Welcome to your Commedia dell'arte Webquest!

Introduction

Commedia dell'arte originated in streets of the early Italian Renaissance. It's roots can be traced as far back as far as Ancient Greek and Roman Theatre. These Italian street performers wore masks with exaggerated comic features to draw additional attention to themselves and complement their physical and acrobatic skills. The name translates to "comedy of craft." It was shortened from commedia dell'arte all'improviso, or "comedy of the craft of improvisation." 

The performers played on outdoor, temporary stages with no scenary. During carnival period, a troupe might be funded by the various towns or cities in which they played. Troups collected extra money by passing a hat at the end of shows so anyone could view the performance free of charge. All performances were improvised, meaning there was no script. Actors became so good at improvising "in character" that they instinctively knew how their character would respond or act in any improvised scene. 

The characters of the commedia usually represent fixed social types -- stock characters -- such as foolish old men, devious servants,  or military officers who are really cowards. 

Your Task

Start by using the links below to read about the commedia characters. You will then pick one character on which to do extensive research. After you learn everything you need to know about this character, you'll be doing a short presentation. 

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

http://italian.about.com/library/weekly/aa110800b.htm

http://shane-arts.com/commedia-stock-characters.htm

Later in the process, you will be performing as this character after your research, so pick one you can see yourself performing. Make sure it is one of the masked characters. 

Once you have picked your character, tell me. I will place you with others who are the same character as you. This will become your research group. If no one picks your character, you will be on your own. 

Process

After you've picked your character, work together to find out as much as your group can about your character. Together you will produce a five-minute presenation about your character. Make sure you include the following information: 

• your character's name
• their origin
  
• their costume
• their physical appearance
• their mask
• any props
• their stance
• their walk
• movements
• gestures
• their plot function
• characteristics

More helpful links: 

http://shane-arts.com/commedia-stock-characters.htm

http://italian.about.com/library/weekly/aa110800c.htm

For mask pictures, simply google your character's name and mask. Some pictures of the mask should come up. 

You can also check out the links under the "task" heading. Once you have your information, put together a PowerPoint, Google Slide Presenation, or Prezi to teach the rest of your class about your character. 

You will be graded on the following:

___Information (10 points)

• Your presentation should reflect sound research and provide a complete description of your masked character. Research should originate from sources provided in this webquest. Be sure to provide information on the following aspects of your character: 
  • your character's name
  • their origin
  • their costume
  • their physical appearance
  • their mask
  • any props
  • their stance
  • their walk
  • movements
  • gestures
  • their plot function
  • characteristics

____Presentation Method (5 points)

• You may use Power Point, a traditional poster, Glogster, Prezi, etc., to teach the class about your topic.  Be neat and as detailed as possible. 

____Presentation (5 points)

• Your in-class presentation should be organized, audible, clearly stated, and interesting! Please don’t read off of your slides. Make sure slides are easy for you audience to read (no large blocks of type). Feel free to demonstrate character "walks" or movement. 

____Conventions (5 points)

• All words are spelled correctly and properly punctuated. Capital letters are used when needed.

____Works Cited page (5 points)

• Follow proper MLA format

Conclusion

            Life was very different 500 years ago and so was comedy. However, we owe much of our modern entertainment to those traveling performers in Renaissance Italy. They have influenced all sorts of modern day performers, such as The Three Stooges, Monty Python, and even modern improvisational shows like Whose Line is it Anyway. In fact the very term "slapstick comedy" comes directly from Commedia. Take a look at this YouTube video of Three Stooges' shorts or the video episode "Dead Parrot" from Monty Python. See if you can spot the influence. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfGWPpPy0uw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfGWPpPy0uw