debate. The interplay between his political connections and his artistic endeavors is equally intricate and controversial. In October 1922, as Mussolini and his Blackshirts were advancing towards Rome, Pirandello's second major work,Henry IV, was solidifying his ascent to international fame. On June 10, 1924, Mussolini's men assassinated Giacomo Matteotti, a prominent Socialist member of the Italian parliament, causing significant public unrest and controversy.

By September 1924, Pirandello, now an internationally renowned figure and an Italian literary icon, publicly showed his support for Mussolini by providing the fascist newspaper, L'Impero, with a copy of a letter he wrote to Mussolini, requesting to join the Fascist party. Scholars continue to discuss Pirandello's motivations and the authenticity of his political allegiance to Fascism. However, the most notable consequence for the history of drama is that in the same year, Pirandello and a group of colleagues founded the Italian Arts Theatre company. Mussolini's political influence helped Pirandello secure financial backing for a theatre in Rome. The company's inaugural production took place in May in Milan.

As the company thrived, Pirandello met actress Marta Abba, for whom he wrote many of his later plays. His troupe began to tour extensively across Italy, Europe, and North and South America. Thus, it was indirectly through Pirandello's involvement with Italian Fascism that his plays achieved widespread global dissemination. Although Pirandello's theatre company dissolved in 1928 due to financial issues, by then, his international reputation and dramatic influence were firmly established.

The Play Within the Play
Pirandello's most evident technique to express his themes is the depiction of a play within a play. Initially, this concept is straightforward for the audience to grasp—Pirandello's own Rules of the Game is being rehearsed by a group of actors. Then, the "characters" appear, representing an entirely different play within the play. They insist on performing the story they brought to the rehearsal, enacting it twice—once themselves and once by the actors. Just as the audience begins to comprehend this, a seventh character, Madame Pace, materializes seemingly out of thin air. This effect is akin to nesting boxes, each one inside another, until the audience is so distanced from their ability to distinguish between reality and illusion that they might, like the Producer, exclaim in frustration, "Make believe?! Reality?! Oh, go to hell the lot of you! Lights! Lights! Lights!"

Throughout Six Characters in Search of an Author, the audience grapples with the difficulty of differentiating between reality and illusion, which is Pirandello's central theme. The Producer's troupe often voices the audience's perspective—from their initial skeptical disbelief at the "characters'" entrance to their mixed feelings at the play's conclusion. A pivotal moment occurs early in Act I, after the actors' derisive laughter subsides, when the Father declares, "we want to live, sir ... only for a few moments—in you." In response, a young actor, pointing to the Stepdaughter, remarks, "I don't mind... so long as I get her." This humorous and lustful comment, ignored by everyone on stage, marks a significant shift in the actors' and audience's minds. It signifies a playful, tentative acceptance of the illusion, a willingness to embrace the situation as it is. Ultimately, it reflects the human response to life's mysteries, where those obsessed with absolute certainty must simply continue living and make the best of it, acknowledging the futility of sharply distinguishing between reality and illusion.

Comedy
A subtler device in the play is Pirandello's use of humor to ease the audience's encounter with the perplexing blend of reality and illusion. While the play may not seem humorous when read, its production can be richly comedic. This humor is crucial to reassure the audience that their struggle to distinguish between reality and illusion is an inevitable yet ultimately amusing aspect of human life.

The humor in this play is most evident in the frustrations of the acting troupe. They are serious but self-important, and their inability to handle anything outside their rigid understanding makes them comical. The Producer is admirable for eventually adapting to the unusual situation and recognizing the emotional intensity the "characters" bring. However, he remains comical due to his obsession with stage conventions. His attempts to fit this phenomenon within familiar boundaries are humorously doomed. In the Edward Storer translation of Pirandello's original text, the play concludes with the Producer exclaiming, "never in my life has such a thing happened to me." The richness of comedy often lies in watching people forced to be resilient when confronting the ultimate mysteries of existence.

The play also showcases a dark humor in the desperation of the "characters" who stumble upon the rehearsal in search of an "author" and end up with a director who has commercial tastes. The Producer is not an author who can complete their story but relies on a finished script. He can only highlight the incompleteness the "characters" bring him, and at worst, he creates more obstacles to their accurate portrayal, which he does comically. The Father and Stepdaughter laugh when the actors depict them differently from how they see themselves, but the joke ultimately falls on them.

