Carlo Goldinis The Servant of Two Masters

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Carlo Goldinis The Servant of Two Masters

• Dr. Alan Haffa

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Commedia dellarte

• Italian Comedy Roman and Greek Origins
• 16th 18th century
• Improvisational
• Traditional Material lazzi
• Stock character Types and Masks
• Physical Acting
• Family and Class Conflict

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Post Modern

• The actors and writer call attention to their
  roles as actor and writerbreaks the Theatrical
  Illusion
• The beginning of the play Argument over who is
  directing
• The play is supposed to reflect reality of ASF,
  Ashland and Americarecession and lack of money
  for costumes
• Director who left town

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Truffaldino as Arlecchino

• Servant
• Driven by hunger for food, sex, and sleep
• Plot of this play is driven by Truffaldino being
  torn between two needs to serve his master and
  to satisfy his appetites
• Having Two Masters assists in one (appetites) but
  hinders the other (serving well)

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Truffaldinos Hunger

• The truth is Im hungry for some meaning in my
  life. Until I find it I will continue to fill
  the voice with food, a temporary remedy to what
  seems a life-long problem. So I must focus on
  dealing with the real issue the source of my
  misery my lack of understanding. If I dont
  focus on and solve that I will overdose on the
  false placebo that is the grub I fill my face
  with.It has to end now! What about a sandwich?
  Does anyone have a sandwich? p. 21

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Act I The Complication

• Venice
• Wedding proposal of Sylvio to Clarice
• Complication Federigo Rasponi
• The original proposal is honored causing discord

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The Servant of Two Masters

• Truffaldino serves Beatrice/Rasponi
• Her lover, Florindo
• Mail Incident and Florindo knows Beatrice is in
  town
• Dowry confusion
• Meal Incident

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Three Porters

• The troupe mistakenly cast three Porters
• The three actors agree to alternate by entrances
• Comic confusion
• Post Modern

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Act II

• Truffaldino falls in love with Clarices servant,
  Smerladina
• They open a letter from Clarice to Beatrice but
  are discovered
• Problem of Clothes of Two Masters Florindo
  discovers his portrait given to Beatrice
• Notebook Beatrice discovers a notebook filled
  with letters she wrote to Florindo
• Thinking the other is dead, preparing for
  suicide, they discover each other
• Truffaldino blames the other servant

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Four Unions

• Beatrice and Florindo
• Porter Bob and Brighella
• Silvio and Clarice reconcile
• Truffaldino and Smerldina
• Problem of his double identityWHOSE servant is
  going to marry her?

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Identity Revealed

• T Stop! Before this goes any further and I end
  up without a wife, I think I can help. If it is
  true tyat you, Florindo, had intended Smeraldina
  to marry your servant and you, Claricie, had
  planned to match Smerladina with Beatrices
  servant, then Smerladina, give me your hand.
• Pantalone Why should she give you her hand?
• T Because I am the servant of both.

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Ending Dance and Song

• Truffaldino sings how his hunger and need
  caused this mess but all he needed was
  youSmerladina.
• Clarice and Silvio Lies as a way to fill the
  void
• Pride, anger, revenge as ways to fill the
  voidSilvio
• Pantalone Money
• Everyone has pretended to be someone else or
  sought a substitute to fill the void
• All sing Do not be governed by want or by
  greed, and only need what you absolutely need.

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The Comedy As Embodiment of this Ideal of
Self-Sufficiency

• They want on without a director
• Without a slashed budget
• With the lights turned out
• Post Modern This in turns reflects on our
  society and the recession
• All All we need is you
• Actors and theatre only need the audience

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Question One

• Does the Self-Referential, Post-Modern elements
  add or detract from the effectiveness of the play
• As Comedy?
• As means of presenting the thematic of Hunger
  and Need?

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Question Two

• What in the performance of the play really makes
  us laugh and why?
• Physical comedy?
• Dialogue?
• Self-referential episodes?
• The Basic and Original Plot?

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Summary

• The Servant of Two Masters asks us to reflect on
  our own life and era and ask what it is that we
  really need as opposed to what we want. It
  conveys the idea that it is impossible to serve
  two masters and so we must choose what is most
  important to us.