Laura Anne Brueckner Humanities
The Commedia Workshop
Combining rigorous academic inquiry with the living practice of theater arts, Laura will be researching commedia dell’arte , a style of masked improvisational comedy that flourished in Italy during the Renaissance. She will devote herself to historical research and practical training this summer and will develop, rehearse and produce a commedia dell’arte production during the academic year, using a cast and crew comprised of Berkeley students. Laura plans to revive this dramatic art form in a historically informed way for the benefit of the entire University community, staging her production, along with a related panel presentation, at the Haas Spring Research Conference. As a further goal, she intends that the cast of the Commedia Workshop will continue to function as a UC Berkeley commedia dell’arte theater troupe after the conclusion of her Haas research project.
