Facts about Commedia dell’arte
from your research:
Commedia dell’arte
A 16th century
improvised comic
form from Italy
Key Terms
Stance:
how a character stands
Gait:
how a character moves
What are we doing?
• Learning the basics of the artform
Commedia dell’Arte
• Recreating some of the characters
using the bold, exaggerated body
language typical of Commedia
dell’arte
• Improvising a short “lazzi” (sketch)
using a range of Commedia
characters, and speaking in
“Gromalot” (gibberish)
“Gromalot”
Commedia dell’arte’s gibberish language
Q: What does “gibberish” mean?
A: Nonsense language, uses tone of voice alone
rather than words to communicate
Q: Can you think of any examples of characters
using gibberish?
A: The farmer from “Shaun the Sheep” is a good
example. Watch him in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odWBuDaDqIs
Q: What does he use apart from tone of voice to
help communicate his message?
A: Gesture!
Using “Gromalot” (gibberish)
Q: Why do you think Commedia dell’arte sometimes used
“Gromalot” rather than Italian?
A: So the plays could tour to other countries and still be
understood!
In pairs, explore how to conduct a simple
conversation using “Gromalot”.
Remember the Farmer from Shaun the Sheep:
“Gromalot” communicates through TONE OF VOICE
and GESTURE, but NO REAL WORDS.
Can the audience still work out roughly what you’re
saying?
National Theatre:
Commedia dell’arte
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJEwuurzDe4
This film is called “Body shapes in Commedia
dell’Arte”.
• Watch these acting students working with a
Commedia dell’arte specialist from the National
Theatre Company in London.
• What skills do the students display when exploring
the Commedia characters?
• Aim to use these skills yourself as we explore these
characters!
Pantalone
• Lead with NOSE and FINGERTIPS
• Old man, very mean, obsessed with
money
• Hunched back
• Gait is a bird-like walk
• Bird-like twitching head
• Stance is leaning forward, head looking
up, hands protecting his money bags at
waist
• “Money, who said money?”
• At bad news, or the slightest touch,
Pantalone falls on his back and curls up
like a beetle, unable to get up unless
someone helps him.
Dottore
• Lead with STOMACH
• A very bad doctor, able to
diagnose only death or pregnancy
• Very fat, stance is leaning back
• Hands twiddle on his large
stomach
• Gait is a waddle, legs far apart,
in figure of eight
• Weight on heels
• Goldfish mouth
• Very pompous, talks (waffles)
constantly
Zanni
• LEAD with FOREHEAD
• Servants
• Love practical jokes
• Stance is a sleeping position, with one
leg resting on the other, leaning on
elbow
• Gait is a run with knees far apart,
hands held up as if supporting trays,
or trudging, as if carrying a large bag
• Stupid, make very basic mistakes
• Very lazy, greedy, lusty, clumsy
Arlecchino
• Lead with EARS
•
•
•
•
“Chancer” servant, listening out
Colombina’s boyfriend
More intelligent than Zannis
Tries to trick his masters but his
plots usually fail
• Gait is a zig-zag
• Stance is very acrobatic, ready to
run at any moment, knees bent
• Displays cat-like agility
Brighella
• LEAD with CHEST
•
•
•
•
•
•
Head servant
Arrogant
Bossy
In charge of the zannis
In love with himself (womaniser)
A snob – will do anything to
ingratiate himself to the
aristocrats (lovers) or the
masters (Pantalone and
Dottore)
Lovers
• Lead with EYES
• Aristocrats
• Very vain, always admiring themselves in the mirror,
adjusting their appearance
• Stance is very balletic, like a fashion model’s pose,
elegant
• Gait is also very balletic, very light on the feet
• Female lover is usually unmarried, daughter of
either Pantalone or Dottore
• Male lover is usually handsome but sometimes poor,
and wants to marry the female lover mainly for her
money
Capitano
• Lead with PELVIS
• A soldier
• Claims to have “killed many men,
loved many women.”
• Stance is very confident, pelvis
forward, fists on hips, legs wide
apart
• Gait is a manly stride
• When startled, screams like a girl,
flaps hands above head, jumps very
high and runs away
Columbina
• Lead with HIPS
• Female lover’s MAID
• Girlfriend of Arlecchino
• Stance is very confident, hands on
hips, shoulders back
• Gait is light, quick, efficient,
pretty
• The most intelligent character of
all the Commedia roles.
• Playful, cheeky, impudent, flirty
Exploring visual comedy: set
pieces in Commedia dell’arte
• The double take (look quick, look long)
• The comedy run
• The comedy fight
• The advance (knee-rub)
• The faint
Basil Fawlty and Manuel
in Fawlty Towers are
modern equivalents of
Brighella and Zanni.
Make a lazzo: a short, improvised, comic
scenario in a Commedia dell’arte play
• Use “gromalot” (gibberish language) which will
force you to communicate a lot with body
language as well as tone of voice.
• Use the exaggerated Commedia body language for
your character (gait & stance)
• Keep the plot SIMPLE.
• Remember the differing statuses
of the characters should be very clear.
• Try to include some “set pieces” in your lazzi:
•
•
•
•
•
The double take (look quick, look long)
The comedy run
The comedy fight
The advance (knee-rub)
The faint
Homework
• Describe how,you played a commedia
dell’arte character in your group’s lazzi.
