Commedia Dell'Arte

Research InvestigationCommedia Dell’Arte

What kind of movements would Truffaldino require in the Commedia Dell’ Arte play A

Servant of Two Masters in Act 1?

Name: Balaji Ullal BhatGrade: 12CCSchool: Emirates International School MeadowsWord Count: 2885 (including quotes)Word Count: 2351 (excluding quotes)

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Contents

Title Page Page 1

Contents Page 2

Subject essay Page 3 - 8

Bibliography Page 9

Critique of Sources Page 10 - 12

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What kind of movements would Truffaldino require in the Commedia Dell’ Arte play A Servant of Two Masters in Act

1?

The 16 century saw a big flourish of Commedia Dell’ Arte, in Italy, which is a theatre form responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The name Commedia Dell’ Arte “roughly translated means ‘comedy of the artists’ which implies performances by professionals distinguished by courtly amateurs.”1

Only artists recognised by the authorities were classified as

Commedia Dell’ Arte actors. The word arte in fact implied the incorporation of the dramatic arts; “it brought together those who were authorised to perform for the counts, dukes, etc.”2 Commedia Dell’ Arte has always been performed in masks. The theatre form is famous for creating character archetypes, much like those found in Melodrama; “Over the centuries, these archetypes have stood up to evolutions in culture and in entertainment.”3

A Servant of Two Masters or Il Servitore di Due Padroni is one of the few scripts of this improvisational theatre form. A Servant of Two Masters is one of Carlo Goldoni’s earliest plays; it was written in 1743 at the request of the actor Sacchi. Sacchi made the suggestion that the performance be scripted and that he himself played the part of Truffaldino. According to Iona Vaughan, Italian comedy was dominated by actors in masks which consequently meant that the “the actors were left to their own devices to interpret the play and create the comic scenes.”4

Movement is an integral part of any theatre production as it is one of the most basic skill

1 The Labyrinth of Solitude, Allen Lane, London, 1967, p. 41

2 Cathiers du Cinema, No. 250, 1974, quoted by David L. Hirst, Dario Fo and Franca Rame, London, Macmillan, 1989, p. 118.

3 http://www.delpiano.com/carnival/html/commedia.html

4 Vaughan, Iona . "A Project Gutenberg Canada Ebook." A Servant of Two Masters. Ed. Dent, Edward Joseph. 2010. Cambridge University. 16 Aug. 2012 <http://gutenberg.ca/ebooks/goldonident-

twomasters/goldonident-twomasters-00-h.html>.

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sets that an actor requires, especially in Commedia Dell’ Arte. Movement is a form of communication and encompasses gesture, facial expressions and physical movements. Movement is a means to communicate with the audience and is a complement of dialogue. Much of the comedy in Commedia Dell’ Arte is physical or slapstick comedy. Commedia Dell’ Arte, “requires acrobatic ability; forceful, flexible and rapid activity; and occasionally, gracefully executed dance movements.”5 Much of the comedy in Commedia Dell’ Arte stems from the obscene movement, especially those of a Zanni.

The Zanni are servant character in Commedia Dell’ Arte, usually under the command of Pantalone. They wear baggy white suits (originally made of flour sacks) and masks with long noses. The norm was that the length of the nose indicated their level of idiocy; a longer nose meant being more of an idiot. Their movements are usually quite physical and silly, almost like those of a court jester. It is even said that the Commedia Dell’ Arte actor has a “free body with the mask as a natural extension”.6 This would be even more so relevant to that of the Zanni characters. They are traditionally the comic relief character of Commedia Dell’ Arte plays as he is often referred to as “that regrettably eternal unfortunate, the dispossessed immigrant worker.”7 They are at the bottom of the food chain in Commedia Dell’ Arte. Some well known examples of Zanni characters are Arlecchino and Harlequin. They are Zanni that have evolved over time and have made a mark not only in the Commedia Dell’ Arte world, but the world of theatre in general.

