| Commedia Del Arte |
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)]] ''Commedia Dell'arte'' ( which began in the 16th Century and was popular until the 18th Century , although it is still performed today. STYLE Traveling teams of players would set up an outdoor stage and provide amusement in the form of Juggling , Acrobatics , and, more typically, humorous semi-improvised plays based on a repertoire of established characters and a rough storyline called Canovaccio . Troupes would occasionally perform directly from the back of their traveling wagon, but this is more typical of '' Carro Di Tespi '', a kind of travelling theatre that can be traced back to antiquity. The performances were improvised around a repertory of stock conventional situations, Adultery , Jealousy , Old Age , Love , some of which can be traced in Roman comedies of Plautus and Terence . These characters included the ancestors of the modern clown. The dialogue and action could easily be made topical and adjusted to Satirize local scandals, current events, or regional tastes, mixed with ancient jokes and punchlines. Characters were identified by Costume , Mask s, and even Props , such as the Slapstick . Lazzi are also used. THE CHARACTERS Many male ''commedia dell'arte'' characters were depicted by actors wearing masks, although the Amorosi (or ''lovers'') did not wear masks. Female characters, were usually not masked until the 1800s . Unlike their English contemporaries (see Shakespeare ), commedia troupes usually employed female actresses for female roles. The theatrical device of men in women's clothing and wigs, '' En Travesti '', was used for humour. In some cases, the characters were also traditionally considered as respectively representing some Italian regions or main towns. Often they are still now symbolic of the related town. Character list Here follows a list of the original Italian characters, with other English or French names, or descendant characters in Parentheses , and the towns/regions with which they became associated: 's '' Commedia Dell'arte '' player of Pierrot , ''ca'' 1718-19, traditionally identified as "Gilles" ( Louvre )]]
THE INFLUENCE OF THE COMMEDIA The ''commedia dell'arte'', with its stock situations, Stock Characters and improvised dialogue spawned many other forms of drama, including Pantomime and Punch And Judy . Richard Strauss used several of the characters in his opera '' Ariadne Auf Naxos ''. Aspects of ''commedia dell'arte'' also passed into the silent tradition of Mime . The Bohemian actor Jean-Gaspard Deburau (1796 -1846) brought the new forms of mime to Paris in the 1830s. He standardized the French image of Pierrot . The characters and Trope s of the ''commedia'' have also been used in Novel s, notably '' Scaramouche '', the 1921 Historical Novel by Rafael Sabatini , but also in more recent Sword And Sorcery and literary works, such as Michael Moorcock 's Jerry Cornelius stories and Midori Snyder 's award-winning novel ''The Innamorati''. THE COMMEDIA TODAY ''Commedia dell'arte'' has experienced periods of dormancy and revival since its inception. Commedia had all but disappeared when it was revived by Giorgio Strehler at the Piccolo Teatro of Milan . Current American ''commedia dell'arte'' troupes include The Dell'Arte School in Blue Lake , Tutti Frutti in San Francisco and I Sebastiani in New England. In England, the Ophaboom Theatre Company specializes in work rooted in Commedia Dell'Arte traditions, updated for modern audiences. The troupe has performed (in several language) throughout the British Isles and across Europe since 1991. FURTHER READING
The song Bohemian Raphsody by Queen was supposedly based on Commedia dell'arte. EXTERNAL LINKS
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