Commedia Dell’ ARTE - PowerPoint Presentation

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