Commedia dell'arte (UK: /kɒˈmeɪdiə dɛlˈɑːteɪ/, US: /kəˈmeɪdiə dɛlˈɑːrti, -ˈmɛdiə/; Italian: [komˈmɛːdja delˈlarte]; lit. 'comedy of the profession') was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italy, that was popular in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century. Commedia dell'arte was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as commedia alla maschera, commedia improvviso, and commedia dell'arte all'improvviso.Commedia is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century and was responsible for the advent of actresses (for example Isabella Andreini)and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. A commedia, such as The Tooth Puller, is both scripted and improvised.Characters' entrances and exits are scripted. A special characteristic of commedia dell'arte are the lazzi. A lazzo is a joke or "something foolish or witty", usually well known to the performers and to some extent a scripted routine. Another characteristic of commedia dell'arte is pantomime, which is mostly used by the character Arlecchino (Harlequin).
