COMMEDIA DELL

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COMMEDIA DELLARTE
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The Historical BackgroundItaly in the
High-Middle Ages

• Southern Italy in the 13th and 14th century was
  partitioned between many small countries
• The Northern Part was highly developed because of
  the strong trade links after the crusades
• The European economical boom of that era was
  highly experienced in Italy
• The agriculture flourished in the inner
  city-states
• The Italian Mediterranean routes were also major
  sources of knowledge and cultural exchange
• There were constant wars for dominance between
  the city-states followed by a peaceful period at
  the end of 14th century

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The Renaissance in Italy

• A period of Great cultural achievement in Europe,
  it encompasses the period between the end of the
  14th century to about 1600
• The Italian Renaissance is considered to be the
  opening stage of the entire epoch in Europe
• It marks the transition between the Medieval Ages
  to the Early Modern Age
• The Italian Renaissance began in Tuscany,
  Florence and Siena
• Some of the most important figures of the era are
  Petrarch, Machiavelli, Leonardo Da Vinci,
  Michelangelo, Castiglione
• Reawakened interests in Ancient Greek and Roman
  thought and achievements
• As a cultural movement the Renaissance affected
  only small portions of the society

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The Italian Theater

• The Ancient legacy was revived and this led to
  occasional performances of Roman comedies in many
  small states in Italy known as Neoclassicism
• The initial purpose of the Italian Theater was to
  reflect the glory and power of the ruler in power
• Another major feature was the desire to read and
  understand the basics of the works of Aristotle,
  Horace and other prominent ancient philosophers
• The Renaissance Drama began developing in Italy
  at that time, marking the end of medieval
  practices
• Fantasy and supernatural elements were avoided in
  neoclassical plays
• The chorus and soliloquies were also discouraged.
  Reality was stressed in drama plays along with
  plays that teach moral lessons

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The Italian Theater (cont)

• The creation of a frame (proscenium arch) for the
  pictorialized scenery became standard and remains
  so the oldest theatre with permanent proscenium
  is Teatro Farnese in Parma, built in 1618
• The themes and topics of the Italian plays were
  drawn from ancient mythology
• At first the Italians did not have any permanent
  theatre halls. They used to set up temporary
  performance stages in large halls, used for
  different purposes
• The acceptance of perspective scenery brought the
  foundation of movement from architectural to
  representational and pictorial stage the stage
  can be modified according the specific production
• The architectural methods of perspectives gave
  the audience the illusion of distance and depth

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Sebastiano Serlios Stage

• A prominent Italian architect known for his
  high-quality illusions and plans for theatrical
  scenery and stages
• His Architettura Book II (1545), interpreted what
  he thought were classic ideas on perspective and
  the periaktoi and published the first designs on
  the definitive types of sets to be usedfor
  tragedy, palaces for comedy, street scenes for
  satyr plays, the countryside.

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Commedia Dellarte

• It means Comedy of Art or Comedy of the
  profession opposite to the literary comedy
  Commedia Erudita
• It began in the 15th century and kept its
  popularity until the late 18th century (still
  performed today in some theatres in Italy)
• For the first time women had the right to
  participate in theatrical production (in contrast
  to the Elizabethan age). The number of female
  roles increased, even though these didnt become
  as permanent and deep as the male characters

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Commedia Dellarte

• The troupe consisted usually of 10 people (7 men
  and 3 women), traveling around the country
• The plays were supported at the beginning by
  donations and the were free to watch
• The plays were held outside initially with poor
  props and modest costumes
• Outside Italy it was known as Italian Comedy
• Improvised drama, implying the subject matter of
  the play than the manner of performance of the
  actors
• Some of the plays can be traced back to the plays
  of Plautus and Terence

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Commedia Dellarte

• The play was adjusted though improvisation and
  most of the plays had satiric character
• Characters in plays were portrayed by actors
  wearing masks
• Amusement in the form of acrobatics and juggling
  was also provided
• The material was divided into acts and scenes
  with a prologue
• The situation (scenario) had been clearly
  determined and outlined, although the actors
  improvised the dialogue and the action to some
  extent

