How — and Why — Does One Print Scenarios? Flaminio Scala, 1611

Abstract

Flaminio Scala's Teatro delle Favole Rappresentative (1611) are the only commedia dell'arte scenarios offered in their own time to a reading public. An examination of the original printed text throws up some insights, which have not previously been noted, about the thought processes which went into the preparation of the volume. Internal evidence in fact suggests that the scenarios were quite carefully presented and adapted for print. Scholars have previously debated whether they were conceived as recreational reading, or as practical blueprints from which live performances could subsequently be created. It is argued here that Scala intended both these purposes, and ensured that the volume catered equally well for readers and for practitioners.