Theatre History - Commedia Dell'arte

The most accurate translation of Commedia Dell'arte is that of The Art of Comedy which certainly sums up this style of theatre. Commedia first appeared in the 16th Century in Italy but would soon sweep across Europe, influencing the characters that we still see on stage and screen today.

Staging

Commedia actors used any type of theatre where one could be found, or they would create them or would perform without them.

Indoor Theater: 

The Baldracca now turned art gallery.

These were built in the homes of the lesser gentry or public spaces such as inns or stanzas which were multi-purpose meeting rooms. Stanzas were in use for much longer and were more available for public performance. The scenery and design were enhanced by scenery changing equipment. An indoor example is the Baldracca which was created as a public theatre by Medici in 1547.

Outdoor Theater: 

An outdoor Commedia performance.
If you look closer you'll see they are
wearing masks!

These were temporary stages elevated by 6ft scaffolding with the audience on three sides, much like a modern-day Thrust Stage. However, the most successful troupes preferred indoor theatres, only going outside to raise funds for an indoor performance or to give a preview to one of their shows.




Acting Style

Commedia actors used stock characters such as Zanni (servants), Vecchi (old men), Innamorati (lovers) and army generals such as El Capitan which were easily recognised by the audience. Alongside the rehearsed improvised comedy with clear techniques, simple staging, and funny plotlines, the actors used well-rehearsed stock physical gags. They didn't use language, instead using gibberish only so often saying their names because Commedia companies often travelled so language wouldn't have the same nuances across Italy, nevermind across the whole of Europe. The gibberish also gives rhythm and pace to the performance. The style can be defined as masked theatre that mocked powerful characters that were around at the time which was enhanced by physical movement as the audience wouldn't be able to the actor's facial expressions.

Popular Plays

Commedia was and still in an improvised form of theatre so there were no written plays but the themes of sex, jealousy, love, and old age were often 'discussed' in performance. Productions were often improvised during the performance to reflect on current local scandals to make them satirical which appealed to an audience. There are some accounts of situations being made so that Commedia could be an easily learnt style. For example,
the Scala Collection written in 1611 by Flaminio Scala contains fifty stock scenarios which detailed action to be done and contained no dialogue.



Why did people go? 

Most audiences came to see the performance rather than the plot lines which were often secondary to an audience's experience. The audience would have been rather joyous to see satirical current local events which would have definitely appealed.

Basis/Past

Commedia is linked to Roman and Medieval theatre and first appeared in Rome in 1551 and the first companies appeared by the mid 16th century such as Gelds in 1568. Most importantly, female roles were now beginning to be played by women which had previously not been allowed which shows a great step forward for women in theatre, especially before the rising of our beloved Shakespeare.

Costume

Each character has a distinct costume, some of which can be detailed below. The masks that were used were put on facing away from the audience and had distinct physicalities. For example, a pronounced nose directly linked to a character's sex drive!