Commedia dell'Arte

This week we have started working on our new unit on Commedia dell'Arte, which is Italian for play of the professional arts. This type of theater, which is essentially comedy, comes from 16th century Italy and is characterized by masks, a variety of stock characters, comedy techniques such as puns, irony, satire, and most commonly slapstick humor, along with lazzi which is comedic stage business: it consists of comic actions and dialogue which keep the comedy moving. There are a variety of different stock characters, which have set the foundation for modern comedy and can be seen in present-day TV shows and movies. These stock characters consist of the Zanni, which are the naïve lower class and are further divided into Arlecchino (the dumb, limber Zanni) and Brighella (the boss of Arlecchino: the more intelligent Zanni who pretends to be many things). Next, there is Capitano, the arrogant upper-class man who fakes manliness and courage. Then there is Dottore, who is also upper class yet he fakes intelligence and knowledge. After, there are the lovers who are sons and daughters of aristocrats, and then there is Pantalone, who is an upper-class rich and miserly man who is constantly deprived of sex and therefore constantly lusts after women. After learning about the various types of stock characters and the different comedy techniques, I have started identifying these in the TV shows and movies that I watch (Adam Sandler is almost always Brighella), but I have also learned the importance of using these characters and comedy techniques in my theater performances in order to entertain the audience and make them laugh. I have also learned that it is easier to perform an improvisation after knowing and understanding these various stock characters, because now I can easily draw from one these stereotypes on the spot if nothing else is coming to my mind. At the end of the class, Alia and I performed a skit in which I come to a French restaurant mistaking it for an Indian restaurant, and since I forgot to bring my glasses I also accidentally steal bread from the customer sitting on the table next to me (these actions can be seen as lazzi). At the end of the skit, Alia, who is the waitress, understands that I was mistaken and she informs me that I am not at the Indian restaurant but at the French restaurant, and also that the bread is not mine but another customer’s.