Stock Characters
The original stock character in Commedia Delle Arte. He is a servant character who is always poor, always hungry, always scheming to try and better his situation. This character "moves fast but thinks slow."
Who is Harlequin?
Pre-rehearsed bits or sequences of comic business that can be inserted into an improvised performance. The term comes from the Italian word meaning "to tie together."
What are lazzi?
A sudden and unaccountable change in mood or behavior. A whim.
What is a caprice?
The friendly, playful, or possibly flirtatious exchange of teasing remarks.
What is banter?
Someone who is not restrained by moral principles. This word is descended from the same Latin root word as "liberty" and "liberate."
What is a libertine?
Commedia stock character who is an old, rich, greedy, and often lecherous old man.
Who is Pantalone?
These were used in Commedia performance to indicate particular stock characters, a practice inherited from Greco-Roman theatrical traditions.
What are masks?
A dishonest, unprincipled or corrupt person. Our common use of the term was originally used to describe an elephant who had been separated from the herd and indicates a person who has been cast out from society because of their behavior.
What is a rogue?
A word that describes someone or something that emits light or glows.
What is luminescent?
A word used to describe something that is false or not what it appears to be.
What is spurious?
The bragging soldier who tells outlandish stories of his bravery in battle. He is however, actually coward who will flee from the threat of actual danger.
Who is Capitano?
Commedia Delle Arte performance marked the first time in the history of theater in the West when this group of people were allowed to perform onstage
What are women?
A person who has wealth but chooses to hoard it and spend as little as humanly possible.
What is a miser?
A word that describes a gloss or sheen on the surface of something as a result of age. It can also refer to the superficial outer appearance of something or someone.
What is a patina?
A word meaning to bear fruit or to become productive.
What is fructify?
The young lovers of Commedia Delle Arte. They were the only stock characters in traditional Commedia Delle Arte who were not masked.
What are the Innamorata?
A word that describes the state of Commedia troupes in Italy during the middle ages. This word describes someone who travels from place to place and has no permanent home.
What is nomadic?
A thing of little value, importance, or consequence.
What is a trifle?
A remark that hints or suggests something indirectly.
What is innuendo?
A word that refers to someone who holds so much power that they are not bound by the rules that govern everyone else.
What is a potentate?
Scheming, manipulative servant character who can improvise his way out of any situation. This master liar is an ancestor to 'Scapino.'
Who is Brighella?
The main historical event which allowed Commedia Delle Arte to spread from Italy to the rest of Europe was the marriage of this Italian noblewoman to the King of France in 1547.
Who was Catherine de Medici?
A form of comedy that was highly influenced by Commedia Delle Arte and often uses highly improbable or exaggerated situations. This type of play is usually deliberately absurd and makes extensive use of physical comedy and lazzi.
What is a farce?
A word referring to a process whereby a solid dissolves or becomes liquid.
What is deliquesce?
A French phrase that refers to something intangible that cannot be adequately described or expressed.
What is "je ne sais quoi"?