Commedia dell'Arte

Commedia dell'arte is a term that came into use after the Renaissance to describe a type of theatrical entertainment that began in Italy in the mid-1500s. It was best known for its improvised, or unscripted, performances. The shows employed familiar characters and situations, often involving acrobatics and slapstick comedy.

The earliest written evidence of commedia dell'arte is a contract signed by eight men at Padua, Italy, in 1545. The signers agreed to travel together and earn money by performing comedies. By the 1560s, commedia dell'arte performers, or comici, were setting up stages in city squares and collecting money from passersby. At the same time, more prosperous and organized troupes appeared with popular leading ladies. These troupes, such as the Gelosi and the Accesi, performed before elite* audiences. In addition to improvising comedies, they also performed scripted pieces. In 1589 the Gelosi company performed at the wedding of a member of the Medici family. An account of the show describes the female star playing a scene as a madwoman, raving in Spanish, Greek, French, and Italian to mimic the characters played by her fellow actors. She also sang French songs in honor of the bride, who was French.

Commedia dell'arte performances were three acts long, shorter than the five acts that were customary for serious drama at the time. The plots changed constantly but usually revolved around a core of standard or stock characters. Actors often specialized in performing specific roles. For example, every company included female servants and a pair of young lovers who spoke in poetic language. Other important characters included a doctor, a wealthy and pompous gentleman named Pantalone (sometimes called Pantaloon), and clowns. These characters usually wore masks or other accessories on their faces. To accommodate the many minor parts, such as innkeepers, peasants, policemen, magicians, and gypsies, actors often played more than one character. Music and dance were also essential to commedia dell'arte. The comici sang, danced, and played instruments.

As acting was not a respected profession, the comici lived on the margins of society. Hungry for any material they could sell onstage, they often borrowed stories from other comedies. Common plots included conflicts within families and love affairs aided by clever servants, all ending happily in marriages and family reunions. Many educated writers looked down upon improvised comedies because the plots were often stolen and the material tended to be obscene. However, some literary playwrights learned from the comici how to enliven their plays with variety, physical action, and fuller roles for women.

In the late 1500s the comici began touring abroad. They went to France, Spain, England, and as far east as Poland. Commedia dell'arte was popular with French audiences, creating an image of Italian comedy that later influenced the style of the famous French actor and playwright Molière. By the late 1600s, however, commedia dell'arte had become somewhat mechanical and routine. A more realistic form of comedy replaced it for some time. Scholars rediscovered commedia dell'arte in the 1800s, and performers revived it in the 1900s.

(See alsoHumor; Italian Language and Literature; Popular Culture. )

* elite

privileged group; upper class