Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell’arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked “types” which began in Italy in the 16th century and was responsible for the advent of the actresses and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is “comedy of craft”; it is shortened from
commedia dell’arte all’improvviso, or “comedy of the very creative ability of improvisation”. Here,
arte does not refer to “art” as we currently consider the word, but rather to that which is made by
artigiani. In fact, the term
arte was coined much later, for in the early period the term used in contemporary accounts is
commedia all'improviso. This was to distinguish the form from
commedia erudita or learned comedy that was written by academics and performed by amateurs.
Commedia dell’arte, conversely, was performed by professional actors who perfected a specific role or mask.