Comedia Dell'arte (1550-1621)

Comedia Dell'arte translates into "Comedy or craft", it is a form of theatre that began in italy in the mid 16th century. its performance are based of small scenarios or sketchs that along with the use of stock characters, large gestures and masks create a very slapstick style of humour.

While to be true Commedia the actors improvise around a pre-determined plot using stock characters as a guide, the works of several playwrights have been influenced by Commedia dell'arte if not directly featuring it. The most famous of which is "Servant of Two Masters" written in 1743 by Carlo Goldoni.

Other people influenced by Comedia arte are people such as Charlie Chaplin.

Commedia dell'arte has three main stock roles: servant, master, and innamorati. The servants are referred to as the Zanni and include characters such as Arlecchino, Brighella and Pedrolino. Some more well known characters are, Arlecchino and Pantalone.