GBL 241 ITALIAN COMEDY
Laugh out loud! “The Italian Comedy” course invites students to participate in a passionate, laughter-filled examination of the past, present and future of the human comedy in Italy with European master teachers and Elon professors alike. This course examines comedic function both creatively and critically, wedding performance practice with considerations of theory, history and literature in an exciting, hands-on environment. Taking this classical--and intensely physical--form of theatre as its springboard, students will learn physical comedy, archetypal characters, uses of mask, and the heightened attention to the body that this improvisational art requires. Students will also track the emergence and development of the Italian Comedy from Ancient Rome to its contemporary presence in popular cultural media such as television situation comedies, cartoons, and commercial film. Students will create works of theatre in this style, and experience firsthand how the Italian Comedic tradition bridges the ancient and modern worlds--all of this in Italy, where the ancient world lives alongside the modern one. Prerequisite: GBL 141. Application and acceptance required. Additional travel fee is required. Counts toward literature* or non-literature Expression or Civilization requirement, and satisfies one unit of experiential learning toward fulfillment of the Experiential Learning Requirement. The course may also count for an English or Theatre elective. Counts toward the Italian Studies minor.