Commedia Dell Arte Costumes Analysis

Costumes and Masks in Commedia Dell’Arte: Their True Purpose Costumes and masks are pivotal point in commedia dell’arte. The costumes and masks allow the audience members to become fully immersed into the production of the performance. Every detail of the performance is important and the costuming symbolises the attempt to fully enthrall each member into believing that the costume looked and dressed a certain way. The meaning of the costumes and masks is seen as being an extension of the character and the form of escapism within performances.
The costumes tell a story to the audience. The details reveal the character personality, career and how they are represented in society. The Pantalone’s costume reveals much about his character; “By …show more content…
The cloak and the money pouch are two key items. The cloak represents the superiority, the feeling of being higher than everyone else within the production. The money pouch represents his wealth/greed, the character is known for having power over the money in the production and also shows he will let no one have it. The costumes make the character, they symbolise the wold the character lives in and in commedia dell’arte it is important to represent that. In commedia dell’arte, the characters so improvisation, which means the actors have to try and prepare for the production during the performance. The costumes allow the actors to understand the characters and try to interpret them as much as possible. The cloak and the money pouch could allow the actor to learn the story of the Pantalone’s greed. The costume’s details and mask branch out into becoming the aspect of storytelling that bring the character’s meaning to the audience and to the actor. In the article called “In this”, The theater and scenery of the Commedia Dell’Arte”. Roberto Cuppone discusses the extension of the costumes and the masks as a part of the