Commedia dell’Arte and the Development of Modern Comedy: An Enduring Influence
In sixteenth and seventeenth century Italy, a popular and homegrown performance style dominated the theatre world: commedia dell’arte. Commedia dell’arte was developed as a dramatic practice that relied on masks, comedic tropes, and stock characters recognizable to every audience member. Some of these famous characters were Arlecchino, the acrobatic servant-clown to two masters; Colombina, the “mischievous maid;” and Pantalone, the old, often wealthy, merchant (“Commedia dell’arte characters”). These characters often represented different social statuses and additionally commented on Italian and Venetian social structure in a satirical or comedic way. According to John Kenrick, actors also frequently “mixed traditional jokes with topical references to current events” in improvised comedic scenarios (Kenrick, Musical Theatre: A History, 13). Commedia dell’arte also created new models for achieving success as actors, making a living in the arts, and, most importantly, revolutionizing drama and “sparking many innovations that are now taken for granted” (“A Well-Made Comedy: The Legacy of Commedia dell’Arte & Carlo Goldoni”). The influence of commedia dell’arte can still be seen in musical theatre and modern comedy. The reason for its enduring influence is its adaptability to changing trends, making commedia dell’arte a lasting dramatic technique and performance practice relevant to almost all forms of theatre and entertainment today.
Commedia dell’arte, from its inception, revolutionized theatre in many notable ways. One of the most important tenets of this style was the use of stock characters in different scenarios that were consistently recognized by audiences, cementing the commedia’s comedy of “types” in the dramatic canon. Character “masks” in the theoretical sense still exist in modern theatre today, in that similar recurring character types are still portrayed in today’s comedy. Nicole Klass says of modern sitcom characters:
“Many sitcoms reuse a common mixture of character archetypes to achieve reliable comedic situations from week to week….stock characters in sitcoms can be justified by the archetypes associated with sitcoms: the naïve fool (Fez in That 70’s Show, Gilligan in Gilligan’s Island), the sage, or problem solver (Ross Geller in Friends, Debra Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond), the comic relief (Phoebe in Friends, Jack McFarland in Will and Grace), etc.” (Klass, “Moliere and Commedia dell’arte: Past, Present, and Future,” 88–89).
Perhaps the most recognizable character type today is Arlecchino, the patch-jacketed servant sometimes to two masters, whose signature style involves the use of a slapstick — two wooden boards tied together that, when hit, sounded like someone being slapped. Slapstick is still one of the most popular forms of comedy today. Look at The Simpsons, one of the most successful television shows of all time; its use of “low comedy” includes slapstick, as Homer, a foolish, Arlecchino-like character, frequently gets hurt for the intention of making the audience laugh. The use of this type of comedy creates a suspension of disbelief in which the audiences know that the character or characters will not be permanently harmed (“Writing The Simpsons: A Case Study of Comic Theory”). The same goes for Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean. The bumbling Englishman is known for getting into unfortunate predicaments that affect himself and those around him, which is a situational offshoot of physical slapstick. Atkinson’s character is still arguably one of the most comically physical characters in pop culture and television. This is an example of another major influence of commedia dell’arte: biomechanics (“How Commedia dell’Arte Influences Modern Comedy”).
Commedia dell’arte actors viewed their bodies as machines; because their own faces were obscured by character masks and therefore stuck in essentially one expression, they had to rely on the rest of their bodies to portray the characters they played. Specific movements for specific characters clarified the figures and their relationships with each other even more (“How Commedia dell’Arte Influences Modern Comedy”). Furthermore, this emphasis on biomechanics reveals a connection to how new choreological styles have come about, especially in modern musical theatre, acting, and dance. For example, Laban is a modern style of dance that explores all possible ways in which the human body can move. Even many acting techniques, such as the work of Stanislavski and the Viewpoints technique, are based on physicality and an actor’s connection to their body. This especially is associated with an emphasis on training and specificity in modern theatre. Originally, commedia characters were not consistent in their actions throughout plots or between different shows, yet audiences were still able to recognize them with ease. This points to the inherent ability of humans to acknowledge stereotypes, tropes, and archetypal characters, which becomes even more apparent as commedia and theatre in general have evolved to be more formal.
