In Standard 6, mention of traditional theatre can undoubtedly refer to Italian comedy. In Standards 7 and 8, theatre is specifically mentioned. By bridging the foreign language and arts standards, we move toward a core curriculum, interdisciplinary curriculum, or even curriculum integration. The New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, for example, encourage the combination of two or more subjects around a theme. Moreover, in his discussion of curriculum integration, Beane 1997 discusses the use of popular culture icons as themes worthy of exploration by students and teachers.
Italian comedy is undoubtedly a prime part of popular culture.
Also see Mason 1997 for a discussion of pop culture icons for language learning activities. I propose that Italian comedy be used as a theme to supplement and complement the Italian curriculum. This would allow students to see the piece as a whole similar to analyzing an entire novel. See works by Gozzi and Goldoni, for example. Contextualized language learning would be particularly fostered using the entire comedy approach.