Brearley Benefit | Fri April 30, 2004

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Commedia dell’Arte

Commedia dell’arte, loosely translated “the comedy of artists,” is a form of popular entertainment that flourished in 16th- and 17th-century Italy. It combines several creative elements, including improvisation, speech, movement, music, dance and mime to drive a simple story line. Commedia players, enlivening their stories with off-the-cuff gags and comic routines (called lazzi), would grossly exaggerate day-to-day life, mock well-known individuals and/or send up political and religious orthodoxies.

Commedia’s rich heritage lives on in the works of Shakespeare and Moliere, of classical composers such as Mozart, Strauss, Schumann, and Stravinsky, and in comic opera. We see it, too, in the artistry of Charlie Chaplin and The Marx Brothers, in Seinfeld, The Simpsons, and Saturday Night Live.

During the Renaissance, commedia artists, or professional players, traveled the countryside presenting their comic tales on sparse, temporary outdoor stages. Sometimes the stories were familiar and sometimes the players reused stock characters in newly invented tales. These story lines, or scenarios, assured direction and focus, but no rehearsal was necessary and no two performances were alike.

Life as a commedia performer was often a risky business. Some historians believe that the use of commedia masks grew out of the players’ need to shield their identities in order to escape from outraged fans. Link to Masks Despite the precarious nature of the profession, the actors of the commedia dell’arte seem generally to have enjoyed a fine reputation, and in some eyes were considered true celebrities.

Over time, the commedia characters, their masks, costumes, scenes and manner of performance became stylized and standardized. From the nimble-witted servant Arlecchino, to the rich, self-deluded old Pantalone these stock commedia characters still speak to us today of laughable, laudable, ultimately human foibles. Link to Characters

The Benefit 2004 production of “A Brearley Comedy of Eras” reaches back to commedia’s Renaissance roots. Our troupe of players, Early Music New York under the direction of Frederick Renz, includes actors, singers, instrumentalists, dancers and mimes who specialize in the art forms and instruments of the period. Inspired by traditional commedia and collected lore about Brearley through the ages, they will conjure an evening of entertainment especially for us. Early Music New York