Commedia Workshop
Clint Bolster
Booking Details
Event details
COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE WORKSHOP
Unleash your students’ creativity and immerse them in the lively, spirited world of Commedia Dell ‘Arte!
What’s on Offer?
Duration: Flexible to your needs
Suitability: Grades 7–12
Available Terms: 1–4
Step into the captivating realm of high and low-status stock characters, classic scenarios, and improvisational play! This workshop is a hands-on journey that inspires creativity, spontaneity, and artistic exploration.
Workshop Focus
- A high-energy, interactive exploration of Commedia dell’Arte, one of the oldest forms of physical theatre.
- Introduces students to stock characters, mask performance, improvisation, and comedic techniques.
- Develops an understanding of Commedia’s historical and cultural significance and how it continues to influence theatre today.
- Focuses on exaggerated movement, audience interaction, and comic timing.
Key Learning Outcomes
- Develop an appreciation for Commedia dell’Arte traditions and their impact on contemporary theatre.
- Learn the physical and vocal techniques associated with key characters, including:
- Zanni (servants) – playful, acrobatic, and mischievous.
- Innamorati (lovers) – exaggerated romance and melodrama.
- Il Capitano (the captain) – boastful, arrogant, and cowardly.
- Il Dottore (the doctor) – pompous, verbose, and comedic.
- Explore Lazzi (comic gags) and improvisation.
Why It’s Transformative:
- The Spirit of the Mask – Learn the fundamental principles of Commedia Dell ‘Arte
- Embody characters with physical expression, vocal modulation, and the power of the mask
- Enhance improvisation skills and ignite imagination
- Discover the timeless art of storytelling through movement and voice
- Perfect for schools, educators, and students eager to explore this iconic theatre style in a fun, dynamic, and highly interactive way.
Key learning outcomes
Years 7-8 Drama (ACARA)
- Explore dramatic traditions and styles from various cultures, times and places.
- Develop skills and techniques of voice and movement to create character, mood and atmosphere and focus dramatic action.
- Rehearse and refine dramatic action to develop narrative, drive tension and communicate meaning.
- Perform devised and scripted drama using a variety of performance styles, maintaining engagement with an audience.
Years 9-12 Drama (ACARA)
- Investigate the conventions and traditions of Commedia dell’Arte and their influence on contemporary performance.
- Experiment with voice, movement and improvisation to develop characters and comedic techniques.
- Develop and refine expressive skills in performance to sustain characterisation and comedic timing.
- Structure drama to engage an audience through performance style, dramatic elements and conventions.
- Evaluate how cultural, social and historical contexts shape theatrical conventions.
General Capabilities
- Critical and Creative Thinking: Developing improvisational skills and problem-solving through Lazzi and audience interaction.
- Intercultural Understanding: Recognising the historical and cultural impact of Commedia dell’Arte on global theatre traditions.
- Personal and Social Capability: Enhancing communication, collaboration, and resilience through physical performance.
Additional Information
General Venue & Setup Requirements for Workshops
Requires an open space such as a classroom, double teaching classroom, drama room, studio, or theatre space
This is a standalone workshop and does not require a performance booking.
Contact Clint Bolster for Commedia Workshop
About the Artist
CLINT BOLSTER is a Clown, Physical Actor, Producer and Teaching Artist based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. With over 22 years of professional experience, Clint has dedicated his career to creating original theatrical works and training artists across multiple disciplines. His original creations —HIGH TEA with BOOFF, BOLSTER & LEE: The Knock Em Downs, The Lost Balloon, and The Bubble Canteen—alongside ensemble projects such as The Mask Family, Manoeuvre, and Homunculus Theatre, are programmed widely across Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. These works feature prominently at major arts festivals and in community, cultural, and educational settings, having reached a live global audience in the millions.
Clint has performed extensively throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan—including over 900 solo shows in Japanese at Universal Studios Japan, Osaka. He has toured over 500 primary and secondary schools across Australia. Most recently, he performed in the 2022/2023 Australian tour of Slava’s Snow Show and was accepted into the Cirque du Soleil database of Clowns.
As a dedicated Teaching Artist, Clint has delivered training and masterclasses for actor training institutions and universities worldwide, including the Queensland University of Technology (QLD), Griffith University (QLD), Drama Australia (AUS), Pontio University Wales (UK), and Shakespeare4All (Hong Kong), to name a few.
A proud Queensland member and mentor for the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, Clint also serves as a Board Member for Indel-Ability Arts. His extensive touring and producing credits include collaborations with Queensland Theatre, Brisbane Festival, Cairns Festival, Cluster Arts Global, and Live Nation, among many others.
For a complete list of credits, visit – https://www.clintbolster.com/performance-credits
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