Even before these modern examples, there are two figures in the classical theatre world who understood commedia dell’arte as a pivotal and important dramatic technique and not just a comedic form. First, Shakespeare recognized commedia as a “cultural phenomenon,” and there are many commonalities evident between farcical Shakespearean plays and commedia character types. For example, Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Dottore in Love’s Labors Lost are clearly both drawn from the “Dottori” character type. (Drake, “Commedia Dell’Arte Influences on Shakespearean Plays: The Tempest, Love’s Labor’s Lost, and the Taming of the Shrew,” 16). Moliere, another legendary historical theatre figure, adapted the Italian styles of the commedia to translate to French audiences. Moliere’s works show a close relationship to Italian dramaturgy and performances practices, which allowed for this adaptation. Additionally, because Italian plots were so well-crafted, it was indeed practical, not plagiarism, to use these plots on a smaller theatrical scale to be seen by French audiences (Andrews, “Molière, Commedia Dell’arte, and the Question of Influence in Early Modern European Theatre,” 447). The fact that commedia so heavily influenced both Shakespeare and Moliere in their presentation of English and French works, respectively, proves its enduring foothold in the theatrical canon. Commedia dell’arte has even influenced opera composers, particularly in opera buffa (Italian) and opera comique (French). Offenbach’s operettas expressed the “subversive” power of comedy and displayed a particular social status, as commedia often did, and gave way to more realistic, light, and farcical plots while still incorporating grand production elements — a common practice even in modern musical theatre (Zvara, “Commedia dell’arte and the Evolution of Music Theatre in the First Third of the Twentieth Century,” 148). Commedia dell’arte, of course, also influenced another homegrown Italian style: opera buffa. Opera buffa, especially the work of Donizetti down to Rossini, utilized the poetics of commedia dell’arte, especially its contention of realism versus nonrealism. Donizetti especially took elements of commedia’s comedy of “types” or groups of defined characters, inheriting this view from Carlo Goldoni’s restructuring of the performance practice (Zvara, 149).
What is it that made commedia so central to the development of these classical and modern works of theatre and opera? It is its adaptability and simple nature that draws artists to the style and practices in the modern dramatic age. Beginning in the seventeenth century, commedia dell’arte began to move away from strictly improvisational comedy to scripted, fully realized theatrical works (“A Brief History of the Commedia dell’Arte”). Additionally, one of the most influential figures in the commedia was the aforementioned Carlo Goldoni, who sought to reform commedia dell’arte from its crude improvisational origins and turn it into what he called the “theatre of the professional” (“A Well Made Comedy”). His reform allowed for the emergence of a new dramatic technique, rather than merely a crude, casual type of theatre. This change reflects the eventual influence this new technique would have on future generations of dramatic artists and is early evidence of the art form’s adaptable nature. Vladimir Zvara claims there is an apparent connection between the renascence of commedia and avant-garde styles in Europe; the commedia dell’arte was considered a “mode” of theatre in the time of modernism, which is why so many artists turned to it in their work (Zvara, 147).
Zvara further explains that there are several reasons why this is true in the context of modernism. First, modernists sought to develop an age of anti-illusionism, favoring realistic emotional identification. The simplicity and explicit physicality of the commedia dell’arte contributes to genuine expression of emotions. Second, modernists sought to make art more visual, rather than literary and textual. Commedia originated as physical and verbal improvisation, not relying heavily on text but rather on outward expression. Today, this is extremely influential on musical theatre, which emphasizes design and other visual, physical elements, including choreography. Third, there was a desire to disassociate and permutate the functions of characters. Modern theatre seeks to deconstruct character types and roles; as mentioned before, consistency was alien in the commedia, and the same goes for experimental work in the modern era. Fourth, modern artists began to give greater significance to detail. While characters were portrayed as less consistent, as was the tradition in the origins of the commedia, an attention to other details created new models for art. Fifth, and finally, there was an eschewal of “high” artistic ambitions. In the avant-garde era, artists rejected idealism and had a stronger desire for new creative concepts, taking in elements of previous or more “trivial” forms and adapting them to their own modern work (Zvara, 154–155). These reasons give significant weight to the adaptability of commedia dell’arte. With the reemergence of commedia dell’arte practices in the avant-garde era, it has been proven that it is easier to adapt a simpler form into something new or to incorporate simpler elements into experimental works, rather than trying to recraft commedia itself into a more complex form. Thus, commedia dell’arte is adaptable in two different ways: (1) it is itself a recraftable form, as shown in Goldoni’s reformation of the genre and Shakespeare and Moliere’s adaptation for audiences outside of Italy, and (2) its individual styles and elements are themselves able to be incorporated into modern works, which in turn adapts modern styles.
