Presented by Harmoni Florence amp Gerald Bentley What is Commedia Dell Arte Commedia dellarte translates as comedy of skills an improvisational style of theater which began in sixteenthcentury Italy and flourished in Europe for 200 years ID: 616505
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Slide1
Commedia Dell’ ARTE
Presented by: Harmoni Florence & Gerald BentleySlide2
What is Commedia Dell’ Arte?
Commedia dell’arte translates as “comedy of skills”: an improvisational style of theater which began in sixteenth-century Italy and flourished in Europe for 200 years.
Commedia Dell’Arte could also be known as Italian comedy. Italian troupes traveled around and did humorous presentations during the 16
th
century.Slide3
The exact origins of commedia dell’arte
are unclear. Most scholars believe it was influenced by ancient Roman and Greek comedy and by the medieval traditions of carnival acrobats and jugglers.The first recorded performances took place in Padua, Italy in 1545.A company consisted of anywhere from ten to fifteen performers.
The actors wore elaborate half-masks that exaggerated facial features to convey their character’s personality: a mask might have sunken cheeks and a long, pointy nose or chubby jowls with a pig-like snout.
What else is there to know??Slide4
Characters of Commedia
(top left) Pantalone- a merchant of Venice (of whom we'll have more to say later). He’s rich, he’s greedy, and he’s miserly
(top right)
Grantiano
- a pendant, usually a lawyer. Because Pantalone
and Grantiano are old male characters, they are reffered to as,”veechi”, which is Italian for old male characters (bottom left P. bottom right A.)Pedrolino and Arleechino- the servants of the two old men. Collectively they are known as
zanni
.
The word zany comes from the actual two
zanni
charcters above.. Slide5
Where were the presentations performed?
Most of the Commedia Dell’Arte presentations took place on the city streets, but some also took place on temporary stages.Slide6
Plays
LazziThe Comic Mask in the Commedia Dell’Arte
Triumph of PierrotSlide7
Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRAwpxUe-swhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ZUnaNTfTzuMSlide8
The Rise
By the end of the sixteenth century, popular commedia companies were traveling throughout Europe, performing in Spain, France, England, and Germany, as well as Eastern Europe.
The boisterous comedy influenced writers and performers all over the continent, including William Shakespeare, his fellow English playwright Ben Jonson, and French dramatist and actor Moliere.
Before the rise of
commedia dell’arte,
women were not generally permitted to perform in the theater.Slide9
Quiz
1.Where did some of the presentations take place?
a.City
Streets
b.Carnivals c.School d.Work centers
2.The translation for comedy of skills is Commedia
dell’arte
(T/F)
3.When did Commedia
dell’arte
begin? a.15th Century b.17th Century c.16th Century d.21st
Century4.Where was the first recorded performance? a. Canada b. England c
. Italy
d
. China
5.How many performers did the company consist?
a.20-25
b.15-20
c.10-15
d.5-10Slide10
Quiz
6. What were one of the facial features on the half-masks that were made? a.Pointy
nose
b.Big eyes c.Little
lips d.Thick eyebrows7. Commedia del arte was always performed on giant elaborate stages (T/F)8. Pedrolino invented commedia del arte (T/F)9.Arleechino was the servant (T/F)
10.The word zany comes from
a.The
two friends b.The two lovers
c. The two zanni d. The two pantsSlide11
References
http://books.google.com/books?id=Z7WYaq1jqsMC&dq=commedia+dell+arte&lr=&source=gbs_navlinks_shttp://www.factionoffools.org/history
http://www.humanracetheatre.org/commedia_dell'arte_AUG_7_SCREEN.pdf