Grades: 	High School (9–12)
Subjects: 		Visual Arts, Theater 
Time Required:	Five 50-minute class periods
Author: 	J. Paul Getty Museum Education Staff

Lesson Overview
Students will examine an 18th-century drawing depicting a scene with a comic actor named Punchinello from Italian theater. They will collaboratively produce a skit based on the drawing. Students will individually create a drawing to be used in an advertising campaign for a theater production.

Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
•	analyze the story depicted in a drawing by examining characters' gestures and accessories. 
•	create skits inspired by a scene depicted in a work of art.
•	write scenes based on research about 18th-century Italian theater, applying dramatic structure of exposition, rising action, conflict, and climax.  
•	create a promotional poster for a theater production utilizing techniques examined in an 18th-century drawing.

Featured Getty Artworks
Punchinello Is Helped to a Chair by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=64

Statuette of a Comic Actor by an unknown Greek artist
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=35623

Lamp in the Shape of a Comic Mask by an unknown Roman artist
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=35583

Materials
•	Reproduction of Punchinello Is Helped to a Chair by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo
•	Reproduction of Statuette of a Comic Actor by an unknown Greek artist
•	Reproduction of Lamp in the Shape of a Comic Mask by an unknown Roman artist
•	Background Information and Questions for Teaching about the drawing, statuette, and lamp
•	Materials for making masks (see Materials list for Beginning-Level Lesson at http://getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/performing_arts/lesson01.html)
•	Recycled cardboard
•	Materials for making props (see Materials list for Intermediate-Level Lesson at http://getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/performing_arts/lesson02.html)
•	Assorted materials for making costume accessories (i.e., masking tape, Rigid Wrap, ribbon, paint, and paint brushes)
•	Student Handout: “Brainstorming for Your Skit”
•	Student Handout: “Stage Directions”
•	Black chalk
•	Pencil 
•	Watercolor paper 
•	Quill or reed pens or thin branches from a tree
•	Water bottles half full of a variety of “inks” in several dark and warm colors (i.e., coffee, tea, liquid watercolor, and ink diluted with a little water) 

Lesson Steps

Analyzing a Drawing: What's the Story?

1.	Display the reproduction of Punchinello Is Helped to a Chair by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo. Have students take the time to look closely at the work of art, then discuss the following questions: 
•	Describe the characters. (six masked men with tall, white hats; two women)
•	What can you tell about the characters? (They are all focused on the figure with a black mask who is having trouble walking; they must have lived a long time ago, etc.)
•	What accessories do you see in the drawing? (hats, shoes, ruffled collars, masks) 
•	What do these accessories communicate about the types of people? (They may be clowns; they may be performers in costume; they may be dressed for a masked ball.)
•	What do the gestures communicate?

Introduce dramatic structure to students. Explain that it is the basic organization of a narrative and consists of an exposition, rising action, conflict, climax, falling action, and conclusion. For more information on the structure of narratives, view ReadWriteThink’s “Plot Diagram” at http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/plot-diagram-30040.html.

2.	Tell students that the scene depicted in Tiepolo’s drawing can be related to the rising action that happens before the conflict in the basic dramatic structure of a theatrical scene. 
•	Based on what is happening in the drawing, which characters do you think could be involved in a conflict? Use your imagination to think of possible conflicts that could occur. (The figure in the black mask is having trouble walking. He might fall, break a prized chair, and hurt the woman helping him; he might be late for an important event; he might get into an argument with the couple on the left-hand side, etc.)

Continue discussing the drawing by asking the following questions:
•	Who may be the main character in the drawing? (the man in the black mask whose body is turned toward the viewer or audience) 
•	How do you know that this may be the main character? (He is in the foreground; he has a different mask; other figures appear to be looking at him; he is being directed to the only chair in the room, which is in the center of the drawing.) 

3.	Let students know that this masked figure is called “Punchinello,” who is a stock character from Italian outdoor improvisational theater that had been popular for over 150 years by the time the artist made this drawing. Punchinello is usually represented with a humpback, protruding belly, and beaklike mask, the last alluding to his birth from an egg.

4.	Continue to prompt discussion by asking the following questions:
•	What do you think may have happened before the moment captured in the drawing? This part of the story may be the exposition of the dramatic scene. 
•	Based on your prior responses, what dramatic or exciting moments could happen as a result of the conflict? This would be the climax of the dramatic scene. 
•	How might the conflict get resolved? 

