The History of Commedia Dell’Arte
Commedia Dell’Arte translates to “comedy of the profession”. It was an early type of theatre that allegedly began in Italy (although there is no certainty as to where the style originated). It became popular in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century.
The first recorded performances, in fact, came from Rome as early as 1551 and it was performed by actors in costumes and masks. Female roles were played by women which was frowned upon at the time. Performances were often improvised but the entrances and exits of the characters were scripted.
Stock Characters
A table found here show the characters and if they wore a mask.
| Character(s) | Masks | Status | Costume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arlecchino | Yes | Servant (sometimes to two masters) | Colorful tight fitting jacket and trousers |
| Il Dottore | Yes | Head of the household | Black scholarly robe |
| Il Capitano | Yes | Indigenous loner | Military uniform |
| Innamorati | No | High class hopeless lovers | Nicely dressed on par with the time |
| Pantalone | Yes | Older wealthy man | Dark capes and red trousers |
| Colombina | Yes | Perky maid / servant | Can be colorful on par with Arlecchino or black and white |
| Pierrot | Yes | Servant (Sad clown) | White, flowy costume with large buttons |
Magnifico is somewhat an eagle that looks down on everyone. He leads from his chest.
Zanni is described as pigeon like. He leads with his nose and feet and is a curious, enthusiastic character.
Pantelone is like magnifico. He is mean and vinegary; he is compared to Mr. Burns from the Simpsons or Scrooge. He has a bent back and walks like an old man.
Il dottore is the fact doctor and he oozes words and thoughts. He leads with his belly.
Brighella is a brain character who follows logic.
Arlecchino is a body character who has open hips.
Columbina is at the centre of the Commedia Dell’Arte diagram. She is cunning and playful.
The 1st Actress and Actor are like the parents of Romeo and Juliet. They are top players of politics and lead from their shoulders. They are unmasked.
The Innamorati are the children of the 1st actress and actor (like Romeo and Juliet).
The Witch is an earthy, supernatural character who moves in figures of eight and has a large essence of freedom.
Il Capitano brags all of the time. He does anything to avoid a fight, however and has a very large sense of self preservation. He leads from his knees.
The ‘masters and servants’ were masked and the ‘lovers’ were unmasked.
Lazzi
Lazzi are stock comedic routines associated with Commedia Dell’Arte. These routines are often used to keep the audience engaged and entertained when a line is dropped or if the scene was dragging. The actors playing Arlecchino commonly used these routines.
They could be improvised or pre-planned within the performance. For example, a high status character could pour wine into a glass whilst someone like Zanni could trip and fall to entertain and engage the audience.
The Characteristics of the Performance Style
Commedia Dell’Arte is extremely melodramatic with exaggerated movements. Fawlty Towers has perfect examples of the style. For example, Manuel is like Zanni. He dramatically falls all over the place and is extremely enthusiastic and fast-paced as well as leading from the nose: seeming curious about everything when there is nothing to be curious about specifically.
The style can be compared to slapstick comedy at times whilst also being similar to classical plays such as Shakespeare’s.
Grammelot
Grammalot is a fake language consisting of nothing other than complete, improvised gibberish which is associated with Commedia Dell’Arte a lot.
It allows for expression, voice and body language to tell a story and present a character without the need for real words. Although the words are meaningless, Grammelot is supposed to sound like a real language and actors can use their own intuition when using it to create their character.
Grammelot is extremely useful for actors so that they can learn to use only their body and face to express exact emotions and personalities. Because the characters in Commedia Dell’Arte are extremely exaggerated, this made-up language becomes easier to use.
Mask Work
The Commedia Dell’Arte masks are one of the biggest classifiers for each character. The masks look different and go only with one character and should only be an extension of the hair, costume and other accessories.
The masks tend to make a large impression on the audience immediately, as they first step onto the stage. They tell the audience who they are, what their social status is and what their attitudes are.
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