The Flower of Beauty (Two Commedia dell'Arte Plays for the Modern Stage)

A Short Comedy Adapted for the Stage from "The Flower of Beauty" in Tales of Enchantment from Spain

 

Part of the Series: Commedia dell'Arte Plays for the Modern Stage

 

ACTOR'S EDITION

 

Perpetua is perplexed when her son Arlecchino loses his apprenticeship, first at the bakery, and then at the butcher shop. But things begin to look up when Arlecchino apprentices with the court painter Brighella. For the king's dreams are haunted by visions of a princess, the Flower of Beauty. Brighella despairs when the king orders him to paint a portrait of the Flower of Beauty. But Arlecchino volunteers to give it a try. When Arlecchino succeeds, the king takes him on a journey to find the princess. With her maid Columbina, the princess Isabella is being held by enchantment in the tower of Il Dottore. When the king and Arlecchino free them, Il Dottore pronounces a terrible curse. How will they find a remedy?

 

Cast Size: (with doubling) 8 overall: 5m; 3w. May be expanded to 6m, 4w, 3m/w.

 

Approximate Running Time: 55–65 min. Two Acts with optional intermission (can be performed as a One Act Play).

 

Time Period: A short time or a long time ago.

 

Setting: Far away, in a place a little like Italy and another place a little like Spain. Can be staged in minimalist fashion, without sets or backdrops.

 

Min. Royalty Rate: Contact Bardstreet for licensing inquiry.

 

Target Audience: Young Audiences, Middle School, High School, College/University, Adult/Family (all ages), Catholic and Christian audiences, Classical schools

 

Performing Group: Middle School, High School, College/University Theater, Community Theater, Professional Theater, Touring Group

 

Note: This modern Commedia play is composed primarily of scripted lines. This is a departure from the original Commedia plays, which had far fewer set lines (and sometimes none!). However, the series preserves the Commedia dell'Arte flavor by allowing traditional Commedia characters to present the play, and giving them ample opportunity for "lazzi" or "business," improvisation, pantomime, music, dance, tumbling, sword-play, and recommendations for memorized poems to present as "stock speeches."

1142776963
The Flower of Beauty (Two Commedia dell'Arte Plays for the Modern Stage)

A Short Comedy Adapted for the Stage from "The Flower of Beauty" in Tales of Enchantment from Spain

 

Part of the Series: Commedia dell'Arte Plays for the Modern Stage

 

ACTOR'S EDITION

 

Perpetua is perplexed when her son Arlecchino loses his apprenticeship, first at the bakery, and then at the butcher shop. But things begin to look up when Arlecchino apprentices with the court painter Brighella. For the king's dreams are haunted by visions of a princess, the Flower of Beauty. Brighella despairs when the king orders him to paint a portrait of the Flower of Beauty. But Arlecchino volunteers to give it a try. When Arlecchino succeeds, the king takes him on a journey to find the princess. With her maid Columbina, the princess Isabella is being held by enchantment in the tower of Il Dottore. When the king and Arlecchino free them, Il Dottore pronounces a terrible curse. How will they find a remedy?

 

Cast Size: (with doubling) 8 overall: 5m; 3w. May be expanded to 6m, 4w, 3m/w.

 

Approximate Running Time: 55–65 min. Two Acts with optional intermission (can be performed as a One Act Play).

 

Time Period: A short time or a long time ago.

 

Setting: Far away, in a place a little like Italy and another place a little like Spain. Can be staged in minimalist fashion, without sets or backdrops.

 

Min. Royalty Rate: Contact Bardstreet for licensing inquiry.

 

Target Audience: Young Audiences, Middle School, High School, College/University, Adult/Family (all ages), Catholic and Christian audiences, Classical schools

 

Performing Group: Middle School, High School, College/University Theater, Community Theater, Professional Theater, Touring Group

 

Note: This modern Commedia play is composed primarily of scripted lines. This is a departure from the original Commedia plays, which had far fewer set lines (and sometimes none!). However, the series preserves the Commedia dell'Arte flavor by allowing traditional Commedia characters to present the play, and giving them ample opportunity for "lazzi" or "business," improvisation, pantomime, music, dance, tumbling, sword-play, and recommendations for memorized poems to present as "stock speeches."

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The Flower of Beauty (Two Commedia dell'Arte Plays for the Modern Stage)

The Flower of Beauty (Two Commedia dell'Arte Plays for the Modern Stage)

by Gwen Adams
The Flower of Beauty (Two Commedia dell'Arte Plays for the Modern Stage)

The Flower of Beauty (Two Commedia dell'Arte Plays for the Modern Stage)

by Gwen Adams

eBook

$9.95 

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Overview

A Short Comedy Adapted for the Stage from "The Flower of Beauty" in Tales of Enchantment from Spain

 

Part of the Series: Commedia dell'Arte Plays for the Modern Stage

 

ACTOR'S EDITION

 

Perpetua is perplexed when her son Arlecchino loses his apprenticeship, first at the bakery, and then at the butcher shop. But things begin to look up when Arlecchino apprentices with the court painter Brighella. For the king's dreams are haunted by visions of a princess, the Flower of Beauty. Brighella despairs when the king orders him to paint a portrait of the Flower of Beauty. But Arlecchino volunteers to give it a try. When Arlecchino succeeds, the king takes him on a journey to find the princess. With her maid Columbina, the princess Isabella is being held by enchantment in the tower of Il Dottore. When the king and Arlecchino free them, Il Dottore pronounces a terrible curse. How will they find a remedy?

 

Cast Size: (with doubling) 8 overall: 5m; 3w. May be expanded to 6m, 4w, 3m/w.

 

Approximate Running Time: 55–65 min. Two Acts with optional intermission (can be performed as a One Act Play).

 

Time Period: A short time or a long time ago.

 

Setting: Far away, in a place a little like Italy and another place a little like Spain. Can be staged in minimalist fashion, without sets or backdrops.

 

Min. Royalty Rate: Contact Bardstreet for licensing inquiry.

 

Target Audience: Young Audiences, Middle School, High School, College/University, Adult/Family (all ages), Catholic and Christian audiences, Classical schools

 

Performing Group: Middle School, High School, College/University Theater, Community Theater, Professional Theater, Touring Group

 

Note: This modern Commedia play is composed primarily of scripted lines. This is a departure from the original Commedia plays, which had far fewer set lines (and sometimes none!). However, the series preserves the Commedia dell'Arte flavor by allowing traditional Commedia characters to present the play, and giving them ample opportunity for "lazzi" or "business," improvisation, pantomime, music, dance, tumbling, sword-play, and recommendations for memorized poems to present as "stock speeches."


Product Details

BN ID: 2940166183019
Publisher: Bardstreet
Publication date: 01/11/2023
Series: Two Commedia dell'Arte Plays for the Modern Stage
Sold by: Draft2Digital
Format: eBook
File size: 129 KB

About the Author

Gwen Adams is a writer, playwright, speaker, and Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology at the Augustine Institute. She is the author of By an Unexpected Way: Stories of the New Evangelization (Augustine Institute Press, 2019). With experience in parish, diocesan, school and university settings, she has produced plays, taught history, literature, and writing, and offered courses on the New Evangelization, Catholic Education, and Reform and Renewal within the Catholic Church. Directing credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream, Uncle Vanya, and Life Is a Dream. Her master's thesis focused on fairytales; her dissertation gathered interviews with men and women about parish renewal. When she's not inventing funny, hopeful stories, she's retelling the stories of others, past and present, unexpected and full of wonder.

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