Report to the Comediantes

en spel van recreatie"7 1620Troupe ofGhent BALTASAR DE VARLIOS This company received £2 8 s. for performing a comedy before the city officials on 31 June: "Betaelt Baltesar de varlios de somme van ij£ viij s. groten hem met syne compagnie wesende spaensche commedianten ghejont voor eenen toelegh ter causen dat sy den lesten juny 1620 vertoocht hebben aenden schepenen eene van haerlieden commedien".8 This autor's name I have not found in any studies of the Spanish theatre that have come to my attention. Apart from the material for 16141618 cited in my previous article in the Bulletin of the Comediantes, the printed sources record no further visits of Spanish players to the Spanish Netherlands till the 1660's, and none, even then, supply the name of any leader or actor. The Ghent accounts for the fiscal year 1660-1661 mention a performance, by a party of Spaniards, of "une pièce".9 On 25 August 1662 a Spanish comedy, The Amazons, and on 29 November an unnamed Spanish comedy were performed before the Court at Brussels. In later years a "Spanish comedy" or a "comedy in Spanish" was performed at Court in 1664 on the Sovereign's birthday, in 1675 during Carnival, and in February 1681.10 These performances of Spanish plays suggest the presence of Spanish players. In a dominion of Spain one would expect to find evidences of Spanish actors in other towns than Brussels and Ghent. Nevertheless, though an extensive sampling of the city accounts of Bruges, Louvain, Malines, Tournai, and Ypres has yielded visits of French, Low Country, and occasional English players, it has shown no traces of Spanish actors. 1614-1618, Including Francisco Lopez, Autor ," Bulletin of the Comediantes, V (Spring 1953), 1-3. 2I am grateful to the Belgian American Educational Foundation and to the American Philosophical Society for, respectively, a fellowship and a grant in aid which enabled me to undertake these investigations. 3The spelling may be commediantistes. Neither form appears quite Flemish or Spanish . *New York, 1909, p. 555. 3Ibid., p. 368.°Henri Mérimée, Spectacles et comédiens à Valencia (1580-1630). Toulouse, 1913, pp. 113-114. TRekeningen 1607-1608, f. 285r. SRekeningen 1620-1621, f. 241r. 9Prosper Claeys, Histoire du théâtre à Gand, Gand, 1892, I, 46. 10Henri Liebrecht, Histoire du théâtre français à Bruxelles au XVIIe et au XVIIIe siècle. Paris, 1923, pp. 25, 26, 28. !"Spanish Actors at the Court in Brussels Report to the Comediantes Besides the ordinary routine, this time at the MLA Convention (Chicago , December 27-29), there was a meeting of subscribers to the Bulletin of the Comediantes, on December 27, at 4: 45 p.m., in the Wabash Room of the Palmer House (p. 21 of the MLA program). The meeting was chaired by Wardropper. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the future of the Bulletin, particularly as it might be affected by the imminent completion of the probationary period and conferral of full-fledged group status on Spanish 3. One of the issues discussed was if the Bulletin existed by itself or was incorporated into Spanish 3. The question was thrown to the floor for discussion, and the general consensus of the group was: 1) that the Bulletin should retain its present form and character, with the bibliography continuing; 2) that the close relationship between the Bulletin and Spanish 3 be retained, but with no formal organizational ties between the two; and 3) that the Ad18 visory and Nominating Committee of Spanish 3 be empowered to appoint, and annually review the appointment of, an Editor and a Business Manager, and to supervise the operation of the Bulletin. These were the recommendations , and it was decided that the next day, during the luncheon (p. 26 of MLA program) the business concerning the Bulletin should be settled. After this general meeting, the Research Committee (Lope de Vega Bibliography) held a meeting chaired by Parker. The Chairman informed the members present that the Critical Bibliography has virtually been completed , that the last member to send in his contribution did so last June. He also informed us that Wade had some suggestions about means of publishing the Critical...