commedia dell'arte Flashcards
meaning of comedia dell’arte
the art of comedy. implying that there were proffesional skills and artistry used in performance.
when and where did this theatre emerge?
tuscany, italy in the mid 16th century.
what was it based on?
the forms of comedy dating back to the classical roman period
slapstick meaning
literally two long flat peices of wood, producing a smacking sound to highlight when one actor struck.
= figurately comedy thats broad, humourous, violent.
what are low and high forms of comedy? give explanations and examples of each
low: farce, slapstick comedy. physical acts like slipping on a banana peel. exaggerated, jokes. VULGAR behaviour and words, stereotypes.
high: verbal wit, puns, double meanings. SOPHISTICATED. satire, social conventions, society as a whole. verbal
what was the style of commedia dell’arte?
- did not use fully written play scripts, improv loosely written SCENARIO (brief outline of play)
- improvisation, had to be very experienced and good actors, to improv as such.
what were the FOUR characteristics of commedia?
give explanations of each
- improv (scenarios)
=worked from plot outline, - stock characters
= predetermined characters - lazzi (physical clowning, nothing to do with scenario)
- comedy (high and low)
low - vulgar, high=sophisticated
lazzi
stock comedic routines (physical comedy)
what was the outline?
form of a prompt book that was posted backstage (cues and scenes)
scenarios
brief outline of plot of play
what was the significance of scenarios?
- they were passed down from troupe to troupe (group of actors) over time.
when did the musical duets rehearse and why is this important?
it was written and performed before the performance.
- as the plays were an improvisation, this was different because they did not do improv, and knew what the plot and what they needed to say
= BUT THIS DOES NOT MEAN THEY HAD A LACK OF PREPERATION
what language did the actors speak? and why?
gromalot! (made up language, because they travelled across europe and cannot perform for foreign languages. ) or regional dialect so audience can understand stereotypes.
= made up language, but ensures the audience understands what is being said.
what was the sharing plan?
divided profits among members (democratic)
who would normally be in a team?
often a husband and wife team
what was the difficulty for commedia troupes?
they had to think on their toes, be awake, concentrating at all times, interpret gromalot.
what was the staging like at this time?
- travelled constantly, sometimes hired large room
- used outdoor stages STATIC BOOTH STAGE
- performed in public areas
- barrels, planks of wood, curtain backstage area for changing
what are masks and why were the masks important?
masks have clearly defined features, and they were important because they made characters instantly recognisable. “play the mask”
what were the body shapes and give explanation
- pin (vertical)
- wall (horizonal)
- ball forwards and backwards
(sagittal plane) - screw (all directions)
what were the commedia character types?
- stock characters
- straight and exxagurated characters
- masters and servants
what were the young lovers
innamorati
innamorata = girl
innamorato = boy
give a brief description of the innamorati
- young lovers, used own names
- dont wear masks as physical appearance is important
- scenarios centre around old men trying to keep the lovers apart for various reasons
who are the master characters?
give a brief description of each
- Pantalone (money minded middle aged, stingy, mean eg: jafar)
- Il dottore (stupid, obsessed with himself, proud.)
- Il capitano (italian or spanish, makes himself sound important, arrogant, clumsy, coward)
what is the correct word for servant characters in commedia? and how do they come as?
zanni
they come as comic pairs or duos
