COMMEDIA DEL’ARTE VS SHORTLAND STREET This fifteenth century form of Italian theatre and this modern day soap opera actually have a lot in common, believe it or not. Some similarities they have are the use of stock characters. Shortland Street uses stock characters such as the old meddling lady, the sensitive new age nurse, the lonely doctor, the coffee shop owner, the bitch chick and the head of the clinic. When one of the characters die off they are immediately replaced by a new character with the same personality - when Marge went, Moira came in and now they have Yvonne. They sometimes have repetitive story lines, Lazzi’s such as the car crash, the marriage bust up, the death of someone just before their marriage etc, and the Burlas are the every day storylines. Commedia Del’arte was the popular entertainment of the fifteenth century and Shortland Street is the popular soap of these days. Both the Commedia plays and soaps use the use of current events, obsessions and interests in their storylines, such as if there was a big emphasis on teenage suicide, Shortland Street would write that in their scripts.

STOCK CHARACTERS Commedia Del’arte is an Italian form of theatre that used stock characters. Since there were many groups of Commedia Del’arte actors, they needed to have stock characters so the audiences they performed to would know the characters and what they were like. They also used stock characters so many different actors could play the same one. Stock characters were very stereo typical and had outrageous walks, voices and characteristics. Such characters are Zanni, the lowest, poorest servant ever who always mucks things up, the doctor who is a fake and isn't really a doctor, the old man who is old, rich and scroogy who wants to get the chick and the brainy servant who everyone thinks is dumb, but really she is the most intelligent.

STOCK CHARACTERS You will search the internet for information about performing one of the characters from the list below. You will compile a fact sheet on your character that includes information about their personality, status, costume, walk, and mask. Include pictures of the mask and costume. You will work in groups with the people researching the same character as you discover you character in terms of movement and performance. You will perform an introduction to your character in role to the class (min 1 min duration). Later on you will work in mixed groups of characters and develop lazzi and burla that you will perform to the class in costume. Choose from the following characters: BrigellaColumbinaIsabella ArlechinnoPantaloneIl Dottore Il CapitanoTartagliaMagnifico Zanni (Pulcinella)IsabellaLelio

MONTEBANKS AND THE ACTORS As Commedia Del’arte characters traveled from city to city in Italy, they needed to have a movable stage. Their movable stage was called a Mountebank, and it was 6 feet high and 4 feet by 4 feet in the floor. It was 6 feet high so that the audiences could see them onstage no matter where they were standing. It was effective as they could attract the attention of someone quite a while away as they stood out in the marketplace. They needed to stand out so that people would come and see them and pay them money, because no audience equaled no money to the Commedia actors. They had to have good use of the stage because it was so small.

MONTEBANKS AND THE ACTORS

MASKS The Commedia Actors wore masks because of the following reasons: * They enabled different actors to play the same character as was the entire point to the stock characters of Commedia Del’arte * They enabled shoppers at the markets to be able to recognize the actors whilst they were performing on stage * To stop actors real emotions coming through so they they wouldn’t be corpsing * To enable men to play women characters and women to play men characters * They enabled actors to totally get into character and not be part of themselves, but a whole character * They showed the characters emotions and facial features all the time.

COLUMBINA MASK Unmasked, but the eyes wide and well made-up. As she is not considered a part of the Innamorati, she often wears a mask that usually just covers her eyes. WALK she walks with a slight flick at the end of her foot at each step. Puts her hands on her hips a lot. PERSONALITY Very gossipy and very talkative. She is a busy body like Moira from Shortland Street. She is very intelligent but noone realizes until it is too late. She is very independent and holds her own well and will never be hungry or non clothed like Zanni. She is a very nice person as well. COSTUME Better dressed than male servants since she is a lady’s maid. Mob cap and apron, wearing a ‘folly’ dress underneath. Skirts usually fell just below the knee. Neckline of bodice low and often frilled. Several colors of material. The Soubrette wore a large, wide apron, and her personable figure refused all persuasions of a corset. Her costume was that of a woman of the people. The cut and quality of the costume should correspond with her counterpart, usually Arlechinno or Harlequin. The coloring could go in different ways depending on her relationships in the ensemble or scenario. She can be in a similar scheme to Arlechinno (where she is sometimes known as Arlecchino with similar diamonds and triangles), or if she is assigned to a rival family of Arlechinno's, she can be in that scheme. In cases where she is an independent character, she can be in blacks and whites in the spirit of a French Maid.

PANTALONE PERSONALITY Pantalone is an old man and he is interested in only getting the girl into bed. He is a miserly old man who only cares about his money and does all he can not to lose it. He tries to raise his social status by getting aquatinted with popular people to try and raise his popularity. WALK he has a low center of gravity and his pelvis sticks out from his body. He takes small steps and shuffles along and cant move very fast. He always has his hands over his money belt. Walks like a side winding crab. He can only walk at one pace - no matter what his feet do his legs cant go any faster. MASK FEATURES Long, hooked nose with bushy eyebrows, sometimes also a moustache. Pointed beard just forward as if to meet the nose coming down, thus giving a very dynamic profile. – Wore a dark brown mask with a hooked nose. He wore a brown mask with a prominent hooked nose, and, occasionally, round spectacles. The moustache was Grey and sparse. A white beard stretched from ear to ear, and came to one or two points well in advance of the chin, so that the tufts shook ludicrously as soon as Pantalone began to talk COSTUME he wears red stockings, a red jacket, a red skull cap, a black cloak and red Turkish shoes. He ALWAYS has a money belt and sometimes a cod piece.

IL DOTTORE COSTUME Black academic dress satirising Bolognese scholars. Long jacket with black coat over-reaching to his heels, black shoes, stockings and breeches, and black skull-cap. Lolli, in mid-seventeenth century, added a wide ruff round the neck and a very wide-brimmed black felt hat. Black robe/jacket with traditional academic cap. PERSONALITY he pretends he is a doctor and he makes up big, long latin words to make people think the worst. He never attended medical school and thinks he is above everyone else as he is intelligent. WALK He walks in figures of 8 in small mincing steps. He puts his head forward. His body slouches while he thinks and then rises up again when he gets the solution MASK FEATURES His mask covers the nose and the forehead only. Has a bulbous nose to show he is a drinker and actors cheeks are reddened too

LAZZIS Lazzis are short funny pieces inserted into a Commedia play for entertainment. They involve one or two characters. They are used if audience requests them or if the actors can see that the audience is getting bored. MY LAZZI Zanni is delivering a letter when he sees a chocolate cake and slowly starts drooling for it and then he imagines the letter as the chocolate cake and slowly eats it and then he realises what he has done and tries to cough it back up but it wont. So he decides to try and write a new one and he gets all the words messed up like darling changes to donkey and love turns to loathe and it turns into a funny all out hate letter