At the play's outset, the Producer complains about the obscurity of Pirandello's Rules of the Game. He satirically instructs his leading actor to "be symbolic of the shells of the eggs you are beating." This moment is very funny due to the actors' and Producer's frustration, as well as Pirandello's playful self-denigration. However, it is also filled with rich comic ambiguity because the Producer's dismissive explanation is quite seriously what Pirandello's play is about: "[the eggs] are symbolic of the empty form of reason, without its content, blind instinct! You are reason and your wife is instinct: you are playing a game where you have been given parts and in which you are not just yourself but the puppet of yourself. Do you see? ... Neither do I! Come on, let's get going; you wait till you see the end! You haven't seen anything yet!"

1921: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who would become the 32nd President of the United States from 1933 to 1945, contracts poliomyelitis, which will leave him permanently crippled. This condition confines him to a wheelchair or requires him to wear heavy braces to walk. Because projecting an image of robust health was essential for a presidential figure, the media downplayed Roosevelt's paralysis, and the American public largely remained unaware of his condition. Roosevelt remains the only U.S. President to have been re-elected three times.

Today: Since the presidencies of Lyndon Baines Johnson and, more notably, Richard Nixon, the media has become increasingly focused on the physical appearance of presidents and other political figures. Yet, Roosevelt's disability continues to be a largely overlooked aspect of his presidency. In 1997, a memorial statue of Roosevelt in Washington, D.C., sparked some controversy. Instead of clearly depicting him in a wheelchair, the statue showed him seated in an office chair with casters, and a large cloak draped over his legs, effectively obscuring his disability.

1921: Eight baseball players from the 1919 Chicago White Sox major league team go to trial in June on charges of accepting bribes from gamblers to intentionally lose the World Series against Cincinnati in 1919. Although they were indicted in 1920, their trial in June and July of 1921 ended in an acquittal. However, the presiding judge for the grand jury, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who had become the first Commissioner of major league baseball in 1921, banned the players from baseball for life despite the court's verdict.

Today: These eight members of the "Black Sox," including the legendary Shoeless Joe Jackson, remain ineligible for induction into baseball's Hall of Fame. Judge Landis's decision, rather than the legal system, determined their criminality. In a similarly contentious decision, the 7th Commissioner of major league baseball, A. Bartlett Giamatti, banned Cincinnati's Pete Rose from the Hall of Fame in 1989. Despite Rose's record of 4,256 all-time major league hits, he was accused of illegally betting on baseball games.

1921: The futuristic drama and social satire, R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), by Czechoslovak playwright Karel Capek, premieres in Prague. The robots in the play are artificially created men and women who work tirelessly without complaint. They are so lifelike that one character concludes they might develop souls. Eventually, robots around the world revolt against their human masters, nearly leading to humanity's destruction. The robots had begun to behave exactly like humans.

Today: Although R.U.R. is not frequently performed nowadays, the term and concept it essentially introduced—"robot"—have firmly embedded themselves in our language and thought. The word "robot" translates from the Czech term for "forced labor." While Rossum's robots were created from synthetic flesh and blood, Fritz Lang's iconic 1926 film, Metropolis, used the term to describe a being made of metal. This more mechanical interpretation of robots is what endures today. The prevalent use of robotics in industry and the debates surrounding genetic engineering may have added a fresh relevance to Capek's play.

Theater Stage

The curious interplay of reality and illusion is brilliantly captured on the theater stage, which serves as the primary setting for Luigi Pirandello's play. Here, actors are absorbed in rehearsing another of Pirandello's works, Mixing It Up, when their routine is abruptly disrupted. A mysterious group of six people, claiming to be abandoned dramatic characters, appear on the scene. These "characters"—Father, Mother, Step-daughter, Son, Boy, and Child—are enveloped in a mystical light, adding a layer of intrigue and highlighting the tension between the concepts of art and life.

These six enigmatic figures, garbed in black, carry tragic tales that clash with the artificiality and routine of the theater world. The Mother recounts how her life spiraled into turmoil after she "ran off" with the Father's secretary, leaving her a struggling widow with three children. The Step-daughter's narrative further complicates matters, revealing a distressing almost-incestuous encounter with the Father at Madame Pace's brothel. The narratives of these characters force the stage actors and the manager to confront the blurred lines between the real and the performed, challenging their understanding of identity and authenticity.

Madame Pace’s Shop

Madame Pace’s shop, ostensibly a women's clothing store, becomes a pivotal setting in this exploration. Its facade of fashion conceals its true nature as a brothel, where the Step-daughter and Father relive an unsettling fragment of their reality. Their insistence on reenacting these personal tragedies creates tension with the Leading Lady and Leading Man, who prioritize their artistic interpretation of events over the raw, unfiltered emotions presented by the characters.

