Commedia dell'arte

Commedia dell'arte troupe in action

Commedia dell’arte (“Comedy of Art” or “Comedy of the profession”) is an improvisational theatre that came into being before 1550. The exact year of its origin is not known but it was very popular between 1550 and 1775. Several theories have been put forward to explain its origin. Commedia dell’arte introduced professional theatre in Italy and in Europe by having huge responsibility on the actors. Common themes of the performances were disgraceful love intrigues, jealousy and politics. Performance rather than the subject matter had more importance in Commedia dell’arte.

Theories have linked the origin of Commedia dell’arte to Atellan farce, Byzantine mimes and Plautus and Terence. Even though its origin is not clear, there is information about it after 1550. The productions usually had ten actors, and one of them would be a leader. The leader was responsible to explain the actors their lazzi, a piece of rehearsed comic action, and the outcome. It was actor’s responsibility to find the words and make expressions to make the laughter ring. These actors were disciplined and took pride in their achievements. They had to be talented, hardworking and dedicated to be a part of a production. Commedia dell’arte is known to introduce professionalism to theatre because the actors before them didn’t have to fulfill such high standards to be in a play. The performers always made use of well-rehearsed jokes and gags to satirize current events and local scandals.

The subject matter for Commedia dell’arte was diverse and evolved gradually with time. The character roles were divided into masters and servants. There were three types of masters- The Capitano, Pantalone, and Dattore, and different types of servants or zanni: Harlequin, Scaramuccia, Pulcinello and inamorata, the female maid. Different types of masks, costumes and props were used to distinguish between the different characters, but inamoratas didn’t wear any masks. The figure on bottom of the page and on the left show the costume and mask of The Capitano. The image on the below is the mask of Harlequin, the most famous servant.


Commedia dell’arte has a very important part in the history of theatre. It was originally from Italy but found it way through to many other countries, and became very popular. It has become less popular than in 1775, and a few people related to theatre are worried about its existence. I, however, think that since people look for diversity and value historical arts these days, it is not going to extinguish even though it might not be as popular as it was once before. It’s difficult to create dialogues on the spot and I think something like Commedia dell’arte will be a good learning practice for new artists.

The Capitano