1. 1 Italian Theatre to 1700 (Commedia dell’Arte)
The development of a public, professional theatre in Italy came primarily from the traditions of commedia dell’arte.
Commedia dell’arte = “comedy of professional players”
Commedia all’improviso` = “improvised comedy”
Commedia a soggetto = comedy developed from a plot, theme, or subject
Commedia erudita = learned comedy; comedy of the court and academies, which always used scripts of a certain type
Historians don’t know when exactly commedia dell’arte began, but the first clear reference to a performance comes from 1568.
Before 1600 it had spread throughout Europe and was a typical and popular form of theatre into the 18th century.
Peeter van Bredael, Commedia dell'arte Scene in an Italian Landscape
Image: 1

2. 2 Italian Theatre to 1700 (Commedia dell’Arte)
The two fundamental characteristics of commedia dell’arte were improvisation and stock characters.
Actors worked from a plot outline, from which they improvised dialogue and action.
Each performer always played the same character with its fixed attributes and costume.
Some factors limited improvisation:
Each actor usually played the same character throughout his career, which led to repetition of lines or stage business
Comic bits (lazzi, singular lazzo) were standardized to be organized into categories
Rhymed couplets were used to close scenes and were probably memorized.
Actors playing the young lovers (2nd actor & actress) were encouraged to keep notebooks of poetry & literature
However, no actor could ever be certain what another actor would do next, and so they had to concentrate on the moment at hand (improvise).
Though troupes traveled and had their own ideas, many similarities between characters and stage business can be found.
Image: 2

3. 3 Italian Theatre to 1700 (Commedia dell’Arte)
Scenarios were refined over a period of time and passed down from one troupe to another.
Over 1000 scenarios have been preserved
The oldest 50 were published by Flaminio Scala in 1611.
Most scripts were comic, though a few dramas and melodramas exist.
Every troupe had their own stock characters unique from those in other troupes.
However, certain character types were repeated among troupes.
A modern publication of Flaminio Scala’s commedia scenarios.
Image: Amazon.com 3

4. 4 Italian Theatre to 1700 (Commedia dell’Arte)
Characters were separated into masked & unmasked.
Unmasked were usually the young lovers, the innamorato (m) and innamorata (f).
The innamorato was often opposed in love affairs by an older man, sometimes even his father.
The innamorata could be courted by both young and old men.
These served as a norm against which all other characters could be compared.
They were depicted as witty, handsome, well-educated, and sometimes naïve.
Their costumes were fashionable garments of the day.
Nearly every troupe had two pairs and emphasized their differences.
Illustrations of the innamorati.
Image: 4

5. 5 Italian Theatre to 1700 (Commedia dell’Arte)
Masked characters are divided into masters & servants.
Of the masters, the most common were Capitano, Pantalone, and Dottore.
The servants were the most varied of all commedia dell’arte characters.
As a group they are called zanni.
Most scripts required at least two of these characters, one clever and the other stupid, but the number could vary from 1 to 4.
They typically featured prominently in intrigues.
Their actions kept the plots moving as they sought to help or twart their masters.
Typically they were male, but there were occasionally fantesca who served the innamorata, hostesses of an inn, wives of servants, or objects of an old man’s affection.
Which characters can you recognize in these illustrations?
Image: 5