commedia
Italian improvisational theater
Commedia is Italian for comedy, appearing in English primarily in the phrase *commedia dell'arte*—a form of Italian theater from the 16th to 18th centuries featuring masked stock characters, improvised dialogue, and physical comedy.
The show drew on commedia traditions with its slapstick and archetypal figures.
Face-covering disguises
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- scenariosImagined sequences of events
- slapstickExaggerated physical humor
- ensembleUnified group or outfit
troupe · ad-lib · extemporaneous · unscripted · spontaneity · burlesque · farce · buffoonery
European cultural reawakening
- VeniceLagoon city, northeastern Italy
- FlorenceTuscan capital city
- NaplesMediterranean port city
- troupesTraveling performer groups
piazza · carnival · itinerant · touring · marketplace
Cowardly boastful trickster
Mockery exposing vice
- parodySatirical imitation
- witClever, inventive humor
- mockeryScornful ridicule or travesty
- caricatureExaggerated comic depiction
lampoon · ridicule · jest · gag · punchline · wordplay · irony · banter
Tartuffe's comic creator
- pantomimeDrama through gesture alone
- vaudevilleTheatrical variety entertainment
- Punch and JudyTraditional British puppet theatre
- clowningPlayful comic behavior
masks
Face-covering disguises
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- scenariosImagined sequences of events
- slapstickExaggerated physical humor
ensemble · troupe · ad-lib · extemporaneous · unscripted · spontaneity · burlesque · farce · buffoonery · interaction
Renaissance
European cultural reawakening
troupes · piazza · carnival · itinerant · touring · marketplace
Scaramouche
Cowardly boastful trickster
master · stock characters · lover · soubrette
satire
Mockery exposing vice
caricature · lampoon · ridicule · jest · gag · punchline · wordplay · irony · banter · drollery
Molière
Tartuffe's comic creator
- pantomimeDrama through gesture alone
- vaudevilleTheatrical variety entertainment
- Punch and JudyTraditional British puppet theatre
clowning · physical theater · mime · sitcom · theatrical tradition
- art formspainting, drawing, sculpture, photography, music
- comedyjokes, humor, puns, sarcasm, stand-up
- performing artsacting, dance, music, drama, theater
- literary formsnovel, novels, novella, poetry, poetry collections
- theatreBroadway, acting, theatre, stage, actor
- Latin Europeflamenco, siesta, tapas, paella, fiesta