Commedia dell'arte Gentle Fool mask information.?

Question

Please help, i have to describe my Gentle Fool mask, and there is like nothing on any websites. Please give me some information or websites. I have to describe the character.. please help ASAP

thanks

Answer 1

I am a retired theatre history professor and studied Commedia dell'arte extensively and I have never heard of the Gentle Fool mask. The Harlequin mask (major fool of the style) was a back leather mask covering the forehead, eyes -there were holes to see through of course,and cheeks of the character who was originally based on the African slaves of the the wealthy Italians.

Answer 2

Once you know WHAT it is, fortunately, we still have troupes around that perform in commedia style and certain plays and certain directors use the commedia style from time to time. Some of the routines that originated with the commedia are still used today. Like Mr. Bean eating a bee or a fly and then the insect flying around in his stomach and "pulling" him around. Also, since the original commedia troupes were primarily touring from town to town in Europe, when they arrived, they asked around to find out what had been going on so they could include references to the events in their rutines (or "lazzi"). When I worked at a dinner theate, we had a comedy club underneath us and we got free admission while our show was running. When a comic came into town, they'd ask the same questions and include local references.