Commedia dell’arte’s influence on modern comedy, theatre, and music theatre is highly evident, and can be credited to its simple form and continually developed dramatic techniques. In addition, its comedic styles are universal. Much of what was funny during the time the commedia was developed is still considered funny today. A lot this traces back to the physical comedy of the commedia dell’arte and to the recognizable, predictable characters and tropes it popularized. Audiences are highly visual; the commedia allowed both classical and avant-garde artists to incorporate visual forms into their work, as well as the dramatic practices of the actors that allow for characters to come alive through specific physical choices. Arguably, this is also a reason why training is emphasized in today’s theatre world. The importance of the actor as a working “machine,” technically, vocally, and physically, can be traced back to the commedia dell’arte practice of biomechanics and the devoted use of masks, in addition to Goldoni’s recrafting of the genre as a professional, formal art form. But while these practices still have a foothold in modern-day theatre, what elements of the commedia dell’arte have not survived in their original form? Masks still exist today, but they are not as commonly used in their original form and are more regularly seen as theoretical devices or referenced in general character elements. Actors and designers today have also developed better, more varied ways of portraying characters. Furthermore, characters are more complex and consistent; stock characters still exist, but in a more fully developed nature. Still, these slightly eroded practices are in the end related to the adaptable nature of the commedia dell’arte. The commedia has proven to be infinitely reworkable and its influence is recognizable in almost all forms of art and performance.
Works Cited
“A Brief History of Commedia Dell’Arte,” Odyssey Theatre, Apr. 2018, www.odysseytheatre.ca/index.php/blog/2018/04/a-brief-history-of-commedia-dellarte. Web. Accessed 15 Oct. 2020.
Andrews, Richard. “Molière, Commedia Dell’arte, and the Question of Influence in Early Modern European Theatre.” The Modern Language Review, vol. 100, no. 2, 2005, pp. 444–463. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3737608. Web. Accessed 15 Oct. 2020.
“A Well-Made Comedy: The Legacy of Commedia dell’Arte & Carlo Goldoni,” Shakespeare Theatre Company, 13 Oct. 2016, www.shakespearetheatre.org/watch-listen/a-well-made-comedy-the-legacy-of-commedia-dellarte-carlo-goldoni. Web. Accessed 15 Oct. 2020.
“Commedia Dell’Arte Characters.” Italy Mask, www.italymask.co.nz/About+Masks/Commedia+dellArte+Characters.html. Web. Accessed 15 October 2020.
Drake, Amy. “Commedia Dell’Arte Influences on Shakespearean Plays: The Tempest, Love’s Labor’s Lost, and The Taming of the Shrew,” Selected Papers of the Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference: Vol. 6 , Article 3. 2013. http://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/spovsc/vol6/iss2013/3. Web. Accessed 17 Oct. 2020.
Fink, Edward J. “Writing The Simpsons: A Case Study of Comic Theory.” Journal of Film and Video, vol. 65, no. 1–2, 2013, pp. 43–55. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/jfilmvideo.65.1-2.0043. Web. Accessed 2 Nov. 2020.
“How Commedia dell’Arte Influences Modern Comedy,” Commedia 485. https://commedia485.wordpress.com/2017/06/02/how-commedia-dellarte-influences-modern-comedy/. Web. Accessed 16 Oct. 2020.
Kenrick, John. Musical Theatre: A History. London: Methuen Drama, 2019.
Klass, Nicole. (2006). “Moliere and Commedia dell’arte: Past, Present, and Future.” Florida Atlantic University. http://etd.fcla.edu/CF/CFE0001272/Klass_Nicole_S200608_MFA.pdf. Web. Accessed 15 Oct. 2020.
Zvara, Vladimír. (2002). “Commedia dellʾarte and the Evolution of Music Theatre in the First Third of the Twentieth Century.” https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305641826_Commedia_dellarte_and_the_Evolution_of_Music_Theatre_in_the_First_Third_of_the_Twentieth_Century. Web. Accessed 15 Oct. 2020.
