Tartaglia can be either an old vecchi like Pantalone or Dottore or an aged zanni. His chief characteristic (and from the meaning of his name) is constant stuttering. When trying to speak (and scenarios often prompt for a long speech) he will stumble and get stuck, often creating obscene sounding words. Other characters will confuse matters by trying to interpret what he is going to say or poking fun at him. He is quick to anger at his own oratory faults. He often has only one scene in a play, usually as a lawyer, judge, or other civil servant. He can be a friend to one of the vecchi, especially Dottore. In some later centuries he would sometimes replace Dottore's position as the second old man and father to an innamorata. Often, he wears large spectacles in lieu of a mask and is nearly blind. Scapino can play the "first zanni" as he can be crafty and witty - though his schemes are always getting him into trouble. Lucky for him, his name means "to flee" and he's artful at escaping. He is a kin to Brighella, a schemer out to trick others out of profit or revenge. However, unlike Brighella, Scapino more emphasizes flight over fight - he may be a coward but he's more likely to be amused at successfully escaping once again. He moves equally fast when entering the plot, swooping through quickly and back out until he's needed again. He chases women but he's more likely to set his sights on the servant girl than debutante and then move onto the next girl as soon as he can. Inspired by his first actor Franceso Gabrielli (1588-1636), Scapino is a master at numerous musical instruments, possibly even surpassing Brighella's skills. Scaramuccia comes from southern Italy during the seventeenth century mainly as a replacement for Capitano and is thus also a boaster and a coward. His name means "little skirmisher" and he can be used to stir up the complications in the plot. He was quarrelsome (especially in early scenarios) though in later plays he would not claim he was an expert fighter (as Capitano would) but that he belonged to the rank of nobility or aristocracy of an imaginary country. He tries to seduce women and always fails, then makes claims he rebuffed their advances while telling tales of his conquests as real as his homeland. Regardless of his bragging, he holds the status of a zanni to an impoverished master. Thus being poor himself he has become a crafty enough thief and believes in honor among thieves. He is often good friends with the principle southern Mask Pulcinella - and so he knows when to abandon him when Punch gets drunk and violent. Rosaura is one of the names for Pantalone's wife on the rare occasions he still has one. She can also be treated as a servetta, doing the household work, however she can easily cuckold her husband and in many plays helps to defeat his schemes in helping their son or daughter find true love. She is sometimes a more mature and more sexually experienced version of Colombina. Since her husband is usually impotent, she often hunts for younger men, especially Capitano who she intimidates. Burattino is a zanni that has a range from dunce to reasonably intelligent like Pedrolino. The smartest Burattino can even be a own low-level businessman like Brighella. Like most zanni, he is always hungry and this can be the only characteristic of the stupider versions. While many commedia Masks are lazy they are quick and acrobatic; Burattino, however, is slow, both with heavy movements and drawling speech. However, he isn't passive - he reacts viciously when not getting what he wants. La Ruffiana is one of the few older female roles. Her name implies she was a procuress (prostitute) though long retired - but hasn't forgotten. However, she can be used for a wide variety of roles. She has been the neighborhood gossip, a homeless peasant, a kind old lady who tries to play matchmaker, a long-lost mother, a witch, and a flirt chasing after the men of any age. A younger Ruffiana can still be quite attractive as an experienced older woman that even Colombina can take a lesson from. According to some illustrations, she may have been one of the few female characters to wear masks in early commedia. She was often the mother of Fiorinetta. Mezzettino is derived from Brighella. Especially in the sixteenth century, he was also schemer and though he could be violent he was calmer than Brighella. In later periods he was more an elegant and sensitive valet though still mixing wise and foolish characteristics. He could fill many needs in different plots - loyal or traitorous, deceiver or deceived. Cola and Cassandro are old men and either one could be a member of the vecchi (Cola could also be an ancient zanni). Cassandro is a peer of Pantalone and often his friend or rival. In later periods he can take the place of Dottore and even Pantalone was renamed Cassandre in France. Cola is just as old. He is ludicrous and yet acrobatic, even at his incredibly advanced age. When Pantalone is portrayed as middle age, Cola and Cassandro can represent the very, very old. Rosetta and Rotalinda are the names given to Pulcinella's wife. She is usually a servetta and later periods wore a late Arlecchino-styled patchwork dress (from the Colombina-like Arlecchina). She suffers the emotional, verbal, and physical abuse from her violent husband - though sometimes she can returned as much and as good as she got. She can see Pulcinella for whom he really is and will say nothing kind to him. Yet over the limited course of the play she does not leave him, possibly because she relishes making his life miserable. Her role became the Judy in Punch and Judy puppet plays. Fiorinetta is, in many ways, like an innamorata; she is educated, cultured, and wealthy. However, like her mother, La Ruffiana, she is a courtesan or prostitute. She is an openly sexual creature and a tease, often tormenting the lustful old men. Because she is refined and intelligent, she is a good source of advice for young lovers trying to catch either or escape the complications against them. She can also be a friend and mentor to Colombina who both share confidence and opinion of the male species. Some modern versions of Vittoria are similar to Fiorinetta. Stenterello is a later period character who does little for a plot - he appears to contribute to some gag that is not important to the story and leaves just as randomly. To escape trouble, he will give excuses that begin with a supposed anecdote from his past but tangent randomly into not only his life story but those of his extended family (surpassing even Dottore's long-windedness) and never getting to any actual explanation. Eventually, everyone else becomes too confused to remember what had happened. He is like Arlecchino by being lazy, restless, and mischievous (and can look up to Arlecchino as a role model). Often changing costumes, his clothing is a ludicrous mismatch, more buffoonish than even Arlecchino's patchwork motley. Il Cavaliere is like Capitano except he is actually a soldier and not a coward from combat. He will still boast and be egotist without reason. His two main goals are pursing revenge and trying to seduce a woman - often the innamorata but will flirt with any woman present. He considers himself above everyone, even the audience. Trivellino, Tracagnino, and Truffaldino are all members of the Arlecchino family. For all purposes, they are just Arlecchino with a different name (even wearing the same or similar costume and mask) when actors wanted the character but did not feel right using the name. However, these zanni allow a "second" Arlecchino to exist in a production with the possibility of interaction between the two as rivals or friends. In this case, one is often depicted as smarter than the other or more sympathetic. As Arlecchino changed over the centuries, one of these could be an opportunity to have both a more modern Harlequin and a traditional Renaissance style of the same Mask. Zanni can also be the name of a generic zanni character. The word "zanni" is derived from Giovanni, which was as common in Italy as John is in English speaking countries. Anytime a generic servant is needed but a more specific personality isn't required, Zanni is used. He can be an extra servant when the named ones are busy. He can be nothing more than the standard characteristics - lazy, hungry, stupid, and greedy. A scenario could have several of these, all named Zanni. They are often near the bottom of the pecking order as they don't even have enough status to have a name, though a minor part such as Zanni could be a valet to another character and thus outrank the likes of Arlecchino or Pedrolino Sometimes they had names but were given the title Zan before it.

Return to the Homepage

What is Commedia?

Calendar of Events

Archive of Past Performances

About our Troupe

Resources: Books & Links

Join Our Troupe!

The Confused Greenies is an officially recognized student organization by the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) of Case Western Reserve University but The Confused Greenies do not represent USG or the University or its policies. i Verdi Confusi is an active troupe in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) but is not an officially recognized entity nor represents the SCA, any local chapters, or policies. Email the troupe at lazzi@case.edu with any questions or comments. This page last updated on Friday, January 16, 2009.