Ensure you include information about
about the character’s:
• STANCE
• GAIT
• MANNERISMS (characteristic gestures)
• LEADING BODY PART
• STATUS (in comparison to other
characters in the lazzi).
Useful Commedia films
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_0TAX
Wt8hY
• World of Commedia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6EaoPM
ANQM
Clip of Basil Fawlty and Manuel (modern
day Brighella and Zanni)
Commedia dell’arte and STATUS
The comedy in Commedia dell’arte is entirely
generated from situations using characters with
differing STATUSES.
Q: What does status mean?
A: How important a character is (or thinks they are)
compared to the other characters in the scene. The
“pecking order.”
How does this
picture illustrate
the idea of a
“pecking order”?
Commedia dell’arte and STATUS
Imagine a scale of 1-10 across the room. 1 is the
lowest status. 10 is the highest status.
As these Commedia characters appear, volunteer to
come up and put a number to their status. Of course,
you need to demonstrate the stance of that commedia
character.
Other Commedia characters may disagree with where
you have placed yourself. If this is the case, argue
back to defend your position!
.
Status or “pecking order”
Where on the STATUS scale (1=lowest,
10=highest) should these Commedia
characters be?
When we put these characters on the STATUS scale,
who put themselves higher than they deserved and
were moved down? What does this tell you about the
character?
Status range of Commedia characters.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Zanni
Arlecchino
Brighella
Capitano
Forehead
Ears
Chest
Pelvis
7
8
9
10
Colombina
Pantalone
Dottore
Lovers
Hips
Nose
Stomach
Eyes
Next, choose characters for a scene that demonstrate a RANGE
of different statuses.
Improvise a scene (with conventional speech) in 2s/3s set in a
high-class restaurant.
Remember to sustain the exaggerated characterisation of
commedia.
Status
We started off working with the Year 8 definition of status
which is: “how important a character is.” Think about last
lesson’s work on the status of Commedia dell’arte
characters, and any other times we have explored status.
Do you now have a more advanced understanding of
what status is? E.g.
– What emotions give a character a high status?
– What emotions give a character a low status?
– Can a character’s intelligence affect their status?
– What about Money and status? Job and status?
– Is the status of a character fixed, or can it change?
Can is you back this up with an example?
Characterisation
Reflect back on our practical work on
instant characters, characters from
scripts and characters from Commedia
dell’arte.
1.What skills do you feel you have you
gained from this practical work?
1.You have known for a while that we are
performing pantomimes to primaries in
December. How will your work on
Commedia dell’arte help you with the new
panto project?
Primary Panto Groups
Group One
Aladdin
Group 2
Peter Pan
Group 3
Jack & the Beanstalk
Aaron Nash
Ellie Gill
Bali Hemmings
Sadie King
Rebecca Pegg
Oliver Thomas
Solomon Mills
Alexandra Salt
Jodie MacPherson
Phoebe Bowers
Millie Keates
Sheona Killeen
Rosie Taylor
Emily Derbyshire
Caitlin Owen
Clarke Lear
Katie Hollamby
Bobbi Moore
Summer McCarthy-Ball
What skills are needed for a
successful pantomime?
• Does this short video contain any useful
advice from the professionals on
producing and performing in panto?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owrusD-E-Hg
Random Acts Primary Panto Planning
1. Debate which story you want to base your
10 minute pantomime on. One person in the
group should take minutes of the discussion.
Remember your target audience is primary
school children, and you only have 10-15
minutes of performance time per group.
2. Think about the main characters in the story
and how you might CAST those characters
from your group. (Remember you can multirole).
3. Does anyone in your group have specialist skills
you could use? Musical instruments? Singing?
Dance? Clowning? Mime?
Random Acts Primary Panto Planning
To make your group’s pantomime the best it
can be, you need to do some research and
forward planning over half term.
4.Debate and share out the research and
planning tasks on the homework sheet, under
the headings:
•performance style
•costume design
•prop design
•marketing
Random Acts
Primary Panto Project
Aims
Mon
4th
Nov
What’s next?
1. Compare versions of the story, and decide on Finish improvising the
the PLOT of your panto. Which events are
story.
you keeping in, which ones are you cutting?
2. CAST it. Which characters do you need? Do
you need some actors to multi-role?
3. IMPROVISE the whole story.
1. Finish improvising the WHOLE story!
2. Plan your own hwk – what can you usefully do
independently that will push your panto
Thurs
project forward: costume design/sourcing,
7th
poster/flyer design, prop making…
Nov
Complete your hwk
task: costume design,
sourcing/making,
poster and flyer
design, prop
making…some tasks
will naturally take
longer than others…
Random Acts
Primary Panto Project
Aims
Mon
11th
Nov
Fri
15th
Nov
1. Inject PANTO acting style into your piece:
bold exaggerated characterisation, audience
participation, visual comedy, simple clear
storytelling, lots of direct address.
2. Complete a run of the story and time it.
3. Update your group with how far you’ve got
with your hwk task: costume design,
sourcing/making, poster and flyer design,
prop making…when will things be ready?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Time a run of your piece.
Remember to keep the panto acting style!
Discuss what needs cutting/extending
Action this if necessary.
Vote on the audience participation song.
What’s next?
Time a run of the
piece. Needs to be
between 12-15 mins.
Each group has 20
mins, but this timeslot includes “get-in”
and “get-out.”
Make sure your
publicity materials
ready for distribution
to primary schools
next week
(posters/flyers).