Commedia dell'Arte introduction

Who are the the common character of Commedia dell'Arte?

Some of the common characters are:

Arlecchino:

He was a acrobat and wit, childlike  and amorous. He wore a mask looked a cat, motley collared clothe and it carried a bat and wooden sword.









Brighella:

Brighella is a cowardly who is sophisticated and roguish but would do anything for money. And was Arlcchino crony.

Il Capitano (the captain):

ll Capitano was a caricauture of a proffessional soldier. He looked bold and coward.















Where and how was it performed?

Commedia dell'Arte was based on the interaction of the traditional stock characters in improvised scenario providing a comic plot to the humorous climax. It was originated in streets and market places of the early Italian renaissance.

Most commedia troupe performed  outdoor towns and town pizzas on stage which they brought with them horse drawn cart in the stage with other props,equipment, costumes, ladder. The stage is usually built high (up till 2m) so that the spectators unobstructed view of the action. And giving actors a storage area and changing room underneath.  The troupes that was better performed in renaissance theatre such has palladio's theatre in vicenza France.









What was the basic performance structure?

It is a masked  form of a physical theatre that involves broad comedy and highly structured improvisation. The talent that Commedia artist was to improvise the comedy and re-establish the scene. It is very disciplined form of art that required virtuosity and strong sense of ensemble playing. 








what are some technical/design elements (props, costume set piece, music)

For doing commedia dell'Arte we must work from scenario as it will the the script for the action point. The length of each scenario is just few pages long. There is lazzi included. Bits of comic physical and/or verbal business where the actors know exactly every movement and every breath they are going to do. 

Sources:

http://italian.about.com/library/weekly/aa110800b.htm
http://maskmaker.com/commedia.html
http://shane-arts.com/commedia-history.htm
http://www.commedia-dell-arte.com/commediainfo.htm
http://www.theater-masks.com/about_commedia_dell_arte
http://www.nytheatre-wire.com/ss06021t.htm