Inform students that immediately following the climax of a dramatic scene is the falling action, when other plots and minor conflicts are resolved. Based on what students imagined could be the climax of the scene, have them speculate about what other minor conflicts could be resolved. Suggest that they look at the other characters in the drawing for potential conflicts that could have happened. 

5.	Finally, ask students how the story might end. This part of the story would be the conclusion of the dramatic scene.
	
Learning about Commedia dell'arte

1.	Explain to your class that the work of art is one of a series of 104 drawings by Tiepolo dealing with episodes in the life of the comic character Punchinello called Divertimento per li ragazzi (Diversions for Children). Punchinello was a popular character from the commedia dell’arte. Commedia dell’arte is Italian improvisational theater that existed in the 16th and 17th centuries and was usually performed outdoors in a public square. Specific masks helped audiences to identify stock characters like Punchinello and others.

2.	Invite students to research a few other examples from this series and find out more about Punchinello. Once they find other examples, they should examine Punchinello’s gestures and scenes. This discussion will become useful as they develop the improvisational skit later. Instruct students to learn more about commedia dell’arte and this series of drawings by Tiepolo online by directing them to the following websites:
•	Information about commedia dell’arte on the British Museum’s World Timelines website http://www.worldtimelines.org.uk/world/europe/italy/Early%20modern/Commedia_dell_arte 
•	Information about commedia dell’arte on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/comm/hd_comm.htm 
•	Description of selected stock characters found in commedia dell’arte on the University of Southern Queensland website http://www.usq.edu.au/artsworx/schoolresources/androclesandthelion/commedia#Stock_Characters  
•	Tiepolo’s drawing Punchinello with the Ostriches on the Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, website http://www.oberlin.edu/amam/Tiepolo_Punchinello.htm 
•	Tiepolo’s drawing Punchinello Carried in Triumph in a Procession on the Detroit Institute of Arts website http://www.dia.org/object-info/df84373c-5b17-4759-b7a5-058e605232bf.aspx?position=3 

3.	Based on research they have just completed, ask students the following questions:
•	What more can you share about the character Punchinello? (He was involved in ridiculous activities.)
•	What are some consistent physical characteristics? (humpback, bulging stomach, beaklike nose, cylindrical hat, floppy clothes) 
•	What type of gestures did you identify in the other drawings? What type of activity came before and after those scenes?
•	What more can you share about commedia dell’arte?

Preparing for a Skit

1.	Refer to the Beginning-Level Lesson so students can create theater masks for their characters. In particular, adapt steps from “Day 3: Expressions and Shapes in Stock Characters” and "Days 4–5: Theatrical Masks for a Pantomime." (See Materials list for Beginning-Level Lesson at http://getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/performing_arts/lesson01.html))

2.	Additionally, direct your class to use recycled cardboard to create the cone hats from the Punchinello drawing. If you have time, you may want to adapt step 2 from “Improvising Stock Characters Using Props and Masks” from the Intermediate-Level Lesson to create costume accessories that students identified from the drawing. (See Materials list for Intermediate-Level Lesson at http://getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/performing_arts/lesson02.html.) The objects your students create should be built within one class period. Distribute materials for making costume accessories such as masking tape, Rigid Wrap, ribbon, paint, and paint brushes. Let students know that the objects they create should be loosely based on the masks, hats, and props you have discussed from the drawing.

3.	Inform students that they will be creating a short five-minute skit about what might happen just before (exposition), during (rising action), and after (conflict and climax) the scene depicted in Tiepelo’s drawing. Have them work in small groups to brainstorm ideas for their skit. Distribute the student handout “Brainstorming for Your Skit” and allow students time to discuss their ideas. Explain to students that their skits should be based on research, observations, and imagination.

4.	Direct student teams to develop a loose script based on their “Brainstorming for Your Skit” handout by writing dialogue for the characters they chose. Remind students that people rarely talk in complete sentences. For dialogue to sound realistic, it should not be written in complete sentences. Remind students that their scripts should include exposition, rising action, conflict, and climax. Note that for the purposes of this short skit, they do not need to include a falling action and conclusion.

