[Malipiero's advice to Casanova.] If you wish your audience to cry, you must shed tears yourself, but if you wish to make them laugh you must contrive to look as serious as a judge.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Malipiero advises performers that crying requires the actor to cry, but laughter requires seriousness. He distinguishes emotional authenticity from comedic irony.
- In plain terms
- To make an audience cry, cry yourself; to make them laugh, stay serious.
- What can you take from it?
- Authentic emotion drives tragedy; contrast drives comedy.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you connect with an audience?
- When does seriousness help humor?
Another view
Effective comedy can also involve genuine emotion.
More from Giacomo Casanova
I have always had such sincere love for truth, that I have often begun by telling stories for the purpose of getting truth to enter the heads of those who coul…
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