Transcript commedia dell arte history

Commedia del’ Arte
Origin of Commedia dell Arte
Emerged in Tuscany, Italy around 1550.
 Began in the Renaissance (‘rebirth’) as a result
of a rise in the middle class (merchants,
scientists, artists, educated)
 Theatre moved away from religious
morality/passion plays
 Art became more realistic, a move away from
religious art, a focus on humans rather than
gods. Secular.

Origin of Commedia del’ Arte

Roots founded in the comedies of ancient
Rome
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Masked characters
Stock characters
Presented in the homes of wealthy patrons or
town squares
 Preordained situations about jealousy,
adultery, old age, love…
 Sometimes satirized local scandals or current
events. Since the productions were improvised,
around an existing plotline, dialogue and action
could easily be changed while still using old
jokes and punch lines.

Commedia del’ Arte
Characters were identified by costumes,
masks, and/or props
 Performances spread throughout Europe
during 16th and 17th centuries to Spain,
France, and England
 Evolved in 18th century into vaudeville and
influenced animated cartoons, situation
comedy, and even professional wrestling
 Root of Improvisational Theatre & Clowning

Commedia dell Arte
Male comedic characters masked,
female characters and lovers not
masked-Women were a part of the
troupes
 Del’ Arte company consisted of 10-12
traveling players. Each assigned a stock
part.
 Versimilitude = true to life
unity of TIME, PLACE, ACTION

Commedia dell Arte
Clergy did not approve of the traveling
troupes and called them “vagabondi”,
the root of the derogatory word
“vagabond”
 Performers made use of well-rehearsed
jokes and stock physical gags, known as
Lazzi

Commedia dell Arte
Characters

Zanni: Clever male servants (orig. ‘zany’)
 Arlecchino
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Spoke directly to audience
Acrobatic
Used “slapstick” wooden stick
Wears cat face mask & diamond print costume
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 Brighella
 Slow, dishonest, cruel
 Will do anything for money
 Musician
Commedia dell Arte
Characters
 Il
Dottore: friend of Pantalone, a quack,
pompous, fraudulent, overweight
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Commedia dell Arte
Characters

Pantalone: a rich,
old, miserly
merchant, with a
young wife or
adventurous
daughter
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Commedia dell Arte
Characters
 La
Ruffiana: mother or gossipy
townswoman who intrudes on lives of
lovers
 Inamorata/o:
leading woman/man, did not
wear a mask, beautifully dressed, refined
language