Research Portfolio: Commedia dell'Arte

Introduction

The Commedia dell'Arte (Comedy of Professional Artists/Actors) is a form of improvised comedy that was very popular within it's origins in Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries. The words within these comedies were not written down on a script, rendering them to come from the actors' own mind, hence it being improvised comedy. Since these words were not written down, the actors would work to a plot framework and make up their own words for the performance.

Aspects Of Commedia Dell'Arte:

The use of mime was an important aspect within Commedia performances, but the words should not be forgotten about. The Commedia dell'Arte used all areas of the performing arts within a performance.

These areas are listed as followed:

• Music
• Singing
• Dancing
• Acting
• Mime
• Acrobatics
• Juggling
• Magic

All of the actors in these companies knew the ways of the others so well that all of them could co-operate and play harmoniously together. Later, as time went on, some of the more popular plots were repeated many times. They have been written down and we can still play them today.

There are two different types of performances that Commedia does. These were known as Farce and Slapstick.

  

Farce is a performing strategy used in theatre, depicting a fast paced comedic performance, involving plot twists and turns, and producing unlikely, yet hilarious, situations for their characters. Farce can be seen used in 'Friends'.

Slapstick is a more physical aspect, involving more hysterical violence and physical actions between the characters, all the more engaging their audience members and bringing a vast amount of laughter. Slapstick can be seen used in 'Bottom'.

History Of Commedia Dell'Arte:

The companies of Commedia dell'Arte traveled to many countries, resulting in their popularity to increase exponentially over the years. In 1570, there were reports of of resident companies at the Austrian, Hungarian and Bavarian courts. The companies usually traveled to France more often than others, but at some time, whilst in Paris, the actors started to poke fun at the Parisian Authorities and things got so bad that a bye-law was passed forbidding the Italian actors in Paris to use 'vulgar speech and spread profanity'. 

This happening resulted in the Commedia dell'Arte actors to not speak during their performances, so this made other aspects become more prominent. Any words that would have been spoken were now to be sung or chanted, there were many more dances, more spectacle and there was also much more uses of Mime involved. 

The 'Mime' part of the performance began to develop so much over the years from then until the present, making Commedia dell'Arte a very strong kind of performance within the 'Physical Theatre' part of the Performing Arts Industry. Most of the actors in the early Commedia performances were had solo Mime scenes called 'Lazzi'. The traditional Mime gestures we see now in present day originated from traditional Commedia Mime plays, and some of the classical ballets were established within these plays also.

The Use Of Stock Characters:

In Commedia dell'Arte, there are many characters that are referred to as 'Stock Characters. A Stock Character is a type of character that appears in nearly every performance that links with Commedia. An example of this happening could be with the character Joey in 'Friends' (Joey plays the Harlequin Stock Character). Some of the Stock Characters that we see in Commedia performances can sometimes relate to an audience member as they may act the same way or know someone who is like the character. All of the Stock Characters have certain rules which the actor must follow, and each of them are listed in a hierarchy of status.

A few examples of Key 'Stock Characters' used in Commedia performances: 

Harlequin (Arlecchino) - This is one of the main Key 'Stock Characters' that we can see for nearly every performance in Commedia. The character of Harlequin can be linked, as mentioned above, to the character Joey from 'Friends' as he is lovable by all woman for his charm and good looks, whilst also remembering that he isn't clever, Harlequin is also amorous, this sometimes gets him into trouble as he doesn't think about other people, mostly himself. The costume of Harlequin is tight fitted and is fashioned with a diamond pattern with bright colors such as yellow and purple. His stance is very agile and he moves like a dancer with both flexibility and fluidness. Harlequin always goes after Columbina, whom is often seen as Pantaloon's daughter in Commedia performances. The Harlequin is also sometimes portrtayed as one of Pantaloon's servants alongside the Zanni Stock Character.

Columbina (Columbina) - Columina is one of the many few female Stock Characters witnessed within Commedia performances. She's often referred to as beautiful and extremely graceful, however, she is also cunning and will use her body to get her way. She would most likely be seen in a nicely fashioned dress that's worn to show her higher status. Her stance is a slight tilt from the hips to try and show off her best features. She is loved by both the Harlequin and Pierrot Stock Characters. She mostly goes for Harlequin also but she sometimes goes for over characters at the same time. We see this Stock Character being portrayed by the character of Rachael in 'Friends'. It is also a common rule in Commedia that the actress playing the Columbina Stock Character is more important than the role itself.