Truffaldino, a Zanni under the service of Beatrice and then Florindo, is one of the main characters of this play. Normally a Zanni is a bumbling fool of a servant, however Truffaldino does not play the part of the traditional fool, rather he is more cunning than Commedia Dell’ Arte Zanni usually are. As a Zanni Truffaldino would have to stand with his back arched, one toe pointed, head nodding, and walk, run, skip, and skulk according to the moment. However, Truffaldino is different and due to his unique intelligence as a Zanni his movement would be more cheeky and deliberate. However in saying this his movements are still quite indicative of a Zanni.

When practicing the role of a Zanni (especially Truffaldino, it is prudent to study the aspects incorporated from ‘Arlecchino’ or ‘Harlequin’.

5 Acting: In Style, John Harrop and Sabin E. Epstein, p. 112

6 Commedia and the Actor, Carlo Mazzone-Clementi, March 1984, p. 64

7 Commedia Dell’Arte: An Actor’s Handbook, John Rudlin, Oxon, 1994, p. 67

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Truffaldino’s demeanor can be linked to Arlechinno and Harlequin much of the time. They are usually servants to Pantalone, but in A Servant of Two Masters Truffaldino serves both Beatrice and Florindo. He is “in love with Columbino, but his sexual appetite is immediate in terms of any passing woman”8 Arlechinno’s character has evolved through time; when Commedia Dell’ Arte first began, he was “cowardly, superstitious, and plagued by a continual lack of money and food”9. This ‘lack of food’ is a prominent theme is A Servant of Two Masters since Truffaldino mentions it in almost every scene and in terms of movement always has an over the top response, “would like to swallow the bread, but restrains himself and with great difficulty removes the bread from his mouth” 10

Truffaldino is the ‘clown’ - stupid, with short-term memory (Truffaldino forgets which letter is for which master in Act 1, Scene 2) which means he “acts first and thinks, if he thinks at all”11. Another important aspect of Truffaldino’s movement is his social class. Social class plays a fundamental role in Commedia Dell’ Arte since most of the action is based on class differences between the characters, “Each character is the representative of a social class which, by the act of theatre, becomes the magical incarnation of all it’s class”12 Arlecchino is from the lower class of Bergamo in Northern Italy. A character speaking with a peculiar accent is automatically designated as a certain class. Accents are important in conveying a character’s social background, weather performing in Italian or English.

Truffaldino first appears in Scene 1 at Pantalone’s house. As he is brought in he immediately greets the party in the room and starts to flirt with Clarice. Truffaldino’s first appearance must inspire both confidence and cockiness. His stance would be straighter than most Zanni and he would walk in quickly and survey the room. In fact the ‘Vain Zanni’ movements would best describe the kind of movements Truffaldino should make. “Steps are slightly bigger than normal, hands resting on the belt. When the legs lift, the chest is thrust forward and the arms are brought back in a chicken strut. Used when he has a new button or a feather in his cap.”13 and “His movements must be

8 Boso, p. 77

9 ibid

10 http://gutenberg.ca/ebooks/goldonident-twomasters/goldonident-twomasters-00-h.html, Act 1, Scene 2

11 http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocld=9039284

12 Boso, p. 77


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dynamic, exaggerated, with the head constantly moving independent of the body.”14

Quicker thinking Zanni such as Truffaldino are meant to be more agile and their shorter noses permit them to do acrobatics on stage.

Through the conversation Truffaldino maintains a level of excitement beyond that of the others and thus confuses the others with his jovial nature. The conversation he has with Pantalone, Clarice, and the others is a perfect time for him to display his acrobatics and lithe movements, “Joints loose and floppy, elbows up, knees bent, head cocked, etc. Almost in poses of a strong puppet.”15 He is“Constantly in a low position especially when in the presence of characters of a higher stature”16 (In A Servant of Two Masters Truffaldino would do this in the presence of Beatrice, Florindo and Pantalone)

Even the Zanni’s walk is technical in it’s application, “In addition he has three-time walk with little tiptoe steps.”17 The walk should, “begin with the left foot forward with the ball of right coming to meet the heel of the left after which the left slides forward.”18 The starting position of the walk is hard to adapt to and requires practice, but then “the right foot steps forward into the opposite starting position. There are thus four stages, although the walk is in three time.”19 Rudlin says that, “This walk shows alacrity; he also uses it to

show off in front of Colombina. In the extended grand Zanni walk, the arms and legs circle as if in a mysterious cloak (which they often are!).”20 When Truffaldino first meets Clarice in Scene 1, he can use this technique to tiptoe towards her when he says, “Who is this fair gentlewoman?”