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Commedia Dellarte

• The performances created the impression of
  spontaneity because the behavior of the actors
  was quite unexpected by the other actors on the
  stage
• The actor was the heart and the emphasis of the
  play
• There were few scenarios which were tragic,
  melodramatic, musical, and most of them were
  comic, revolving around love affairs, intrigues,
  disguises and others
• Many actors were required to record appropriate
  sentiments from poetry and popular literature

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The Stock Characters

• Lovers the had the most realistic roles. They
  gained popularity very fast because they did not
  wear masks and were dressed according to the
  latest fashion trends at that time. Usually the
  lovers were children of the Masters. Their
  affairs were directly related to the opposition
  of their parents
• Masters The plutocrats, rich merchants, bank
  owners and ship owners. E.g. Pantalone, Dottore,
  and Capitano. They had dual characteristics. They
  were intelligent and braggart, but later their
  controversial personality is revealed by the plot
• Servants Most of them were male actors. They
  were the most diversified part of the plays. E.g.
  Arlecchino, Pulcinelo and others

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The Stock Characters

• Arlecchino a poor and illiterate servant from
  Bergamo, who sought for his fortune in Venice. He
  is also an acrobat and a clown. Arlecchino was
  originally created in the French Theatre, but
  later he was adapted by the Italians
• Brighella A friend of Arlecchino, who always
  being made the joke of. He was always not allowed
  to do something but his eagerness brought him
  into very funny situations
• Columbina a maidservant, a lover of Arlecchino.
  She is intelligent and in many cases she gets
  involved into love intrigues and scandals
• Pantalone and old, rich and miserly merchant
  from Venice. He employs Arlecchino and treats him
  cruelly. He always speaks in a Venetian dialect
• Pedrolino A kind and courteous servant who has
  always been blamed for the others troubles and
  things he has never done.

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The Masks

• They played crucial role in Commedia Dellarte
• All personages (except the lovers) wore color
  leather masks
• They were used to resemble and utilize the
  personages and also to extinguish them from each
  other
• As a means of character identification they
  demanded extremely advanced mimicry and sometimes
  acrobatics
• Many of them were similar to masks used in the
  Ancient Roman Theatre

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Zanni The Clowns

• The Zanni include
• Brighella
• Columbina
• Arlechinno
• The clowns were
• typically servants
• in the scenarios,
• providing the laughter.

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Brighella

• Personality
• crafty, quick, unscrupulous
• thrives on double dealings, intrigues, and foul
  play
• sometimes depicted as an innkeeper, shop owner,
  valet, or soldier
• cynical liar who only looks out for himself
• He is sleazy, seductive, dangerous.
• He is a drunkard and boisterous.

• Physically
• lazy but can move quickly
• He slinks without muscular effort
• Always ready to pounce
• He might blithely be cleaning his nails with the
  knife which will soon cut a throat.
• He gets very close to people when he speaks.
• He can sing and dance, and drink with the best of
  them.
• His costume is usually trimmed in green.

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Brighella
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Columbina

• Personality
• female servants
• fresh and frisky, sometimes crafty, and often
  without morals
• makes use of disquises, dressing up as doctors,
  cavaliers, barristers, and other servants
• often the smartest character in a scenario
• She was autonomous, self-sufficient, and quite
  rational.

• Physically
• Columbina was not afraid to show her buxom
  contours or flaunt her robust hips.
• She stands with hands on her hips, or holding a
  basket or tamborine, while flirting

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Columbina (Smeraldina)
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Arlechinno

• Personality
• like a 5-year-old
• eager to please his master or mistress
• His first attention is to food how to get it,
  how to savor it
• He loves tricks and physical antics
• usually cannot read, which makes him confuse
  messages sent by lovers.
• He is ignorant yet clever slow mentally but
  quick physically.

• Physically
• his lower back is arched
• his arms are often bent with hands on his hips,
  in readiness to serve
• His legs turn out, sometimes with heels together
  and other times with the back knee bent and the
  front leg straight.
• He runs quickly and lightly, kicking his feet
  forward.
• He sneaks to steal food with large, exaggerated,
  silent steps.
• He can stop in an instant, especially when caught
  in one of his pranks.

