Tag Archives: Zanni

Brighella gets paid

This example comes from ”Where´s the Book?” from 2014.Dottore is looking for his book that he needs to remember how to marry his daughter with Pantalone. When Brighella comes by he asks for help… Dott:          …and not here either. Brighella … Read the rest of this entry

Filed in 1 Commedia dell'Arte, Example texts | Comment Now

Arlecchino and Zanni gets a job

From”The Miracle Doctor” opened in 2101 in Stockholm, then toured northern Norway and Sweden. Arl:                        In Oh, I am so hungry I could eat a horse. Zan:                       In Oh, I am so hungry I could eat a donkey. Arl:                         … Read the rest of this entry

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Pantalone demands to sit down

Here is an example from ”Sex/six failures and a chair” played by my students in 2014. Pant:                  In But look… Hi once again! Are you still sitting here staring? Don’t you have any homes? And isn’t this that lazy bastard … Read the rest of this entry

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Women in Commedia dell’Arte (Part 1)

We have to start with admitting that Commedia dell’Arte was a very masculine form of theatre, at least if we see it from today’s perspective. It sprung out in a time when women, in the greater parts of Italy, just … Read the rest of this entry

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Commedia dell’Arte – the Name

The term Commedia dell’Arte was not used during the renaissance. It was used for the first time, the way we do today, in the eighteen century by Luigi Riccoboni in his book Histoire du Theatre Italien from 1728. At that … Read the rest of this entry

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Playing Commedia dell’Arte indoors

When playing indoors some things work a little different. Lightning for instance has to be as “flat” as possible, meaning that the ligthning has to be coming from a low point. That is to have the eyes of the mask … Read the rest of this entry

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Kalabalik

Here is a video of ”Kalabalik” the student show in Commedia dell’Arte from the spring of 2021 that I directed. (I am sorry for the bad fitting to the frame) See also:Det allra löjligaste (The Most Ridiculous)Sex fiaskon och in … Read the rest of this entry

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Commedia dell’Arte abroad

Commedia dell’Arte was definitely not just an Italian matter. It spread very soon all round Europe, above all in France, where Commedia dell’Arte was almost as at home as in Italy. When Gelosi and Zan Ganassa came to Paris in … 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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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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