5.	Tell students that they will learn how to incorporate stage directions into their scripts in order to plan where students should stand while performing. Distribute the student handout “Stage Directions” and explain the different stage directions listed. Have students practice using stage directions to describe the location of the figures in the drawing. (For example, the main figure is center stage left.) Point out that a character onstage facing out to the audience is cheating out. Also inform students that stage directions should be written in parentheses. Ask students the following: 
•	What types of stage directions will you include to explain the movement of actors onstage? Use words such as “upstage,” “downstage,” “right,” “center,” and “left.”
•	What kinds of stage directions will you use in the beginning, middle, and end of your scene? 

Point out that theater stages from antiquity to the 18th century were built on an incline, and actors literally were upstage and downstage from the audience.

6.	Tell students they will not be expected to memorize the dialogue they wrote. They should read it through a few times with close attention to the stage directions. They will try and remember the beginning, middle, and end as much as they can during the five-minute performance. Tell students to feel free to improvise as they perform the skit. 

Performing, Then Reflecting

1.	Have each team perform all the skits based on Punchinello Is Helped to a Chair. Remind students that the most important thing is to have fun. 

2.	After watching fifteen minutes of skits, prompt the group to discuss the skits using the following questions:
•	What was the most memorable moment? Why?
•	What was the most surprising moment? Why?

3.	For homework, have each student write a potential falling action and conclusion for their group's skit.

Promoting Your Skit

1.	Return to the reproduction of Punchinello Is Helped to a Chair and discuss the following questions with your class:
•	Describe the types of lines that make up this drawing. (nervous, varied, thin, thick, etc.) 
•	Using stage directions, identify areas that have thin washes of ink.
•	Using stage directions, identify areas that have washes of ink that are more opaque. 

2.	Let students know that the artist used a range of tools and inks to create the drawings that are part of this series. He used bistre ink (made from burnt tarry soot of wood ash), iron gall ink (oak galls combined with ferrous sulfate), and sepia ink (ink from a cuttlefish) to get the range of translucent ink washes seen in the drawing.

3.	Tell students that they will create a poster advertising “A Night of Improv with Punchinello and Friends.” Invite students to illustrate the conflict or climax from the Punchinello skits their group created. Let students know that they may have actors come back and pose in their scene. Remind students to use a variety of lines in chalk and pencil to create their preliminary drawings. Have students take the time to assess their own preliminary drawings and make adjustments to the style and composition.

4.	Once they have established the composition, students can layer ink washes to create opacity and emphasize main characters. If you do not have quill or reed pens, thin branches from a tree will help your students create the types of varied and nervous lines that they observed in the drawing. Provide your class with a couple of water bottles half full of a variety of “inks.” Use coffee, tea, liquid watercolor, and ink diluted with a little water to create a range of dark and warm inks. 

Assessment
Students will be assessed on the following:
•	active participation in class discussions to analyze characters' gestures and accessories in a drawing
•	ability to develop skits that apply the dramatic structure of exposition, rising action, conflict, and climax 
•	ability to write a falling action and conclusion for their script 
•	ability to work collaboratively to produce an improvisational scene 
•	evidence of experimentation and exploration in their preliminary drawings
•	evidence of revisions in their preliminary drawings that are reflected in their final promotional posters
•	whether their promotional posters illustrate a conflict or climax and reflect the student’s intended revisions based on their self-assessments   

Extension
Have students research later expressions of Punchinello, such as Punch and Judy puppet shows.

Standards Addressed

Common Core Standards for English Language Arts

Grades 9–12

READING 
Key Ideas and Details 
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. 
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. 

SPEAKING AND LISTENING 
Comprehension and Collaboration 
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

Visual Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools
 
Grades 9–12 (Proficient)

5.0 Connections, Relationships, Applications 
5.1 Design an advertising campaign for a theatre or dance production held at a school, creating images that represent characters and major events in the production.

Grades 9–12 (Advanced)

1.0 Artistic Perception
	1.3 Analyze their works of art as to personal direction and style.

2.0 Creative Expression
2.4 Demonstrate in their own works of art a personal style and an advanced proficiency in communicating an idea, theme, or emotion.

Theatre Content Standards for California Public Schools

Grades 9–12 (Proficient)

2.0 Creative Expression
2.2 Write dialogues and scenes, applying basic dramatic structure: exposition, complication, conflict, crises, climax, and resolution.