From 23 to 25 March 2023, this international symposium, which stems from Anna Stoll Knecht’s “Ambizione” research project “Music and clowning in Europe, 20th-21st c.“, will investigate the mechanics and theories of comedy, humour and laughter at the Accademia Dimitri (Verscio). In view of confronting theory and practice, the program offers a combination of presentations and shows. The lectures will be echoed by the performances of artists renowned for their unique approach to comedy: Gardi Hutter, Jos Houben, Compagnia Baccalà and Matthias Martelli, who will present his reinterpretation of Dario Fo’s Mistero Buffo. As a prelude to the conference, in collaboration with Teatro Dimitri, we are pleased to present ‘Septik’, the latest show of the Fribourg company Les Diptik, on March 22.
The conference will bring together complementary modes of reflection through individual presentations and conversations, which will seek to explore the declinations of comedy and humour in theatre, circus, cinema, music, philosophy and neuroscience, with the purpose of deepening the research on this theme already undertaken in each of these disciplines separately.
By comparing different manifestations of comedy, and by jointly involving theory and practice, we aim to shed light on the multiple facets of this profoundly human phenomenon, which concerns us all, and whose crucial importance cannot be stressed enough at a time when ideological confrontations seem to make us lose all sense of humour.
Organizers
Anna Stoll Knecht and Mathieu Horeau
Sponsors
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)
Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences (SAHS)
The conference is organised in partnership with the Swiss Association for Theatre Studies (SATS)
For more information: convegnocomicita2023@supsi.ch