Meeting the Characters: The Servants Skip to main content
Test

Meeting the Characters: The Servants

by Janine Sobeck, dramaturg In writing The Servant of Two Masters, Carlo Goldoni used several classic commedia dell'arte characters to tell his hilarious story.  Many of these characters, often described as "stock characters," are still used in theatre and film today.  Let's see who you recognize. First up there are the servants, or the Zanni.  With names like Truffaldino, Arlecchino, Smeraldina and Pulcinella, the servants are usually defined as astute tricksters.  The bottom of the pecking order, zanni come from the countryside (most often the city of Bergamo) and represented the poor farm and immigrant workers of Italy. The zanni are often mischevious and are ruled by their survival instincts - especially by hunger.  Led by their stomachs instead of their brains, the zanni provide most of the comic relief in any commedia style play.  In fact, their main purpose in the storyline is to be the "principal contributor to any confusion.” Misunderstanding, tricks, pranks and continuous attempts to pull one over their masters led to extreme physical comedy known as lazzi.  The most common lazzi involves the use of a batacchio or slapstick, when the zanni receives punishment from his master for one of his tricks.

The zanni are loveable in their stupidity and often interact directly with the audience, ensuring their sympathy.  The greater the scrape -and the more impossible the situation - the more you root for them to succeed.

Next up, we'll meet their masters...

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

Our Own Secret Garden

October 25, 2023 10:03 AM
The power of healing and growth is a topic not unknown to students at BYU. Educators and learners alike were asked to stretch their capacity to hold both powers in one hand as they were transplanted from their on-campus home in the Harris Fine Arts Center, to the new West Campus building, formerly known as the old Provo High School. The college of fine arts and communication, which includes Theatre, Media, film, Art, and Design departments, had to establish new communities, while major construction projects prevented them from being as close to the rest of campus as they might like to be.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Waiting to Develop Wait Until Dark

October 04, 2023 09:00 PM
The BYU Department of Theatre & Media Arts provides students with opportunities to gain hands-on experience in technical theatre by assigning them as lead designers for main stage productions. Wait Until Dark is a unique and thrilling experience to create the design for ultra realism on stage.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

I-Spy Scavenger Hunt

October 04, 2023 08:05 PM
Wait Until Dark is full of action and heightened reality. In our dramaturgy guide within the show program, we asked audience members to locate a select few handheld props and set pieces. These items that are utilized to help Susy, the main character who is blind, overcome her tormentors.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=