This clash invites audiences to ponder the nature of reality and encourages introspection. Viewers and readers alike are prompted to consider whether the perpetual illusion held by art can ever truly capture the complexity of human experience, or if the stark, unvarnished reality depicted by the characters holds more truth. This question extends beyond the confines of the play, compelling individuals to reassess their own philosophical and moral frameworks.

Out-of-doors

The play reaches a crescendo in the open-air setting of the third act, a natural scene dominated by trees and a fountain basin. This setting underscores the tragic elements of the narrative, as the Child's lifeless body is discovered in the fountain and the Boy, shrouded in secrecy behind the trees, ends his life with a gunshot. The manager, embodying the frustration of an artist grappling with the unpredictability of life and art's limitations, exclaims in exasperation, "To hell with it all! Never in my life has such a thing happened to me. I’ve lost a whole day over these people, a whole day!"

This outburst highlights the overarching theme of the play: the struggle to find resolution and meaning in a world where the boundaries between reality and art are constantly shifting. The characters’ unabated drive to have their stories told confronts the audience with the unsettling notion that closure and certainty are as elusive in art as they are in life.

Six Characters in Search of an Author was showcased in a full-length film adaptation in 1992 by BBC Scotland. The cast included John Hurt as the Father, Brian Cox as the Producer, Tara Fitzgerald as the Stepdaughter, and Susan Fleetwood as the Mother. Michael Hastings adapted the screenplay, and Simon Curtis produced the film, with Bill Bryden directing. In 1996, this 110-minute film was released on videocassette, accompanied by a teacher's guide.

In 1987, parts of Six Characters in Search of an Author were featured in an episode about Pirandello for the BBC Channel 4 South Bank Show series, titled The Modern World: Ten Great Writers. This documentary depicted a day in the life of Pirandello's acting troupe as they performed the play in London in 1925. The episode was written and adapted by Nigel Wattis and Gillian Greenwood, produced and directed by Nigel Wattis, and hosted by series editor Melvyn Bragg. The cast included Jim Norton as Pirandello, Douglas Hodge as the Producer, Reginald Stewart as the Father, Sylvestra LeTouzel as the Stepdaughter, and Patricia Thorns as the Mother.

In 1978, a 59-minute videocassette version of Six Characters in Search of an Author was produced as part of an educational television series titled Drama: Play, Performance, Perception, hosted by Jose Ferrer. This episode was a co-production by Miami-Dade Community College, the BBC, and the British Open University, directed by John Selwyn Gilbert, and featured actors Charles Gray, Nigel Stock, and Mary Wimbush. Insight Media and Films Inc. distributed the film in 1978, with Ossie Davis as guest commentator and additional direction by Andrew Martin. This version was re-released in 1992 as a 60-minute videocassette.

In 1976, a 48-minute audiovisual cassette of the play was presented by the British Broadcasting Corporation in collaboration with the British Open University.

Also in 1976, a 58-minute VHS videocassette version of the play was produced by Films for the Humanities (Princeton, New Jersey) as part of their History of Drama series, demonstrating Theatre of the Absurd. Harold Mantell produced, Ken Frankel directed, David Calicchio translated, and Joseph Heller narrated, with music composed by William Perm. The cast included Nikki Flacks, Ben Kapen, Gwendolyn Brown, Dimo Comdos, Bob Picardo, and Kathy Manning. This version was also released on two reels of 16 mm film with accompanying textbook, teacher's guides, and two film-strips. The film was re-released in 1982 in Beta and VHS, in 1988 in VHS, and in 1988 as a 52-minute version.

An audiocassette commentary on the play by Alfred Brooks, titled "Pirandello's Illusion Game," was released in 1971 by the Center for Cassette Studies.

In 1971, a 38-minute audiocassette commentary on the play by Paul D'Andrea was released by Everett and Edwards from Deland, Florida, as part of the Modern Drama Cassette Curriculum series. Another commentary by Robert James Nelson was released in 1973 as part of their World Literature Cassette Curriculum series.

On April 20, 1954, the BBC aired a production of Six Characters in Search of an Author featuring a translation by Frederick May.

SOURCES
Balakian, Anna. "Pirandello's Six Characters and Surrealism," in A Companion to Pirandello Studies, edited by John Louis DiGaetam, Greenwood Press, 1991, pp. 185-92.

Bentley, Eric. "Varieties of Comic Experience," in his The Playwright as Thinker: A Study of Drama in Modern Times, Reynal & Hitchcock, 1946, p. 178.

Bigsby, C. W. E. Dada & Surrealism, Methuen, 1972, p. 78.

Bishop, Thomas. Pirandello and the French Theatre, New York University Press, 1960, p. 5.

