Twitter Takeover @Ascher_Society
Matthew R. Wilson, PhD
“Commedia dell’Arte and the Clown in Popular Culture”
October 22, 2020 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
| FreeTwitter @Ascher_Society
Actor and theater historian Matthew R. Wilson takes over the FAS Twitter account to discuss the history of the Commedia dell’Arte, key themes in the genre, and how the Commedia dell’Arte has impacted popular culture.
Submit your questions in advance by writing to info@fritzaschersociety.org
Part of “Send in the Clowns,” an interactive two-week digital initiative, which explores the clown as a figure between tragedy and comedy, between self- identification and stage–a character designed to (literally) mask the performer’s true feelings behind a facade of happiness. “Send in the Clowns” uses the prominence of the “clown” figure in Fritz Ascher’s work as a lens through which to explore the duality of the clown both historically and today.
Generously sponsored by Allianz Partners.
Matthew R. Wilson is Director (SDC), Actor (AEA, SAG-AFTRA), and Fight Director (SAFD, SDC), as well as a scholar and playwright.
He teaches at The George Washington University’s Corcoran School of the Arts & Design and serves as Director of Graduate Studies for its Academy for Classical Acting in partnership with The Shakespeare Theatre Company. Dr. Wilson previously served as the International Coordinator of SAT’s worldwide Commedia dell’Arte Day and as Chair of Movement & Physical Theatre for the Southeastern Theatre Conference. He has studied, taught, and performed Commedia across Europe and North America including six years teaching at Antonio Fava’s Stage Internazionale di Commedia dell’Arte in Reggio-Emilia, Italy. Wilson earned a Helen Hayes Award as founder and former Artistic Director of DC’s Faction of Fools Theatre and has toured the world with The Great One-Man Commedia Epic since 2004. Selected publications include chapters in The Routledge Companion to Commedia dell’Arte (Routledge 2015), the play A Commedia Christmas Carol (Playscripts 2013). Visit www.matthewrwilson.com for more information.
