Commedia dell'arte (Italian): comedy of artists
Commedia dell'arte is a theatrical art
formed which originated in Italy in during the 14th century. It was
based on the interaction of stock characters that was always finished with a
comedic ending. It began in the streets of Italy although it can be traced back
to Ancient Greek theatre and Roman theatre. The actors where street performers
who wore decorative masks with exaggerated features to make things more humours
and to draw even more attention! Theses street performers started to perform
with actors in travelling stages and Commedia dell'arte was seen as its own genre in the mid-14th
century.
Popular Stock characters from Commedia dell'arte include:
·
Arlecchino was the most famous. He was an
acrobat and a wit. He was childlike and loving. He wore a cat–like mask and assorted
coloured clothes. He carried a bat or wooden sword.
·
Brighella was Arlecchino's friend. He was more
mischievous and sophisticated. He was a cowardly villain who would do anything
for money.
·
Il Capitano (the captain) was a travesty of
the professional soldier—bold, swaggering, and cowardly.
·
Il Dottore (the doctor) was a misrepresentation
of learning—pompous and fake.
·
Pantalone was a caricature of the Venetian
merchant, rich and retired, mean and miserly, with a young wife or an
adventurous daughter.
·
Pedrolino was a white–faced, moon–struck
dreamer and the forerunner of today's clown.
Commedia dell'arte was often improvised. The actors
based the improvisations on scenarios that they had discussed before the show.
On stage, they would chose dialogue that suited the moment or was based on the
crowd’s reactions. Sometimes the performers would use something called a lazzi. These were special rehearsed
routines that could be put into the plays at any convenient points to increase the
comedy. Commedia dell'arte was performed on the streets, as said before, with
travelling groups of actors. The staging would be easily set up and taken down.
People on the streets could walk up to watch the shows.
The basic structure of Commedia dell'arte was
usually about love and lovers trying to get together. There are obstacles in
the way which they have to get around to reach each other. One example is that
the father will not let his daughter marry the man she loves. They outwit the obstacles
in a way which is comedic and makes the audience laugh. The ending is always
funny.
Later on, Commedia dell'arte spread all over
Europe. It eventually accepted a large French influence where lots of
the scenarios were scripted into commedia-style plays. The style and formula
of commedia is now surviving well into the early 21st century continuing
the tradition as an artistic organisation where actors are able to create the
most memorable historic physical characters the theatre has seen. Slap-stick
comedy was created in Commedia dell'arte and it is still used in many shows,
movies and productions to keep people laughing out loud.
Thanks for reading! Bye xx
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