Tartaglia Commedia Del Arte Character

The Tartaglia character has a minor role in the Commedia Del Arte .He is known to be near sighted and with a terrible stutter , hence his name which is a translation from Spanish meaning "to stutter".Most of the time the Tartaglia is put in the class of the elderly group and has a profession like bailiff,lawyer,chemist or notary, this leaves his character in the void between servant class and noble class.

the costume of this Commedia Del Arte character is an over sized cloak, large felt hat and boots, long sword and huge moustache , and a cardboard nose.

the famous porky pig cartoon character is known to have been based on this Commedia Del Arte character. 

to see our selection of Italian Commedia Del Arte masks visit www.venetianmasquerademasks.co.uk

Commedia Del Arte Pierrot

The Name Pierrot is a nickname or shortened version of the name Peter or Italian Pedronlini .The  renowned Pierrot character of The Commedia Del Arte originated in the late 1600s with a troupe of Italian players called the Comedie-Itallenne who were at the time performing in Paris . Today the Pierrot Character is more famous in modern day culture with films ,art,books and poetry portraying him as the sad clown who pines for his love Columbine .The Columbine character usually laughs at his advances and couples with the Harlequin .

The costume of the Pierrot character is always white to symbolise his innocence , it consists of a loose blouse with overly large buttons and pantaloons .His face is always unmasked but covered in white and occasionally he will wear a frilled collar and hat, although since his reincarnation under the famous actor Jean -Gaspard Deburau he wears neither , just the iconic small black skullcap.It was also during this time that the Pierrot  became mute  due to the fact that the theatre Jean worked in was only licensed for  mime and acrobatics .

The major characteristics of the Pierrot is that he is part of the Zanni family of clowns but from the lowliest peasant stock and has neither the cunning or charm of the rest of the clowns .He is  a fool ,naive and always the butt of jokes in the Commedia Del Arte but still completely trusting .    a buffoon who is always on the periphery of the action giving what he believes is wisdom and advice but the rest of the characters think is nonsense and ridiculous.

In the 1800s the public and many romantic bohemian  artists had developed a deep sympathy for this dejected character and turned him from a fool into a version of themselves , a figure alienated and innocent struggling to fit into the strict world of "eat or be eaten".His frustrated  and futile pursuit of Columbine combined with his isolated ,out of touch and complete naivete of the world  ensured he was lifted from the  Commedia Del Arte and into the lager world of Myth.

To see our great range of Pierrot Masks visit us at www.venetianmasquerademasks.co.uk 

Commedia Del Arte El Capitano

El Capitano  Italian for The Captain is a Commedia Del Arte character who is often foreign . He  originates from around the 1600s and is based on the Spanish occupation of Italy during this time hence El Capitano is often  Spanish in the Commedia Del Arte plays.

The character tends to talk at great length about his military prowess and romantic flings  in his wish to impress everyone but mostly just impresses himself, as he has no idea about woman and would instantly run away if the need to fight arose. Greed is often a word associated with the El Capitano , as in the scenario where he is chosen to protect the female Immoretti but proceeds to set up a bidding war between all her suitors, and is known to often switch sides during conflict depending on who is winning .

the costume of the Commedia Del Arte  El Capitano is a military uniform and tricorn hat  which is worn and patchy to show his lack of money.His mask has a large nose and moustache which is usually turned up at the corners.Glasses are usually worn for his poor vision but the character insists its so his fierce glint wont outshine the sun.Because he is foreign a overly large ruff is worn in the Spanish fashion.His sword is just for show , and if he ever draws it it is always either too heavy to hold or wobbly to use , which emphasises his lack of courage , whilst his stance is straight with one hand on hip and the other placed on sword to show off.his comedy value is greatly shown when he is scared as he screams like a women and then is known to faint .

Because he El Capitano is a show off his titles are usually something like "Mountain Crumbler" and "Mountain Splitter" , But He often ends up with ridicules names like "The saviour Of Drunken Virgins".

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Commedia Del Arte Pantalone

The only official  date for the Pantolone  Del  Biscognosi  character meaning (Pantalone of the needy)  in Commedia Del  Arte is in 1550 , but it was known to have been around much earlier than this . he was one of the most important characters in the play being portrayed as a stingy ,decrepit old venetian merchant with an unpleasant personality  and at the top of the social order of the day .

everything about the character is based on money and his ego . from the Pantalone mask  and  his stance which is hunchbacked to impress on the audience his age and money grabbing ways to the way he falls backwards whenever news of financial distaer is relayed to him plus  thinking himself highly intelligent , but usually becoming the butt of tricks and jokes .

most commonly he is the father of one of the two young lovers or else the elderly widower who wishes to marry the young woman, and trys to keep them apart. his most common traits are his attempts at making passes at women only to be rejected every time . his role in the play is pivotal as the bad element keeping the happy lovers apart.

a modern portrayal of this is in the simpsons with the character  Mr Burns , who shows greed , misery, and the stinginess which sums up the pantalone exactly .

