Tag Archives: lazzi

Improvisation in Commedia dell’Arte (Part 1)

How much in a Commedia dell’Arte show during the renaissance that was improvised is something we will never know. What we know is that a lot was written down: lazzi, burle, some monologues and dialogs, battute, concetti and we can … Read the rest of this entry

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What we really know about Commedia dell’Arte (Part 1)

No one can say what a Commedia dell’Arte show really looked like in the renaissance. Neither do we know about the relations between the actors and the rest of the population or what is myth and what is true in … Read the rest of this entry

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Prolog or opening in Commedia dell’Arte

The introduction to a Commedia dell’Arte show in very important. It does not only have to present the different masks so that a modern audience will know them at an early stage in the show, it must also introduce the … Read the rest of this entry

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Lazzo in Commedia dell’Arte

This might be the most known term in Commedia dell’Arte, though it is hardly known at all to those who are not involved in Commedia dell’Arte. It is not used anywhere else, but very often used in Commedia dell’Arte. What … Read the rest of this entry

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Canovaccio in Commedia dell’Arte

If we go back to the heydays of Commedia dell’Arte the concept of canovaccio becomes more complicated. It was used both as a full scenario or just a plotline in a scenario. The word means “what’s on the canvas”. But … Read the rest of this entry

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The scenario in Commedia dell’Arte (Part 2)

The scenes in a scenario changes as a new mask enters the stage, but not when a mask leaves the stage. Let’s call this Italian scene division in contrast to French scene division, where they change scenes in both entries … Read the rest of this entry

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The scenario in Commedia dell’Arte (Part 1)

The word scenario comes from the Greek word “skene” and means stage. It is not used in the early days of Commedia dell’Arte. Instead words as centone, soggetto or just commedia as well as canovaccio that has its own post. … Read the rest of this entry

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