ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the theory, practice, and aesthetics of stage improvisation in the Commedia dell’Arte tradition, a dramatic form that flourished from mid-16th to the mid-18th century approximately, at first in Italy but later also in various countries with different theatrical cultures. Commedia-style improvisation – of which Sacchi, commonly known as Truffaldino Sacchi, was perhaps last and most distinguished representative – was not a preparatory exercise designed to create a script for performance or to add performative details to one already written, but the creation of text directly on stage in actual performance. The original version of The Servant of Two Masters included a few scenes per act, mostly speeches for the serious roles, the innamorati, while the rest was in the form of a scenario containing a brief outline of the action, scene by scene. The aesthetics of formativity enables authors to recognize extent and depth of players’ self-understanding as artists and to appreciate the sophistication of their art.
