York: St. Martin's, 1989 Print. MeManus, Donald. No Kidding!: Clown as Protagonist in Twentith- ‘century Theater. Newark: University of Delaware, 2003. Print. “The Nobel Prize in Literature 1997 Dario Fo” Nobelprize.org. Web. 02 ‘Aug. 2011. .Commedia Dell’Arte Dario Fo's style of comedy was heavily influenced by Commedia Dell’Arte, a form of improvisational comic theatre developed In Italy, which flourished between 1545 and 1760. Commedia troupes consisted of a company of traveling actors who were skilled in improvisation and physical comedy. The troupe would perform various scenarios, while wearing exaggerated masks that represented the various “stock characters" which they played. These included vecci (the old men), zanni {the zany servants), and innamorati {the lovers). In these scenarios, the old men often tried to keep the lovers apart, while the zany servants devised schemes to allow the lovers to be together. Echoes of i! vecci, which consisted of @ miserly lecher (Pantalone), @ know-it-all professor (I Dottore), and a bragging but cowardly captain (ll Capitano), can be seen in the Constable, the Superintendent, and the inspectors of Accidental Death of tan Anarchist. In addition to utilizing stock characters, Commedia performances incorporated numerous stock comic routines, or lazzi, These bits could be woven into virtually any scenario, and became a trademark of the Commedia style. Some examples of /oz2/ include familiar routines such as a servant carrying a long, ladder into a room and striking everyone and everything with It while remaining wholly unaware of the cris’, or a character taking on numerous voices to confuse a blind-folded character, fra doctor using exaggeratedly large medical instruments while examining a patient. Many of these /azz still appear in comic. entertainment today. In Accidental Death of an Anarchist, the Maniac uses variations on several classic lazzi. He takes on the voices and identities of many characters to rile up the inspector as they speak on the phone. While in one of his various disguises he incorporates fake limbs and even a false eye to great comic effect: Commedia was a highly popular and influential form of theater. ‘Though the troupes began in Italy, they traveled throughout Europe, and influenced such playwrights as Ben Jonson, William Shakespeare, and Jean Baptiste Moliére, Commedia troupes, initially had very little money and performed on a small make- shift stage in public areas. As their popularity grew however, wealthy patrons would sometimes provide them with a theatre in which to perform. In France, Kings Louis XIV and Louis XV greatly enjoyed the Commedia performances, despite the fact ‘that the troupes were banned from France for several years after a troupe of actors mocked Louis XIV's mistress. ‘Though Commedia Deitrte troupes dwindled in the 1760s, the comedic style and stock characters of Commedia continue to be Influential. Commedia stock characters were notably assumed by silent film actors such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, Even today, echoes of these stack characters can be seen in film, television and even cartoons. Several theatre companies exist ‘today to bring ths Italian art form to modern audiences. Dario Fo used Commedia in a profound way; simultaneously satirizing and cherishing his culture through elements of this essentially Italian art form,Unset a eo Commentary and Criticism “Fo insists on the importance of the comic~ grotesque element in theatre, both as part of the patrimony of genuine popular culture and asa basic tool for raising political consciousness. Like Brecht, he was always fascinated by popular theatre, incorporating all its comic-dramatic tricks into his plays: double-takes, mistaken identities, scurrilous language and behavior, mimicry, characters hiding behind curtains and pieces of furniture, blips and buffeting on the head and kicks in the rear—the entire panoply of belly- laugh technique. “(In Fo's plays] There are no “characters” in the psychological sense, only types or Kevin sola as the Maniac in Accidental Death of an Anarchist. personifications—the mad man, policeman, politician, Photo: Gerry Goodstein, 62011 union bureaucrat, worker, the bourgeoisie, and so forth..Any character functions basicaly as a personification of a certain political problem, and as such can change roles the moment his or her function changes on stage to articulate an issue different from one that was treated a few minutes before.” -Suzanne Cowan, “The Throw-Away Theatre of Dario Fo,” 1975 “Fo has always been the most sensitive barometer of the political climate in his country; @ shrewd critic perfectly attuned to the issues of the day... There is not a gag in the long final scene which is not there to underline a serious point. The rhythm of the scene is calculated to control the audience response as they are jerked by comic dislocation into a fuller awareness of serious issues.” David L. Hirst, Dario Fo and Franca Rame, 1989 “Whatever his antagonism toward intellectuals and litterateurs, there is no doubt that Fo too Is an intellectual—though ‘one who, perhaps, has come to reflect more clearly than many the painful changes Italy has experienced..Whether as. the frivolous satirist of social behavior, or the ardent political provocateur, he is an eye-witness to the cultural, social and political vicissitudes of his country..The success of Morte Accidentale (Accidental Death...) rests, | believe, on its ability to put across a revolutionary message while still being irresistible as theatre” Lino Pertile, “Dario Fo," 1989, “Fo has never strayed too far from clown’s comic function, even when putting the laughter associated with clown to a specific political end. He believes that clown is the stage character closest to the proletariat public he wants to reach. He has used clown to approach modernist tragedy...Even in his broadest farces and most popular successes, such as Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Fo continually reminds the audience of the tragic circumstances upon which the play is based. .Pinelli's mangled body is never meant to be forgotten even through farcical episodes.” -Donald McManus, No Kidding!: Clown as Protagonist in Twentieth Century Theater, 2003About The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey Se a eng ee ea ue ees Pee ae eee eo ee eee eee and other classic masterworks. With its distinguished Cee Ree ce Cec cu See ero ee CU Re ec eee a Cee Sere SO ea gOS eee Theatre of New Jersey marks its 49th season in 2011. Re eee De ee ea ee ey June through December, in the summer, an Outdoor Stage production is also presented at the Greek Theatre, an open-air amphitheatre fee ee en eae ee ee In addition to being a celebrated producer of classic plays and operating Shakespeare LIVE! (one of the largest educational Shakespeare Se ee On ee ee enc a the American stage. By providing an outstanding training ground for students of the theatre, and cultivating audiences for the future by providing extensive outreach opportunities for students across New Jersey and beyond, The Shakespeare Theatre is a leader in arts eee ee eee en ne The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is one of 20 professional theatres in the state of New Jersey. The company's dedication to the classics and commitment to excellence sets critical standards for the field. Nationwide, the Theatre has emerged as one of the most Cen ee ee Le ee ee eee ced See ee eas eee eee ee ee Ce ae oC ea eos eee Se eg oe eee The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is a member of ArtPride, The Shakespeare Theatre Association, Theatre Communications ee Dk Re ee aed The Shakespeare That of New Jersey's programs are made posse, in pat by funding fo the New Jersey State Counc on he rtsDeparient of Sao, ‘Parner gency of he Nationa Endowment othe At, as wel a funds ram te Naonal Endowment forte ts, Adonal major suport ice fom The Grane R. Dodge Fourdato, ho FM. Keby Foundaton, The Edvard T. Cone Faundatn, The Shubert Foundation, and Orow Universi, 28 el 8 coirdulons Fam nurerouscorpratons, oundtns, goverment agence anginal The Snaeapeare Thetis an dependent, rotessoral teat company lca onto Dew Universi cpus om ARS NewJersey _TYStal.rock —TeWsstiw