Commedia dell’arte

1. Commedia dell’arte Early 16th Century

2. Changes Roland le Fartere • By 1550, traveling actors in England were still performing Bible plays. • However, jesters were now the most popular characters. • Audiences didn’t want to see serious plays about the Bible anymore. They wanted to laugh. • Even Bible plays started becoming comic. So, churches decided plays no longer fit into their services. http://pinterest.com/vanepants/rachie-s-love-celebration-ideas/

3. A New Kind of Drama • Commedia dell’arte first became popular in Italy & soon spread to other parts of the world. • These plays were about romances, mistaken identities, and other funny situations between characters. • The plots didn’t deal with the Bible. Church leaders were only presented onstage as fools to be mocked & laughed at. http://www.delpiano.com/carnival/html/commedia.html

4. Improvisation & Stock Characters • Improvisation – Scenes made up by the actors as they go along. • Stock Characters – Have specific personality traits that everybody recognizes. • These characters included the romantic leading man, the innocent young girl, the suspicious father, and the mischievous servant. • Each character had his/her own name & personality. http://proteus.brown.edu/13things/7731

5. Anything for a Laugh!! • Commedia actors were highly skilled & very talented; most were professional acrobats, comedians, & jugglers. • It was common for them to do somersaults in the middle of a scene, juggle eggs, etc. to get a laugh. • The plays weren’t written down, no lines to memorize. • A basic storyline might be agreed upon before the show started, but it was never followed exactly; actors made it up as they went along. http://www.ericjoisel.com/commedia.html

6. Heroes, Heroines, Suspicious Fathers http://www.ericjoisel.com/commedia.html • Hero (romantic leading man)-Capitano, a soldier who constantly bragged about his fighting skills & ability to attract pretty girls. • In most stories, his objective was to get the heroine (innocent young girl) to marry him. • Pantalone – Heroine’s suspicious father. Old man, played as a well-educated fool. Doesn’t like Capitano, always thinking up very silly ways to get rid of him. • Dottore – Pantalone’scompanion. Also old man, usu. played as an idiot, always meddling in other people’s business & accidentally messing up Pantalone’splans. http://shane-arts.com/Commedia-Pantalone.htm

7. Harlequin & Scapino • Harlequin – The most popular character, clever servant; actor had to be very talented because he wore several different masks & played several different personalities • Scapino – Harlequin’s companion; played as stupid. • These two made the stories funny by finding silly solutions to silly problems. • Ex. Rich man w/ toothache; they tied one end of string to his tooth, other end to a bull & woman’s skirt. It later fell out by itself. http://roscidum.blogspot.com/2011/02/lazzi.html

8. Other Fun Facts • Commedia dell-arte masks were lighter and more colorful than Greeks masks. They had long noses (for the dishonest characters), lots of ribbons (for the females and silly men), and flowing feathers (for the romantic characters). One character would usu. wear several masks during a show. • Commedia dell’arte was the most popular type of entertainment of its day, and the ideas that came from it still exist today in modern plays, movies & TV shows. • The Three Stooges, Charlie Chaplin and Robin Williams are some comedians who have used commedia in performances.

9. Answer in complete sentences!! • 1.) From what country were the first commedia dell’arte performers? What two elements were in commedia dell’arte? • 2.) What were two things a commedia dell’arte actor might do to get a laugh? • 3.) What was the name of the hero of commedia dell’arte? • 4.) Who was Pantalone? Describe him AND his companion. • 5.) Who was the most popular character? Describe him. • 6.) Who was Harlequin’s companion? What kind of character was he?