commedia dell'arte

Question 1

meaning of comedia dell’arte

Answer 1

the art of comedy. implying that there were proffesional skills and artistry used in performance.

Question 2

when and where did this theatre emerge?

Answer 2

tuscany, italy in the mid 16th century.

Question 3

what was it based on?

Answer 3

the forms of comedy dating back to the classical roman period

Question 4

slapstick meaning

Answer 4

literally two long flat peices of wood, producing a smacking sound to highlight when one actor struck.

= figurately comedy thats broad, humourous, violent.

Question 5

what are low and high forms of comedy? give explanations and examples of each

Answer 5

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

Question 6

what was the style of commedia dell’arte?

Answer 6

1. did not use fully written play scripts, improv loosely written SCENARIO (brief outline of play)
2. improvisation, had to be very experienced and good actors, to improv as such.

Question 7

what were the FOUR characteristics of commedia?

give explanations of each

Answer 7

1. improv (scenarios)
   =worked from plot outline,
2. stock characters
   = predetermined characters
3. lazzi (physical clowning, nothing to do with scenario)
4. comedy (high and low)
   low - vulgar, high=sophisticated

Question 8

lazzi

Answer 8

stock comedic routines (physical comedy)

Question 9

what was the outline?

Answer 9

form of a prompt book that was posted backstage (cues and scenes)

Question 10

scenarios

Answer 10

brief outline of plot of play

Question 11

what was the significance of scenarios?

Answer 11

1. they were passed down from troupe to troupe (group of actors) over time.

Question 12

when did the musical duets rehearse and why is this important?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

what language did the actors speak? and why?

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

what was the sharing plan?

Answer 14

divided profits among members (democratic)

Question 15

who would normally be in a team?

Answer 15

often a husband and wife team

Question 16

what was the difficulty for commedia troupes?

Answer 16

they had to think on their toes, be awake, concentrating at all times, interpret gromalot.

Question 17

what was the staging like at this time?

Answer 17

1. travelled constantly, sometimes hired large room
2. used outdoor stages STATIC BOOTH STAGE
3. performed in public areas
4. barrels, planks of wood, curtain backstage area for changing

Question 18

what are masks and why were the masks important?

Answer 18

masks have clearly defined features, and they were important because they made characters instantly recognisable. “play the mask”

Question 19

what were the body shapes and give explanation

Answer 19

1. pin (vertical)
2. wall (horizonal)
3. ball forwards and backwards
   (sagittal plane)
4. screw (all directions)

Question 20

what were the commedia character types?

Answer 20

1. stock characters
2. straight and exxagurated characters
3. masters and servants

Question 21

what were the young lovers

Answer 21

innamorati

innamorata = girl
innamorato = boy

Question 22

give a brief description of the innamorati

Answer 22

1. young lovers, used own names
2. dont wear masks as physical appearance is important
3. scenarios centre around old men trying to keep the lovers apart for various reasons

Question 23

who are the master characters?

give a brief description of each

Answer 23

1. Pantalone (money minded middle aged, stingy, mean eg: jafar)
2. Il dottore (stupid, obsessed with himself, proud.)
3. Il capitano (italian or spanish, makes himself sound important, arrogant, clumsy, coward)

Question 24

what is the correct word for servant characters in commedia? and how do they come as?

Answer 24

zanni

they come as comic pairs or duos

Question 25

who are the servant characters?

give a brief description of each

Answer 25

1. Arelcchino (bad boy, talented acrobat, girls fall in love with him)
2. Brighella (power amongst servants, cruel, selfish, vulgar)
3. Pulcinnella (greedy, unlovable character, arrogant, argumentative)
4. Perdolino (young, gentle lover, gullible, mute, companion to pulcinella)
5. Columbina (young, clever, fashionable, seldom wears mask)
6. La ruffiana (greedy, cunning, viscious, sharp tongued, shady past)

Question 26

why is zanni different to master characters?

Answer 26

zanni are more younger and acrobatic characters that normally appear in comic duos, one clever and one stupid.