Minutes of the 1984 Meetings of the Comediantes

MINUTES OF THE 1984 MEETINGS OF THE COMEDIANTES At the 1984 MLA Convention this past December in Washington, the Division on Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Spanish Drama arranged three sessions, all of which were held on December 28. The first session, Tragedia a la Española I: Towards a Definition, chaired by Francisco Ruiz-Ramón, had as participants Vem G. Williamsen («Spanish Tragedy and Golden-Age Poetics, 1500-1700»), Alfredo Hermenegildo («Hacia una descripción del modelo trágico vigente en la práctica dramática del siglo XVI»), and Bruce W. Wardropper («SeventeenthCentury Tragedy and the Numen»). The second session, Tragedia a la Española ?, chaired by Francisco Ruiz-Ramón and Edward Friedman, was devoted to an open discussion, with questions being directed to Professors Williamsen, Hermenegildo, and Wardropper, who served as panelists. The final session, The Dramatic Functions of the Gracioso, chaired by Shirley B. Whitaker, included papers by Arturo PérezPisonero («Coquin, intérprete, mediador y director de escena»), William Forbes («A Functional Consideration of the Other Gracioso in Tirso's Burlador de Sevilla»), and Nancy D'Antuono («El gracioso de Lope de Vega, máscara sin máscara»). Two Special Sessions, both taking place on December 29, were also of interest to those engaged in comedia studies. The first, Astrology and the Comedia, with Teresa Soufas as session leader, had as participants Frederick A. de Armas («Saturn Retrograde in the House of Venus: Astrology in Calderón's Los tres afectos de amor»), Dan Hdple («The Cosmological Clock in Lope's La dama boba»), and Charles Ganelin («Astrology, Poetle Justice, and Providence in Andrés de Claramonte 's La infelice Dorotea»). The second, The Spanish Comedia in Its European Context, had Robert L. Fiore as session leader and papers by Edward H. Friedman («The Dramatic Experiments of Juan de la Cueva and Guillen de Castro»), Susan L. Fischer («Tirso de Molina and 171 1 72BCom, Vol. 37, No. 1 (Summer 1985) Shakespeare: The Myths of Comedy in El vergonzoso en palacio and As You Like It»), and Frederick A. de Armas («The Apocalyptic Vision ofLa vida es sueño: Calderón and Edward Fitzgerald»). The Comediantes Luncheon was held in the State Room of the Washington Hilton on December 28. Fifty-dght members and guests attended , including John J. Allen, Patricia Finch Allen, Emilie Bergmann, Mary Elizabeth Brooks, Elaine Bunn, Jean Chittenden, Sharon Ghertman Dahlgren, Nancy D'Antuono, Frederick A. de Armas, Manuel Delgado , Frances Exum, Robert L. Fiore, Susan L. Fischer, Dian Fox, Edward H. Friedman, Charles Ganelln, Stephen Gilman, Teresa Gilman, Margaret Rich Greer, Daniel L. Heiple, Alfredo Hermenegildo, Deborah Hill, Patricia Kenworthy, Patricia Klingenberg, A. David Kossoff, Ruth Kossoff, Barbara Kurtz, Donald Larson, A. Robert Lauer, Stephen H. Lipmann, Audrey Lumsden-Kouvel, José A. Madrigal, Eric Naylor, Sandra L. Nielsen, Thomas A. O'Connor, Jack H. Parker, James A. Parr, Arturo Pérez-Pisonero, Augusto Portuondo, Helen Reed, Elias Rivers, Constance H. Rose, Irving Rothberg, Francisco Ruiz-Ramón, Alberto Sandoval, Joseph Snow, Anita K. Stoll, Matthew D. Stroud, Henry W. Sullivan, Catherine Swietlicki, Mary Thomas, A. Julian Valbuena, John Wdger, Shirley Whitaker, Amy Williamsen, Vem Williamsen, and John Wooldridge. At the conclusion of the luncheon, Francisco Ruiz-Ramón presided at a brief business meeting. James A. Parr, Editor of the Bulletin of the Comediantes, commented on highlights of the forthcoming issue and encouraged members to submit articles for consideration. José A. Madrigal, Managing Editor, presented a financial report and brought greetings from Everett Hesse, Founder of the Bulletin. Announcements were made concerning the Almagro Theater Festival and the Chamizal Golden Age Drama Symposium. Shirley Whitaker issued a call for papers for the three sessions to be organized by the Division under the general topic of Politics, Patronage, and the Theater for the 1985 MLA Convention in Chicago. The Executive Committee of the División met on December 30. Francisco Ruiz-Ramón, 1984 Chair, presided. Other committee members present were Edward Friedman, Henry Sullivan, and Shirley Whitaker. Robert ter Horst was unable to attend. Daniel Heiple, elected for a five-year term beginning in 1985, joined the group as an observer. Shirley Whitaker was confirmed as Chair and Robert...