Andrea Calmo

Andrea Calmo (1510–1571) was a Venetian actor and author (dramatist) of Commedia dell'Arte. He was one of the pioneers of this type of masked theater, as created for the 16th century Venetian audience. Calmo departed from typical theater norms of the time, focusing less on the text and objectivity, and more on the whole performance as a piece of art in and of itself. Many of his ideas and communications were preserved in the 154 letters that he wrote to a variety of correspondents, from real government officials to possibly made-up women.