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Commedia Del Arte Mask Zanni

The Zanni or Zani is a servant , immigrant worker and  trickster commonly from the Lombardy venetian countryside . And is one of the most early and popular characters of the commedia Del arte. the Zanni is a variant of the Italian Gianni and refers to a single person or many .the Zanni was a character in his own right before being divided into a group of similar characters with specific traits. Two major types of  the divided Zanni character were the silly servant (Brighella, Truffaldino) and the cunning servants (Arllechinno, Pulcinella) but before developing into these sub characters and personalities the Zanni was the original.

An actor playing a Zanni character must be clever and equal in talent as his success always lied in his partner’s dialogue, meaning that the Zanni could be funny but if his partner faltered then Zannis wit would fail. The attributes of the Zanni was his stance is low to the ground as if to look like he has carried many heavy bags and chairs all his life .when walking he takes small tiny steps with his head pecking like a chicken .his voice is loud and course due to constantly trying to be heard in the city streets and markets.

He is mostly known as the stupid servant henchman of the character Pantolone .ignorant, loutish and with no self awareness, so that the simple act of thinking seems unnatural to him. Although later sub Zanni characters would develop a cunning and cleverness. The Zanni characters use to the storyline of the play is by being a character who contributes to the confusion going on. And was also known to take items such as bags, food and letters from people.

Usually the Zanni costume consists of baggy white clothes which were the dress of the Italian peasants of the time, with a peaked hat and wooden sword .the Zanni mask was a protruded nose which the longer it was meant the more stupid the Zanni.

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History Of The Commedia Del Arte

The Commedia Del Arte was established in Italy during the 1500s and was known as a performance characterised by masks. The translation of the term Commedia Del Arte means comedy of craft, and the object of this form of theatre was it was improvised with humour instead of a scripted production.

Although its roots date back to the roman empire and Greek theatre , the earliest known commedia  troupe were called the Gelosi who received patronage and protection from the king of France himself .

It is also important to note that Commedia Del Arte were the first to enjoy having female roles played by females , although this view wasn’t shared by the Italian clergy who described them as prostitutes who infused men with carnal desires , and attempted to have them banned .it wasn’t until the Napoleonic period that Commedia  Del Arte was outlawed .

The plot lines tended to include themes of adultery, jealousy, old age and love, drawing influence from current events and topics of the time. The most classic plot would involve two young lovers wishing to be married, but thwarted by an elderly person who wishes to have one of the young lovers for himself .this leads to the too doomed lovers asking help from the servants with typically the young lovers marrying. The players relied heavily on practical jokes and on the spot improvised episodes whilst their heavily rehearsed jokes, dialogue and actions could be applied to different regions they travelled in with different in tastes and gossip. This often led to most audiences coming to see the performers and the plot line taking second place.

Players tended to perform outside without scenery, just using a variety of props. The cities and towns often funded them for their festivals, but many troupes were patronized by the nobility as well. The most successful of the troupes had to be able to travel throughout Europe and perform in front of royalty and nobility.

Some of the most famous actors and actresses were Dionisi Martinelli who was famed for his roles playing Arllechino and was honoured by the queen of France. Whilst Isabella Andreini was a member of the Compagnia Dei Comica Gelosi who performed for the highest circles in France, Italy and Spain .she was especially known for making her character less dull by tearing her clothes off on stage.

Many of our modern day comedy characters are drawn from the Commedia Del Arte such as the clown and punch and Judy.

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the Commedia Del Arte Lovers

The Innamoreti which is Italian for lovers, are the characters whose sole purpose in the play is to set the plot for the rest of the show, and who must despite all obstacles must reunite.

The lovers are always over dramatic in everything they say and do, often acting in childlike ways. a good example of this is in how when the lovers are separated they lament and moan about their separation but once united need the help of servants or go betweens  to express their feelings for each other. Another example is how they stomp, pout, cry and whine and generally have a tantrum if they are not getting their own way.

Essentially the lovers are in their own worlds throughout the play, and are in love with the idea of being in love. And shows them as too unintelligent to figure out how to overcome the obstacles in their way, this leads to the comedy characters helping and ridiculing the lovers.

The relationship between the lovers is more to do with there being interested and overtaken in the idea of romance rather the other lover. The characters never openly acknowledge their feelings for each other due to nerves and more commonly they bicker and fight like children , also showing there childishness. The lovers always reconcile and marry in the end; often the lovers will interact with the audience by either calling for advice, help or even to flirt.

Their physical attributes are unique in that they are the only characters to not wear masks but instead both wear lots of makeup. The lovers are always young, attractive, selfish, elegant and courteous. The female wears rich silks and flash expensive jewellery whilst the male wears military attire and a wig. Both stand with a posture to indicate pride with their chests and feet pointing outwards. The lovers always have the same names in the plays either Cinzio, Silvio, Ortenssio for the men and Angelica, Isabella and Flaminia for the female .there speech is elegant and musical with them often singing and reciting poetry leading to the audience and other characters not taking any of their dialogue to seriously.

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ideally if you would like a couples mask why not try the his and hers mask selection.