In Scene 2 when Truffaldino carries Beatrice’s and Florindo’s bags into the inn, it is much like the way Rudlin describes Arlechinno’s stance, “Continuously lowered position. Yet this increased gravitational pull is compensated by an irrepressible upward energy in the torso Elbows are bent, arms in a jug-handle position, or hands on hips with thumb in belt.” 21 He does not collapse under the weight unlike the porter Instead he stands up

14 ibid, p. 70

15 ibid

16 http://shane-arts.com/Commedia-Arlechinno.htm

17 Commedia Dell’Arte: An Actor’s Handbook, John Rudlin, Oxon, 1994, p. 77-78

18 ibid, p. 77-78

19 ibid, p. 77-78

20 ibid, p. 77-78


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again and hoists the luggage over his back and says “It weighs nothing. A mere trifle.”

Truffaldino may be more intelligent than other Zanni however, he must also obey his superiors. In Scene 2 when Silvio meets Truffaldino he starts to shout at him, Truffaldino must treat Silvio with respect. However, as mentioned Truffaldino is more intelligent that regular Zanni and is quite cheeky. His movement will be that of a servant bowing to his master, however will be done with a cheeky air, as the previously mentioned quote from

Rudlin. Truffaldino will constantly pander to his superiors but will indulge them in the process, as to gain favour.

Gestures are an essential part of Commedia Dell’ Arte performances, especially with physical characters such as the Zanni. The gestures would be unnaturally large, reason being so that if there is a large audience, those far away can see. Commedia Dell’ Arte is a farce and much of the humor lies in the comical movements of characters. Acting with a mask takes away the ability to use facial expressions and this must be compensated with overuse of gestures. Rudlin describes the the Zanni’s actions as “always urgent”22 and “he appears nervous, talks a lot, his head moves constantly”23 This seems to be a

trend with most Zanni and highlight the kind of physicality required for the role. Rudlin further describes the Zanni’s gestures and like previously mentioned, they are quite integral to a Zanni’s persona; “The hands are very expressive and constantly used to illustrate what he is saying. All Zanni’s bodily functions instantly and loudly make themselves known.”24 The Zanni’s movements are so vague that “sometimes his body becomes completely alien to him and different parts of it take on their own animation in order to act out an imaginary situation”25

Truffaldino’s gestures would mimic those described by Rudlin in this quote. For example, In Act 1 Scene 2, when Truffaldino fears that he has mixed up his master’s letter with two others, his fear and anxiousness would be illustrated through the wild movement of his hands and his nose which ‘defines the rhythm of his body. This makes mask a complement of gesture. The gestures must be large because in old Italy, with large crowds it was hard to see from the back and to compensate for this the characters would make large gestures. This would be especially true for Zanni like Truffaldino who are characters of physical nature.


23 ibid

24 ibid

25 ibid

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When Truffaldino talks to himself/the audience is when movement comes in the handiest. He is to make a bond with the audience and the character. As previously mentioned his gestures must be big, his voice loud and depending on the situation, acrobatics can be implemented.

An example would be in Act 1 Scene 2 when he is hired by Florindo and has finished negotiating his terms, he speaks to the audience for a short while.

“ A halfpenny more a day, that's fifteen pence a month. 'Tis not true that the other gentleman gave me a shilling; he gives me six pennies. Maybe six pennies make a shilling, but I'm not quite sure. And this gentleman from Turin is nowhere to be seen. He's mad. He's a young fellow without a beard and without any sense neither. He may

go about his business; I shall go to the Post for

my new gentleman.”26

Truffaldino is excited about his new salary, it is the perfect time for him to show this with exaggerated gestures and pacing in the Zanni way. After the first 2 sentences Truffaldino could do a cartwheel to show his excitement and then pace up and down the stage when he fusses over ‘the mad fellow from Turin’. This is just one example of the kinds of scenes Truffaldino must use both his regular Zanni movements as well as a bit of acrobatics. The role requires constant movement and gesturing to accompany practically everything Truffaldino does. He is the comic relief of A Servant of Two Masters and one of the first Zanni that challenges the stereotype.

