Abstract
Historically, theatrical performances have often reflected power-related processes of communication and influence. Theatrical representations send messages and provide commentary on influential events and social change. In sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Italy dramatic upheaval in the political realm and dynamic innovations in all aspects of theatrical production resulted in new communication dynamics that can be seen as the precursors to many concepts and techniques used today. In this paper, three forms of early modern theatre— the ‘Theatre of the Prince’, entrepreneurial theatre, and street performance— are analysed through the theoretical framework of social representation put forward by Serge Moscovici to identify early modern trends in communication and influence that laid the groundwork for strategic communications.
Keywords—strategic communications, social representations, early modern theatre, propaganda, propagation, diffusion, historical studies
About the Author:
Filippo Tansini, PhD in Renaissance Theatre, Sapienza University of Rome, is a Social Media Intelligence Analyst (SOCMINT). His research interests focus on strategic and crisis communications, social media dynamics and information warfare, textual analysis and data mining.
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