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Arlechinno (Truffaldino)
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Vecchi

• Vecchi are the old men characters. They are
  typically father figures or evil characters.
• They include
• Pantalone
• Il Dottore
• Il Capitano

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Pantalone

• Physically
• His pelvis is tilted under but he is not hunched
  over
• His knees are bent with his heels together, toes
  pointing outward
• he runs and walks heels first
• His hands and fingers actively fidget in counting
  money or holding his money pouch
• In spite of being old and sick, he is
  surprisingly agile
• Pantalone usually has a curled, pointed beard,
  red leggings, and a long cape (denoting higher
  status).

• Personality
• wealthy, paranoid,
• merchant
• Money is his obsession
• He is a master at seducing beautiful young women,
  
• He suspects that everyone is out to deceive him.
• He complains about his physical ailments aching
  back, bad knees, gout, etc. that conveniently
  come and go at his discretion.

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Pantalone
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Il Dottore

• Personality
• professes to know everything, but actually knows
  nothing
• He loves to hear himself speak and expounds on
  answers, whether asked or not (but he is always
  wrong)
• He claims to be a doctor of medicine, philosophy,
  science, law, language, literature, art,
  politics, or the classics, or all of them.
• He is a delightfully pretentious bag of wind.

• Physically
• His mask covers the forehead and nose, signifying
  his heady thoughts and nosy intrusions.
• He bounces when he walks
• uses his hands expressively to clarify his vivid
  ideas

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Il Dottore
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Il Capitano

• Personality
• the cowardly braggart soldier
• He is the foreigner in the scenario, speaking
  with an accent (or two)
• enters to conquer arrogant foes, to rescue young
  damsels in distress, or to win the hearts of
  beautiful widows.
• He is, however, a wimp. He avoids fighting at all
  costs by deflecting conflicts, feigning death, or
  outsmarting aggressors.

• Physically
• long nose, signifying brawn over brains (the
  longer the nose, the fewer the brains..)
• He holds his weapon strongly and aggressively
  (anything from an old, rusty or crooked sword to
  a stick he thinks is a sword),
• but doesn't really know how to use it
• he stands tall and has a wide stance, with feet
  firmly planted
• But when avoiding conflict he becomes small and
  shy, shriveling and shivering in fear
• He can run very fast when necessary.

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Il Capitano (Florindo)
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The Lovers

• The Lovers were the average characters who were
  typically being kept apart. They included
• Leandro
• Inamorata

• The Lovers did not typically wear masks.
  However, they did wear heavy make-up.
• THE LOVER, whether called Leandro, Flavio, Lelio,
  Ottavio, is always charming, dapper, and
  sometimes a bit ridiculous. His sole purpose in
  the script is to be in love. He must be young,
  good looking, courteous and gallant.
• The Inamorata was a role originally played by men
  in France and England

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The Lovers (Silvio Clarice)
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Carlo Goldoni(1707-1793)

• One of the Italys (Europes) Greatest
  playwrights, born in Venice in 1707
• He attracted the theatre-goers by creating
  characters that were similar to them, and often
  through dramatizing the conflicts and dramas of
  the contemporary middle-classes

• Initially he wrote tragedies but later he found
  he is better in the comedy genre
• His main idea was that the Italian life was
  susceptible to artistic treatment

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The Servant of Two Mastersby Carlo Goldoni

• Written in 1745 by Goldoni for a Venetian
  commedia dellarte troupe
• Panatalone and Brighella are presented with
  entirely new traits
• In contrast to other commedia plays, here the
  middle-class characters were treated with respect
  and the women are much more sensible than the men
• The cast of characters belongs to commedia
  (Arlecchino, Brighella etc.)
• The coarse and sexual topics here are avoided
• The plot is based on disguise, coincidence and
  misunderstanding
• The servant of two masters does not achieve a
  high level of characterization or social
  commentary

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Lazzi

• Stage business
• Humorous interjections which had nothing to do
  with the play itself such as
• Humorous remarks
• Acrobatics
• Juggling
• Wrestling

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Lazzi

• Each actor has a notebook filled with
  well-rehearsed comic action such as
• Sententious remarks
• Figures of speech
• Love discourses
• Rebukes

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Lazzi

• Used to
• Fill up time
• Occasionally amuse the audience
• Create a change of pace
• Different forms of Lazzi
• Weeping and laughing
• Fear
• Knocking at the door
• Fight