What are the characteristics of Italian impromptu comedy?

Impromptu comedy is an important drama in Italian Renaissance. The origin of impromptu comedy has always been debated. Some people say that it comes from ancient Greek comedies, Roman Atra comedies, and Roman Empire simulation dramas. These plays are really similar to Italian impromptu comedies in terms of secular interest, being good at comedies and actors playing fixed roles. However, some people say that it was introduced by the Byzantine Comic Troupe. After the fall of Constantinople, the comic troupe came to Italy and brought this kind of drama performance. Others believe that impromptu comedy originated from Italian farce performances in the early16th century. In a word, impromptu comedy absorbed many characteristics of Italian folk art in its production and development. 1550- 1650 entered an active period, showing great vitality and being widely performed all over Italy.

Impromptu comedy usually has no written script. The actor just improvises according to a plot outline. Play this kind of play. Except the actors who play young lovers, all other actors wear masks, so it is also called masked comedy. It is essentially different from a masked ball. Masquerade is a popular entertainment method in the court, paying attention to the luxurious scenes, while masquerade is a popular folk performance method, pursuing a simple, fresh and hilarious style.

The success or failure of impromptu comedy mainly depends on the impromptu performance of actors. In the process of performance, the actor's extension of the plot "starts from the basic situation, as long as he can return to the theme of the plot later, he can extend it as he wants." But to do this, we need to have superb skills and improvisation wisdom. According to our understanding of impromptu comedy, the actors at that time had superb skills, which can be said to be a combination of dance art, vocal skills, acrobatics, popular comedy, pantomime and pantomime performance, and their body and mind lived to an incredible degree. "It is said that there is an actor named Tiberio fiori. At the age of 83, he can not only perform on the stage as usual, but also slap another actor with his feet flexibly. The somersault is also a common action on the stage. A skilled actor can hold a full glass of wine in his hand, and even turn a few somersaults without spilling the wine in the glass.

It can be said that there is no fixed script, but the improvisation of actors is a major feature of impromptu comedy. Impromptu comedy has existed for more than 300 years, but no complete script has been handed down. Only museums in Italy and Leningrad kept 700 or 800 screens, which shows the prosperity of performances at that time.

Impromptu comedy takes love and intrigue as the main line, and most of them show a pair of men and women in love. Their love is blocked, which may come from family or the courtship of a third party. They accepted the help of their servants, but they made a mess, making things more and more troublesome and making a lot of jokes. Finally, they used strategies to break through the resistance and completed a beautiful love.

In the performance of impromptu comedy, some clips have been formatted, such as "lazzo" on the screen, which is the performance routine that the actors understand. This is an interesting episode and foreshadowing scene in the comedy plot, such as "worrying about pulling the wrong hat", "meeting the wrong one", "jealousy pulling the wrong one" and so on. For example, "Drag the Body by mistake": An actor comes on stage and tries to drag the body away after finding it. In the process of dragging, his sword fell to the ground. When he went to pick up his sword, he was kicked by the body and the body returned to its original place. He continued to pull, panting, but every time he was teased by the body, in vain.

Another feature of impromptu comedy is the stereotype of the characters in the play. For example, Pantalong, doctor, soldier and servant are often satirized in the play. Pantalong was a merchant in Venice. He is greedy for money, lustful and conceited, but in fact he is extremely stupid and often plays tricks on smart people. He was wearing a red tight vest, red breeches and stockings, a black cloak and hat, and a few locks of hair hung down from his forehead. The mask on his face is brown and he has a huge aquiline nose. People attacked him as a representative of the bourgeoisie.

The doctor is a doctor of law in the university town, full of inexplicable Latin, eccentric and self-righteous, revealing stale pedantry. He often shows off his book knowledge in reality, but he uses it in the wrong place every time. He is a jealous husband and is often cuckolded. He wore a bachelor's uniform, black trousers and socks, revealing a white collar and white cuffs, and a semi-black mask on his face. People laughed at him as a lonely scholar attached to the church.

The soldier's identity is a victorious main soldier. He is arrogant and often gives himself some bluff names: for example, Spezaferro, which means to cut off weapons; Spafanto da Val Ying Fernow means as terrible as hell; Matamoros, which means to kill Moore, etc. Often amused by comedians, stumbling to show that although he is as strong as an ox, he is actually as timid as a mouse and vulnerable. He is a wishful pursuer, but he is often teased by women. He wears a crooked nose mask and a beard, and his clothes will change a little, but he must have a long sword hanging around his waist. People think he is a Spanish aggressor or an Italian militant, so they despise him.

The fixed servant role in impromptu comedy can be roughly divided into two kinds: one is smart and the other is stupid, and both of them often appear in the same play, contrasting and amusing each other. They are dressed in gorgeous clothes. They are clowns.

In impromptu comedy, except the name of the character who plays the lover will change, the names of other characters are basically fixed. An actor only plays a fixed role in his life, and it is almost impossible to play other roles (unless the person who plays a young lover has to play a funny role when he is old). This makes the actor and the role become one, and even makes the actor give up his real name and become known to the world by the name of the role.

Impromptu comedy groups generally include the following roles: one or two lovers, a maid, a soldier, two footmen, Pantalong and a doctor, with a total of only 10- 12 people. They carry simple scenery and props, and sometimes even their own simple stage. They travel around the town, perform on tour and even perform some wonderful performances. Actors often change jobs according to the management of the troupe, so the members of each troupe often change. At that time, the famous impromptu comedy performance groups were "envy", "bosom friend", "unity" and "loyalty" In its heyday, Italian impromptu comedians traveled all over Europe.

The powerful performance effect of impromptu comedy is unrepeatable in the history of drama. It has produced many talented playwrights, including versatile actresses. Among them, Isabella Andrini (A.D. 1562- 1604) of "Envy" Company is the most famous. She became popular because of her vivid expression of girls in love.

The impromptu comedy developed to the later stage, and the rough and active life gradually faded. Except for the clown, other comedy characters were forced to leave Italy for France and other places to seek new development because of their unpopularity. The descendants of the clown who stayed in Italy gradually gave the role a new meaning. They no longer wear rags, but silk clothes. They are no longer clowns in the original sense, but show a reserved and pretentious side. So by the end of 17, Italian impromptu comedy had completely degenerated.

Impromptu comedy has a far-reaching influence on the development of later comedies. Shakespeare, Moliere, goldoni and even some comedy writers in the 20th century have effectively absorbed its essence to enhance the comedy effect.