Unmasking 16th century Italian street theatre

The Gardiner Museum unveils multimedia tribute to Commedia dell'Arte titled Harlequin Unmasked

Having just recently attended Trailervision's first ever feature production at the "anti-premiere" of the mostly improvised, "Why Can't I Be a Movie Star," it's more than a little interesting to discover the origins of improvisation itself this month at the Gardiner Museum. To overstate the obvious -times have changed, and so has the nature of comedy itself.
Organized thematically under the title of "Harlequin Unmasked: Comedy Transformed," the Gardiner Museum showcases a multi-media tribute to the "Commedia dell'Arte," originally an improvised street theatre in Italy in the 16th century. In this theatre, each actor would develop a certain character, ones which have remained theatrical stereotypes throughout the centuries, among them, the captain, two old men (Pantaloon and the Doctor), and the Zanni (valet buffoons). Each had its own mask, so that eventually their roles were literally referred to as such.
Like modern improvisers, those in the Commedia dell'arte often used the cheapest of jokes to provoke laughter in its audiences, with a lot of business where one character would whip another for punishment, multiple episodes of slapstick, and a little sexual prying and prodding for good measure. The lovers were perhaps the most popular of all the Commedia dell'Arte's characters. Actors often took advantage of their freedom on the stage as a platform for testing the boundaries of more "taboo" social and political topics, such as the question of polygamy, child abuse, and the mocking of authority figures.
Along with some exquisite and rare masks of such characters as the promiscuous Columbine, the elderly Cuckold Pantalone and the mournful Pierrot, the exhibition will include a selection of masquerade costumes which curator Meredith Chilton tracked down in abandoned European castles. As she explains: "I travelled from the Cesky Krumlov castle in Bohemia, where a treasure trove of costumes made for the Schwarzenberg family were stored when the castle was abandoned by the family in the mid-19th century, to the Bucardo Library in Rome, where I found a costume worn by an Italian actor named 'Carlin,' one of the most famous Harlequins of all time."
Chilton has composed a book linking the entire exhibit entitled, "Harlequin Unmasked: The Commedia dell'Arte and Porcelain Sculpture," detailing the catalyst such theatre provided for the European arts as it spread through Europe via troupes of dedicated Italian actors and eventually moved into the royal courts and marketplaces, the worlds of fine and decorative arts, and infiltrated the worlds of dance, theatre, costume, and dancing.
The rarest finds include a painting of courtly masqueraders dedicated to Prince Joseph Adam of Schwarzenberg in 1748, a lover of the masquerade ball. This holistic presentation also encompasses a video presentation of choreography for Harlequin as well as porcelain figures by Franz Anton Bustelli, the great rococo porcelain sculptor of Nymphenburg.
It is a treat to see, and so scrumptious one wishes to pick up and feel every one of the 25 objects on display. 18th century English playing cards, a hurdy gurdy, and a wide array of ancient hats and shoes are there for our imaginations to play the masquerade and let go of the stiff 2001 self. A must for opera and theatre lovers and children of all brains.

Publication Date: 2001-09-23
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=407