A canovaccio is a
scenario
In the performing arts, a scenario (, ; ; ) is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the ''commedia dell'arte'', it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play, and was literally pi ...
used by ''
commedia dell'arte'' players. It consisted only of a list of acts and scenes; the details were left to the improvisation of the actors. Actors in the ''commedia dell'arte'' thus had to be endowed with an inventive mind since the success of the
play
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* P ...
depended largely on their creativity and above all on their ''
lazzi Lazzi (; from the Italian ''lazzo'', a joke or witticism) are stock comedic routines that are associated with '' Commedia dell'arte''. Performers, especially those playing the masked Arlecchino, had many examples of this in their repertoire, and wou ...
'' (jokes and gags). The spotlight fell on the actors rather than on the play itself.
The use of
improvisation on top of ''canovaccio'' enabled the avoidance of
censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
because censors cannot censor that which is not written. Since the dialogue was almost entirely improvised on stage, actors and theatre companies could get away with almost anything.
In the late 19th century scholars began searching for documentary sources on the history of the theatre in Italy.
[Anna Maria Testaverde (2007) ''Introduzione a I canovacci della Commedia dell'Arte']
/ref> Over a thousand documents in manuscript or print were discovered that consisted of canovacci in numerous collections or individually, and usually anonymous.[
]
References
Commedia dell'arte
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