Pantaloon (Pantalone) - He is a mean old man and is often portrayed as a rich merchant. In some extracts of Commedia, he has been seen as Columbina's father. He has aches and pains, especially in his back and one of his legs and he is also short sighted. He wears very tight fitted clothes and yellow slippers with a black cloak. His stance when talking to someone is bent forward but when receiving information lent back. He is the top of the pecking order. He has money and his orders are usually obeyed. He is friends but also the nemesis of The Doctor Stock Character. Pantaloon has many servants, but he picks on the Zanni Stock Character the most.

The Use Of Masks:

In Commedia, one key feature are the Masks that are used in most performances. This feature was used for most characters to give the audience a better view of the characters status and feelings. For example, the Stock Character called Pantaloon (Pantalone) wears a mask that has very bushy eyebrows to show off his older age and it also gives a subtle feeling towards other characters and also the audience of how wise he is. 

Since the actors wearing the masks aren't able to show their facial expressions, they had to make do with acting with there body instead to tell the story of their character. This is one of the many reasons of why Commedia was so popular - it's been said to be melodramatic and it makes the audiences laugh because of it's slapstick humor.

Who Has Commedia Influenced:

Commedia has had a big influence on many different contemporary shows and films. A few examples can be the hit comedy show 'Friends' with nearly all the main characters having a relation towards one Stock Character.

• Joey = Harlequin
• Phoebe =Franceschina
• Ross = Pierrot
• Racheal = Columina
• Monica = Isabella
• Chandler = The Captain

Another influence is in Berkoffs performance of 'Metamorphosis' with 'The Lodgers'.  

The actor David Schwimmer, who played the character of Ross in 'Friends', has past education in Commedia dell'Arte and has added his knowledge and skill in the craft to several different slapstick scenes. 

Commedia dell'Arte has also influenced the Physical Theatre practitioner called Jacques Lecoq. He has taken the elements of masks and has evolved it to make more of a dramatic performance that include many styles of theatre.

Another fictional character that has had a huge impact on Contemporary Commedia is the character ‘Dell-Boy’ from the cult BBC Comedy ‘Only Fools and Horses’. This show also follows the Farce type of performance within Commedia alongside 'Friends'.

It is the character of ‘Dell-Boy’ who is the perfect representation of an early street market performer.  The actor who played this role, David Jason, shows high praise towards the works of Commedia dell’Arte by showing the modern audience just how far this particular performance style has come, and how it can still be admired and loved today by many interested in the comedy genre. 

‘Only Fools and Horses’ was so successful that other comedies we've seen on television have taken its style in a different concept – shows such as ‘Bottom’ is a great example since the actors for that show, Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson, take the style of Commedia to the utmost extreme with it's slapstick type humor, which is what also made it popular.

Who Had Influenced Commedia:

It may be possible that the performing art of Commedia dell'Arte may have taken some inspiration from Ancient Greek theatre. I say this because...

• They both use the feature of masks whilst also using bodily movements to help portray the characters feelings and emotions without use of speech.
• Both styles of theatre are considered to be in the 'Physical Theatre' category because they use more physical movements than verbal.
• Each and every actor on stage has a different purpose within the performance - for example, the Ancient Greeks had the main actors and 'The Chorus' whilst Commedia uses their 'Stock Characters'.

Conclusion: What Do I Think About Commedia Dell'Arte?

In my honest opinion, I both like and dislike the style of Commedia dell'Arte.

I like it because it's a form of acting that I've never experimented with before and it was exciting to work with for our workshop sessions. The main thing I liked about Commedia in general was the mask work as I like to act with my body more than verbal.

I didn't like Commedia also because of how limited your acting potential becomes. Actors go on stage with set rules as their chosen 'Stock Character' and they're not allowed to break from their personality. Alongside the fact that you have to perform as this same 'Stock Character' for the span of your Commedia career, it doesn't seem exciting to me and it'll get a bit repetitive after a while. If this wasn't the case when it came to acting in a Commedia style, I would actually enjoy performing it. If there was to be a time where I have to act as a 'Stock Character', my choices would be either Pierrot or Harlequin because of their similarity/familiarity towards my real life characteristics.

When I look towards 'Bottom', which is one of my favorite shows of all time because of its slapstick humor, I come to love the style of Commedia once more. If I was to perform in a more slapstick performance like 'Bottom', I'd consider making Commedia dell'Arte my top favorite style of Physical Theatre but anything other than that would downgrade it.

Perhaps in future sessions I'll come to get used to Commedia a little more but, right now, I'm not really fixed on it and I'd prefer to perform in different Physical Theatre styles such as Jacques Lecoqs work.