What is Pantalone obsessed with?

What is Pantalone obsessed with?

Pantalone is usually the father to one of the innamorati (the lovers), another stock character found in commedia. He is driven to keep his child and their respective lover apart. Pantalone is characterized as loving his money and having emotional extremes.

What is a characteristic of Italian commedia dell arte?

A special characteristic of commedia dell’arte are the lazzi. A lazzo is a joke or “something foolish or witty”, usually well known to the performers and to some extent a scripted routine. Another characteristic of commedia dell’arte is pantomime, which is mostly used by the character Arlecchino (Harlequin).

What are three characteristics of commedia dell arte?

Originating in Renaissance Italy, but achieving popularity across Europe, Commedia Dell’Arte is a special type of improvised comedy. It involves stock characters – comic servants, young lovers, self-important pedants and soldiers – each one recognisable by stylised costumes, masks and exaggerated gestures.

What are the elements of commedia dell arte?

The commedia dell’arte was a form of popular theatre that emphasized ensemble acting; its improvisations were set in a firm framework of masks and stock situations, and its plots were frequently borrowed from the classical literary tradition of the commedia erudita, or literary drama.

Which commedia dell’Arte characters did not wear masks?

Innamorati usually wore no mask, soubrettes/servettas usually wore no mask, and some zanni like Mezzetin, Scaramouch and Pedrolino have a longer documented tradition for going unmasked than they do for covering their faces.

What skills did commedia dell’arte actors need?

Improvisation. In spite of its outwardly anarchic spirit, commedia dell’arte was a highly disciplined art requiring both virtuosity and a strong sense of ensemble playing. The unique talent of commedia actors was to improvise comedy around a pre-established scenario.

Who was the Harlequin in the commedia dell’arte?

It was traditionally worn by the character Arlecchino (Harlequin in English) who was cast as a bit of a dim-wit, silly, simple minded person and perpetually hungry, again, in the Zanni genre. Arlecchino is one of the youngest characters of the comedy and the use of this character in the Commedia dell’Arte has been traced back to as early as 1593.

What makes Arlecchino a good character to play?

Arlecchino is a very ethereal character. The actor who plays him should be very acrobatic and capable of a wide variety of movement. Arlecchino is always moving. His knees are bent giving him a low center of gravity. Despite his lowness, he should appear as though he could spring up into the air at a moments notice.

Why is Arlecchino a stereotype of a Harlequin?

He has evolved into the Harlequin of later centuries and today, he is also a stereotype for fools, clowns, and pantomimes. As one of the lower ranking, lazier, and stupider servants, he is often abused by being yelled at or beaten (with slapstick stage combat) by his masters and others or never paid his wages.

What kind of costume does the Arlecchino wear?

These warriors, it was believed, would rise from the dead to play tricks on the living. Arlecchino’s costume is tight with multi-colored patches in either symmetrical or random patterns. He wears a black belt and a slapstick. A slapstick is made from two thin strips of wood that are seperated by a half inch piece of wood connected to the handle.