To conclude an actor who wants to play the role of Truffaldino or any Zanni, fitness, agility and acrobatic talent are required. The actor must work on their physical expressiveness because much of the humour in A Servant of Two Masters is due to the physicality and silly movements of many of the characters. Only when the actor is able to perform the fluid physical expressiveness, will Truffaldino’s character come alive and entertain the audience. It is important to know a little about other Zanni, such as Arlechinno before acting as Truffaldino. Truffaldino is a character of flair and extremity, weather he is fooling around, speaking or even standing quietly and it is precisely this

26 http://gutenberg.ca/ebooks/goldonident-twomasters/goldonident-twomasters-00-h.html

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quality that give Truffaldino such a comic delight.

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Bibliography

● Rudlin, John; Commedia Dell’Arte - An Actor’s Handbook

● Gordon, Mel; Lazzi - The Comic Routines of the Commedia Dell' Arte

● John Harrop and Sabin E. Epstein - Acting: In Style

● Project Gutenberg ebook - Iona Vaughan

http://gutenberg.ca/ebooks/goldonident-twomasters/goldonident-twomasters-00-h.html

● http://www.delpiano.com/carnival/html/commedia.html

● http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocld=9039284

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Critique of Sources

Published Sources

Primary Source: Rudlin, John; Commedia Dell’Arte - An Actor’s Handbook, Publisher Routledge, 1994, London/ New York

There were quite a few adaptations of A Servant of Two Masters in this book, allowing me to see the different ways it could be played out. The book gave me a highly illuminating account of the origins of Commedia Dell’ Arte, each of the stock characters and their roles. I found it especially useful as there were references from other Commedia Dell’ Arte experts on each of the characters and even more, part of their elements such as movement, gesture, etc. It was nice to see so many different accounts of the same character included in Rudlin’s book. This enabled me to see the character from different angles. The detailed quotes explaining the kind of movement and their purpose was illuminating and I can safely say that this book was my most utilised source of information.

Gordon, Mel; Lazzi - The Comic Routines of the Commedia Dell' Arte, Publisher PAJ Books, 2001

From first glance it looked like this book could give me all the information I needed, if I could find A Servant of Two Masters. From the reviews there seemed to be hundreds of examples that could help me with this RI. However, when I went through the different types of Lazzi specified in Mel Gordon’s book, I found barely enough material that was relevant to my work. From the titles of the different Lazzi I tried to search for specific information about Truffaldino or A Servant of two Masters, however I could not make a connection. I found the book barely useful for my purposes.

John Harrop and Sabin E. Epstein - Acting: In Style

This book contained a chunk of information that was quite relevant and useful to my work. It had a section on both movement and Zanni and the various ways in which an actor may prepare for such a role or Commedia Dell’ Arte in general. After reading this book I found that it was important to be able to state the kind of preparation the role needs as it allows readers further insight into the kind of character a Zanni is and by

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extension Truffaldino.

Project Gutenberg ebook - Iona Vaughan & the Online Distributed Proofreading Canada Teamhttp://gutenberg.ca/ebooks/goldonident-twomasters/goldonident-twomasters-00-h.html

This was not only the referenced script I used for this Research Investigation but also a source of information on Commedia Dell’ Arte and A Servant of Two Masters. This ebook allowed me to access various quotes in A Servant of Two Masters, and at the beginning it gave me a page of information on both the Theatre form and the play. I found it to be quite practical and informative.

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Websites

http://www.delpiano.com/carnival/html/commedia.html

- created by artist and photographer Roberto Delpiano

This website was especially useful for gathering information about the origins of Commedia Dell’ Arte. It is originally meant to be a tribute page for the Carnival of Venice. It highlights information about both the Carnival and Commedia Dell’ Arte as well as some information about the stock characters. The website provided a good summary of the history of Commedia Dell’ Arte as well as summaries for each character.

http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocld=9039284

The encyclopedia of Britannica was a good stepping stone to find various other sources. Some of its cited information was also insightful and allowed me to start my search for legitimate sources. I did not think that all of the information on the encyclopedia was completely factual, however due to their own citations I was able to proof read it.

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Documents

Commedia Dell'Arte