Commedia+dell'Arte

Commedia dell'arte or comedy of art means unwritten or improvised acting and it involves more the way of performance than the actual subject of the play. This style of acting started between the fourteenth to the eighteenth century approximately four hundred years ago but the main period of time in which it flourished was in the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Commedia dell’are started in Italy during the period of the reinassance and the style dates back from the Roman Empire, Greek theatre and Etruscan festivals. After 1600 when the style was being used by Italian generations the technique was known as a professional theatrical technique.The subject was chosen and the characters were named and their relations one with the other were determined so it wasn’t completely improvised. The outcome of each scene and the situations were set beforehand and once the main parts were set then the actors could have played their roles in the way they wanted. Just like the comedies of Ariosto and Machiavelli, Commedia dell'arte was about love stories, manipulation and ways to get money. Charecters that were important and present at all times were the plotting maids, aged fathers and wily widows. Part of this acting style, are the interruptions called lazzi and they usually had nothing to do with the play itself but they were either acrobatic feats, juggling or even wrestling. There were certain charecters that appeared in most of the plays and they wore masks which were ranked in 5 different kinds: Pantalone and the Doctor, the Captain, the valet or jester, the hunchback Punchinello, and another old man. Commedia dell'arte was hard as it required smoothness, constant surprise, clearness and creativity and these things have been unknown in the medieval acting style. The actors had to choose the write word at the right time and they had to find comebacks to the rest of the actors very fast. The dialogue has to work smoothly without any pauses and these requirements required actors that have studied their part and character well. These comdians were able to change the standards of acting and due to Commedia dell'arte, professional acting was now introduced in Europe. Most of the themes in Commedia dell'arte are jelousy, old age, adultery and loe. Many of the elements can be dated back to the Roman comedie of Plautus and Terence and some of these were actually translations of lost Greek comedies. Actors used Lazzi but also burle which were on the spot jokes and physical moves which usually had a joke involved. The most classic and traditional plot is that of the inamorati and that iolves two lovers that wish to get married but someone or multiple charecters are preventing them from getting married which then leads the lovers to ask for zanni (servants) for help. Usually the story ends happily and they end up getting married and this is the most famous plot of commedia dell'arte. Later this style moved and it became more popular as more performances were done and the style was enjoyed by the audience. Commedia dell'arte or comedy of art means unwritten or improvised acting and it involves more the way of performance than the actual subject of the play. This style of acting started between the fourteenth to the eighteenth century approximately four hundred years ago but the main period of time in which it flourished was in the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Commedia dell’are started in Italy during the period of the reinassance and the style dates back from the Roman Empire, Greek theatre and Etruscan festivals. After 1600 when the style was being used by Italian generations the technique was known as a professional theatrical technique.The subject was chosen and the characters were named and their relations one with the other were determined so it wasn’t completely improvised. The outcome of each scene and the situations were set beforehand and once the main parts were set then the actors could have played their roles in the way they wanted. Just like the comedies of Ariosto and Machiavelli, Commedia dell'arte was about love stories, manipulation and ways to get money. Charecters that were important and present at all times were the plotting maids, aged fathers and wily widows. Part of this acting style, are the interruptions called lazzi and they usually had nothing to do with the play itself but they were either acrobatic feats, juggling or even wrestling. There were certain charecters that appeared in most of the plays and they wore masks which were ranked in 5 different kinds: Pantalone and the Doctor, the Captain, the valet or jester, the hunchback Punchinello, and another old man. Commedia dell'arte was hard as it required smoothness, constant surprise, clearness and creativity and these things have been unknown in the medieval acting style. The actors had to choose the write word at the right time and they had to find comebacks to the rest of the actors very fast. The dialogue has to work smoothly without any pauses and these requirements required actors that have studied their part and character well. These comdians were able to change the standards of acting and due to Commedia dell'arte, professional acting was now introduced in Europe. Most of the themes in Commedia dell'arte are jelousy, old age, adultery and loe. Many of the elements can be dated back to the Roman comedie of Plautus and Terence and some of these were actually translations of lost Greek comedies. Actors used Lazzi but also burle which were on the spot jokes and physical moves which usually had a joke involved. The most classic and traditional plot is that of the inamorati and that iolves two lovers that wish to get married but someone or multiple charecters are preventing them from getting married which then leads the lovers to ask for zanni (servants) for help. Usually the story ends happily and they end up getting married and this is the most famous plot of commedia dell'arte. Later this style moved and it became more popular as more performances were done and the style was enjoyed by the audience.