Commedia Dell’ ARTE
Presented by: Harmoni Florence &
Gerald Bentley
What is Commedia Dell’ Arte?
Commedia dell’arte translates as “comedy of skills”: an
improvisational style of theater which began in sixteenthcentury Italy and flourished in Europe for 200 years.
Commedia Dell’Arte could also be known as Italian comedy.
Italian troupes traveled around and did humorous
presentations during the 16th century.
What else is there to know??
The exact origins of commedia dell’arte are unclear. Most
scholars believe it was influenced by ancient Roman and
Greek comedy and by the medieval traditions of carnival
acrobats and jugglers.
The first recorded performances took place in Padua, Italy in
1545.
A company consisted of anywhere from ten to fifteen
performers.
The actors wore elaborate half-masks that exaggerated
facial features to convey their character’s personality: a
mask might have sunken cheeks and a long, pointy nose or
chubby jowls with a pig-like snout.
Characters of
Commedia
(top left) Pantalone- a merchant of
Venice (of whom we'll have more to say
later). He’s rich, he’s greedy, and he’s
miserly
(top right) Grantiano- a pendant,
usually a lawyer. Because Pantalone
and Grantiano are old male characters,
they are reffered to as,”veechi”, which
is Italian for old male characters
(bottom left P. bottom right A.)
Pedrolino and Arleechino- the servants
of the two old men. Collectively they
are known as zanni.
The word zany comes from the actual
two zanni charcters above..
Where were the presentations
performed?
Most of the Commedia Dell’Arte presentations
took place on the city streets, but some also
took place on temporary stages.
Plays
Lazzi
The Comic Mask in the Commedia
Dell’Arte
Triumph of Pierrot
Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR
AwpxUe-sw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?featur
e=player_detailpage&v=ZUnaNTfTzu
M
The Rise
By the end of the sixteenth century, popular commedia
companies were traveling throughout Europe, performing in
Spain, France, England, and Germany, as well as Eastern
Europe.
The boisterous comedy influenced writers and performers all
over the continent, including William Shakespeare, his fellow
English playwright Ben Jonson, and French dramatist and
actor Moliere.
Before the rise of commedia dell’arte, women were not
generally permitted to perform in the theater.
Quiz
1.Where did some of the presentations take place?
a.City Streets
b.Carnivals
c.School
d.Work centers
2.The translation for comedy of skills is Commedia dell’arte (T/F)
3.When did Commedia dell’arte begin?
a.15th Century
b.17th Century
c.16th Century
d.21st Century
4.Where was the first recorded performance?
a. Canada
b. England
c. Italy
d. China
5.How many performers did the company consist?
a.20-25
b.15-20
c.10-15
d.5-10
Quiz
6. What were one of the facial features on the half-masks that were
made?
a.Pointy nose
b.Big eyes
c.Little lips
d.Thick eyebrows
7. Commedia del arte was always performed on giant elaborate
stages (T/F)
8. Pedrolino invented commedia del arte (T/F)
9.Arleechino was the servant (T/F)
10.The word zany comes from
a.The two friends
b.The two lovers
c. The two zanni
d. The two pants
References
http://books.google.com/books?id=Z7WYaq1jqsMC&dq=commedia+dell+arte&lr
=&source=gbs_navlinks_s
http://www.factionoffools.org/history
http://www.humanracetheatre.org/commedia_dell'arte_AUG_7_SCREEN.pdf