COMMEDIA DELL ARTE

COMMEDIA DELL ARTE

Commedia Dell Arte is a very popular form of comedy that began in Italy in the 16^th century and further developed during the 16^th – 18^th centuries.  It is believed by historians that it came about due to the political and economic problems during the 16^th century.  The closest translation of the name is “Comedy of Craft”.  It is a form of theatre that features masked characters and was performed by professional comic actors and consequently became the first professional type of theatre.  Each actor made as good as possible each specific role and it is believed that this form of theatre was responsible for start of improvised performances, based on various scenarios by actors/actresses.  The standard of the acting and performance was more important than the subject matter of the play.

The Commedia Dell Arte is very much characterised by the improvisation from a standard plot and the use of stock characters for all plays and different scenarios.  It was of course not completely improvised, a subject matter would be chosen, a basic outline of the plot and characters would be planned and also the characters relationships to each other etc.  Each situation, scene and outcome would be clear but there was always the opportunity for the actors to improvise.  The actors/actresses brought life to their parts and the dialogue between characters was still expected to flow without pause.  Due to the standards expected actors/actress had to seriously study the characters they were playing and this subsequently changed forever the standards of acting.  In fact the very best actors were able to bring their own individuality and brilliance to each part.  The most important roles were always given to the best and most popular actors.  The Commedia Dell Arte helped to introduce the professional actor into Europe.

The stock characters, mentioned above, were often in very traditional costumes and masks.  These stock characters were used in most plays and were represented by specific types, such as, underhand servants, military officers full of bravado, and silly old men.  The comedic storylines were always a funny drama and not very serious and always had a happy ending.  These stock characters were given to the most popular actors and had parts in the play that were really funny, and often had nothing to do with the plot were called “lazzi” and could be such things as acrobatics, wrestling or juggling, somersaults etc, etc.

Performers played on temporary stages, outside around various towns and cities.  They relied more on props than on impressive scenery.  They were funded by the various towns and cities they played in and extra funding collected during the play was by donations “passing the hat”.  This was so anyone could see the performances free of charge. 

Some plays were seen by the upper classes, kings etc – this enabled certain actors to become very well known.  Key to the Commedia Dell Arte’s success was the ability of actors/actresses to become very famous and have great financial success as well as the opportunity to travel.