The research field addressed by this thesis is the commedia dell'arte and its iconography in the period preceding Callot's Balli di Sfessania engravings of c. 1621. Its main aim is to provide a broad overview of the surviving early pictures in order to contribute towards a more detailed understanding of the history of the commedia deH'arte in the opening decades of its existence, 1560-1620, by using late renaissance pictures as a documentary source. My research method has three main steps. These are firstly, the identification of relevant pictures, on the basis of a detailed understanding of the early history of the commedia dell'arte, and taking a deliberately inclusive approach; secondly, the classification of such pictures according to art-historical methods, in order to associate them with specific named artists so that they can be placed in the context of an oeuvre and place of production; thirdly, interpretation of their theatrical content. Integral to the thesis are the 340 plates. Many feature pictures which were anonymous or implausibly attributed, and unknown to theatre historians, before they appeared here or in my publications. My inclusive approach has contributed towards the marked rehabilitation of carnival pictures which is evident in the most recent scholarship in this area. My new discoveries, and attributions and re-attributions of some of the 340 plates, summarized in the plate list, have enabled me to identify significant bodies of commedia-related pictures by a number of named late renaissance artists not previously associated with theatre iconography, and provide a broad overview of the early stock types, their costumes and settings; contributions which are stimulating further research in this area. Section I summarises the rise and spread of professional acting in sixteenth century Italy, some forerunners of the commedia dell'arte, and its early stock types. It also presents new documentary material, discovered in the course of my archival researches, which is relevant to the earliest commedia performance for which a comprehensive description survives, staged in Munich in 1568. Section II presents art-historical analyses of three groups of prints in Stockholm, and six paintings which are the subject of an article published in 1943. It also presents an overview of a large group of Flemish pictures whose relation to two Italian prints demonstrates the progressive stereotyping of commedia-related motifs which was already occurring around 1600. Section III offers theatrical interpretations of the pictures, concentrating on scenery, set and stages; actresses; a selection of stock characters, including Harlequin, Zanni and Pantalone, and also some less wellknown figures such as tedescos and matachins; and multiple and serial images. The renaissance Italian comedians' multiple roots in amateur humanist comedy, professional entertainment and popular carnival ritual gave them their early creativity and wide appeal, and left their mark on the iconography which, by the seventeenth century, like the commedia dell'arte itself, was, for the most part, settling into a predictable routine based on precedents and conventions.

PhD / This thesis considers actors as ‘manual philosophers’; it engages the proposition that acting can reveal aspects of existence and Being. In this sense, forms of acting that analyse and engage with lived experience of the world offer a phenomenological approach to the problem of Being. But rather than arrive at abstract, general conclusions about the human subject’s relationship to the world, at least some approaches to acting investigate the structures of experience through those experiences themselves in a lived, physical way. I begin with the troubled relationship between philosophy and theatre and briefly consider the history of attacks on actors. I suggest that at the heart of antitheatricality is what Jonas Barish (1981: 3) calls ‘ontological queasiness’: theatre poses a problem in the distinction between ‘what is’ and ‘what is not’. Turning to phenomenology as a particular way of doing philosophy that challenges any dualistic understanding of subjectivity, I reflect on Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time as a lens for viewing the process of performing and preparing for a role. Heidegger emphasises the intermeshed relationship between the human subject, Dasein (Being-there), and the world to the point that it is impossible to consider one without the other. I have chosen three of the most influential theatre and acting theorists of the twentieth century and examine how each uncovers aspects of existence that are presented in Heidegger’s phenomenology. Firstly, I consider Constantin Stanislavski’s ‘system’ which emphasises action for a purpose within an environment, the individual’s relationship to objects in the world and its involvement with other people who share the same type of Being in the world. Secondly, I examine Antonin Artaud’s conception of theatre that seeks to resist the structures of Being, the way the world is interpreted by others (the ‘They’) and the way that the world gets handed over to consciousness for the most part. In many respects, Artaud’s theatre is the embodiment of Anxiety, a world-revealing state where Being becomes apparent. Thirdly, I discuss Bertolt Brecht’s theatre practice as an attestation to authenticity (a truthful engagement with human existence as possibility) through the medium of performance. Brecht seeks to engage audiences in philosophical debate and change the world. Like Heidegger, Brecht also stresses the historical and temporal constitution of the human subject, whilst emphasising practicality in theatre making. By examining these approaches to performance as case studies, this thesis rethinks the notional intersection of philosophy and theatre, concentrating on process rather than literary analysis. This application of phenomenology is new in that it does not merely consider theatre analysis from an ‘ideal’ audience point of view (i.e. provide a phenomenology of theatre). By focusing on acting, I emphasise the development of artistic creation and becoming, and show how certain types of acting are phenomenological. The bold upshot here is a conception of philosophy that acknowledges various theatre practices as embodied forms of philosophical practice. Furthermore, theatre might well be thought of as phenomenological because it can be an investigation of Being firmly entrenched in practical action and performance. Conversely, philosophy is more than just words on a page; it is a performed activity. Actors can be considered manual philosophers in so far as they engage with the problem of Being not in mere abstraction but in the practical challenges of performance.

Thesis (PhD) -- University of Western Sydney, 2003. / "Thesis submitted for Doctor of Philosophy October 2003." Accompany video shows Appendices 7.4 to 7.13 of thesis. References: leaves 290 - 325.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--West Virginia University, 2008. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains v, 31 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 29-31).

Thesis (M.F.A.)--West Virginia University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iii, 55 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 55).

Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2005. / Title from PDF title page screen. Advisor: William P. Carroll; submitted to the School of Music. Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-119).

Thesis (PH. D.)--Johns Hopkins University. / Life.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--University of Central Florida, 2010. / Adviser: John Shafer. Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-132).

Thesis (M.F.A.)--York University, 2009. Graduate Programme in Theatre : Acting. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 53-54). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR51610

Thesis (M.F.A.)--York University, 2009. Graduate Programme in Theatre. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-63). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR51522