Letter Comedia Dellearte

The troop come to town late last evening. They looked a strange and motley bunch almost processing into town with an unbelievably large cart packed to the brim. I thought then merely low travelling musicians and such and took no heed of them until the next morning when I went to the market to find an elevated stage, as high as a man is tall. The platform was divided into two unequal sections by a large drop curtain which itself was supported between two poles. There was a backdrop painted on this sheet of a normal public square with houses and streets all in proportion. In the sheet which I have described were two or three slits and their purpose escaped me until the first character entered through one.

Around me, a group of locals had gathered and the atmosphere was one of excitement and expectation. Suddenly with out much warning a man stepped onto the stage. He was dressed in a baggy outfit made out of flour sacks and wore a mask to hide he top half of his face. No he didn’t wear the mask, he was the mask. I

Panettone addresses the zanni, “come a little closer my dear Zanni, I want to talk to you about something, but you mustn’t speak a word.”

This leads me onto my next point which is the translated physicality of Comedia Del’ate, in most modern comedies many of the technique which started with Comedia still survives. For example in sitcoms when some funny line is said all the actors pause holding their expression as well as the total unnaturalised style of basil and Manwell in Faulty Towers. The very phrase slapstick comes from Allekino’s prop which he used as an extension of himself.

Some topics in this essay:
Comedia Del’Ate, Love Yes, Towers Manwell, Loves Raymond’, Jason Comedia, Faulty Towers, Comedia Del’ate, Dear Jonathon, stock characters, comedia del’ate, tight fitting, faulty towers, ha ha, zanni love, pig squeak, immigrant worker,