Arlechino Character Analysis

At the start of the 18th century, the previously beloved, but perhaps growing stale Commedia dell'Arte began to shift. At the head of this movement was innovative playwright, Carlo Goldoni, inspired to "purge of its nastiness" the traditions of Commedia which has gone awry (Kennard 76). With his desire for change came the creation and performance of plays with literary and performance elements pushing past previous understanding of 'Commedian' theatrics. At the core of these changes were adaptations made to the stock character of Arlecchino. Among his many changes made, much can be revealed through analysis of Truffaldino in Goldoni's famous work, The Servant of Two Masters. Through analysis of the way in which the Arrlechino character is written

He begins by personalizing the previously stock character by embellishing him with a name, Truffaldino, and backstory. In the context of The Servant of Two Masters, Truffaldino finds himself working for two masters in order to support himself given his lower-class status. Goldoni then proceeds to complicate and layer Truffaldino with conflicting and interesting character traits. Primarily, Goldoni writes Truffaldino in such a way as to confuse other characters among him of his intellect. As stated by Brighella in Act II, Scene 13, "It's not as if I know him, but sometimes I think he's smart and then I think he's completely stupid" (Congdon 52). The ongoing confusion of both Truffaldino's previous whereabouts and questionable intelligence lend themselves to being both comedic and arguably making social remark. To further add complexity to a previously stock character, he is also crafted, between moments of comedic ignorance, as slightly wittier and more aware than his holder and richer counterparts, exclaiming, "Poor old man! You must be deaf!" when his answers are ignored by Pantalone upon their first meeting (Congdon 5). Goldoni also writes a manipulative Arlecchino through Truffaldino, but does so in way which encourages the audience to support and understand his motivations behind these schemes. Spending a majority of the play simply

Director Christopher Bayes adapted the original work with modern comedy all-the-while keeping true to Goldoni's wishes to make Truffaldino a 'defender' of the middle-class, stating that Commedia is "a theater of status but we root for the little guy. We don't root for the old rich bastard" (McCoy 18). All-the-while, actor Steven Epp (Truffaldino) explains the production's wishes to avoid the view that "Commedia is just artifice", but rather seeks to express "a certain integrity and honesty behind it" (McCoy 16). To emphasize the plight of the middle-class while also catering to the 'SNL'-style comedic desires of a modern-day audience, Epp also explains the blend of improvisation and adapted script from Gondoni's original work as "a virtuosic act" which pushes actors "into the truth of every moment in a grand theatrical way", staying true to the beautiful threading of grand comedy and truthful storytelling achieved through Goldoni's writing (McCoy 14). In adding modern references such as random exclamations of pop songs and Trump mockeries through improvisation while keeping true to the plight faced by Truffaldino with much of the original text, costuming, and physicality, the production is filled with "surprises of integrity" (McCoy 15). This integration