Tag Archives: Pantalone

Confidenti (The Confident) 1574 – 1639

The first time we hear about Confidenti is from 1574, during a tour in Cremona, Pavia and Milan. That part of northern Italy was their primary tour territory.Between 1570 and 1580 they were more or less tied to the Duke … Read the rest of this entry

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A list of actors from the heydays of Commedia dell’Arte

What we will be looking at are the actors from the most famous Commedia dell’Arte groups of its time. It is also those actors we have most and most interesting information about. Let us not believe that they are representative … Read the rest of this entry

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The church censoring Commedia dell’Arte (2 of 2)

The defense of Commedia dell’Arte was foremost the idea that it was an edifying source of moral learning both social and on a personal level, instead of attracting to sin. It exposed the folly, the gluttony, the excesses, the hypocrites … Read the rest of this entry

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3 reasons mask doesn’t use psychology

The characters of the masks are made of their physical limitations, posture, gestures and so on. It is only the outer of the masks that make up their character. There is no psychology possible, since it does not go through … Read the rest of this entry

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What is a mask?

A mask can be anything from a small clown nose to giant heads to be worn on big gantries. It can sometimes be hard to tell the difference between masks and puppets, make-up, costume, even props. I would define a … Read the rest of this entry

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Vulgar Comedy and the Church (Part 5 – Opposition to theatre and comedy)

In the sixteenth century we also see how puritanism gain power and how and the Counter Reformation takes place. They wanted to purify the popular culture. They tried to stop the carnival and official festivities, since they though that the … Read the rest of this entry

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Carnival and the popular feast (Part 3 – The structure of the celebration)

The carnival started by electing a king of the carnival, who would rule the town or village through the festivities. It was often the village idiot or someone with low status in the town, usually with a grotesque or diabolic … Read the rest of this entry

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Carnival and the popular feast (Part 2)

The carnival can be derived from ancient Rome and the Saturnalia. It was celebrated in Rome between 17 and 23 of December, up until the 5th century, to the glory of Saturn, the God. The coming golden age ruled by … Read the rest of this entry

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Carnival and the popular feast (Part 1)

As we have seen in Charlatano and the square in Commedia dell’Arte the market square and the life in the streets were a form of refuge from the hard everyday life and the oppression of the state and the church. … Read the rest of this entry

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The life among Commedia dell’Arte companies

Commedia dell’Arte was a very pragmatic art form. The purpose for the actors to act was simply to amuse their audiences, make money, and reach a better social status. But that didn’t make it dull or futile.  It was just … Read the rest of this entry

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