Bree, Germaine. "Foreword," in Pirandello and the French Theatre, by Thomas Bishop, p. xi.
Brustein, Robert. "Luigi Pirandello," in his The Theatre of Revolt: An Approach to the Modern Drama, Little, Brown, 1962, pp. 281-317.

Caputi, Anthony. Pirandello and the Crisis of Modern Consciousness, University of Illinois Press, 1988, pp. 1, 5, 10.

Gassner, John. "Latin Postscripts—Benavente and Pirandello," in his Masters of the Modern Drama, 3rd ed., Dover, 1954, pp. 424-45.

Guidice, Gaspare. Pirandello: A Biography, translated by Alastair Hamilton, Oxford, 1975.

Uliano, Antonio. "Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author: A Comedy in the Making," in Italica, March, 1967, p. 1.

London Times Review of Six Characters in Search of an Author, excerpted in File on Pirandello, compiled by Susan Bassnett, Methuen, 1989, p. 44.

Manchester Guardian Review of Six Characters in Search of an Author, excerpted in File on Pirandello, compiled by Susan Bassnett, Methuen, 1989, pp. 44-45.

Mariani, Umberto. "The 'Pirandellian' Character," in Canadian Journal of Italian Studies, Vol. 12, Nos. 38-39, 1989, pp. 1-9.

Pechel, Rudolf. Review of Six Characters in Search of an Author, excerpted in File on Pirandello, compiled by Susan Bassnett, Methuen, 1989, pp. 43-44.

Pirandello, Luigi. "On Humor," translated by Teresa Novel, in The Tulane Drama Review, Spring, 1966, pp. 46-59.

Pirandello, Luigi. "Pirandello Confesses... Why and How He Wrote Six Characters in Search of an Author" (a translation of Pirandello's "Preface" by Leo Ongley), in The Virginia Quarterly Review, April, 1925, pp. 36-52.

Poggioli, Renato. "Pirandello in Retrospect," in Italian Quarterly, Winter, 1958, pp. 19-47.
Ragusa, Olga. "Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore," in Luigi Pirandello: An Approach to His Theatre, Edinburgh University Press, 1980, p. 167.

Sypher, Wylie. "Cubist Drama," in Rococo to Cubism in Art and Literature, Random House, 1960, p. 294.

Tilgher, Adriano. Review of Six Characters in Search of an Author, excerpted in File on Pirandello, compiled by Susan Bassnett, Methuen, 1989, pp. 41-42.

Weiss, Aurelio. "The Remorseless Rush of Time," edited and translated by Simone Sanzenback, in The Tulane Drama Review, Spring, 1966, pp. 30-45.

Wurman, Richard Saul. NYC Access, 4th ed., Access Press, 1991, p. 144.

FURTHER READING
Bentley, Eric. "Six Characters in Search of an Author," in The Pirandello Commentaries, Northwestern University Press, 1986, pp. 57-77.
An essay interpreting the Father as a schizophrenic.

Cambon, Glauco, ed. Pirandello: A Collection of Critical Essays, Prentice Hall, 1967.
A compilation of fourteen essays, including excerpts from Adriano Tilgher's famous "Life Versus Form" and Robert Brustein's essay on Pirandello from his The Theatre of Revolt.

Charney, Maurice. "Shakespearean and Pirandellian: Hamlet and Six Characters in Search of an Author," Modern Drama, September, 1981, pp. 323-29.
Compares Pirandello's play with Shakespeare's Hamlet and Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, highlighting significant parallels and key differences.

Clark, Hoover W. "Existentialism and Pirandello's Set Personaggi," Itahca, September 1966, pp. 276-84.
Analyzes Pirandello's play for elements that align with the core principles of existentialist philosophy.

DiGaetam, John Louis. A Companion to Pirandello Studies, Greenwood Press, 1991.
A compilation of critical essays addressing philosophical issues, biographical and historical perspectives, thematic analyses, influence studies, feminist perspectives, and non-theatrical works, including stage production histories and an extensive bibliography.

Guidice, Gaspare. Pirandello: A Biography, translated by Alastair Hamilton, Oxford, 1975.
The definitive biography of Pirandello.

Pirandello, Luigi. "On Humor," translated by Teresa Novel, in The Tulane Drama Review, Spring 1966, pp. 46-59.
Offers insight into what Pirandello aimed to achieve in Six Characters in Search of an Author.

Pirandello, Luigi. "Pirandello Confesses," in The Virginia Quarterly Review, April 1925, pp. 36-52.
A translation of Pirandello's "Preface" to Six Characters in Search of an Author. Appended to Pirandello's revision of the play, the "Preface" provides a foundation for understanding the play's origins and themes.