Masks of a Modern School

Commedia dell'Arte has many masks, which are used to represent different stock characters, characters that everyone is familiar with and who are easy to understand. Kheilah (my partner) and I have thought of all the stock characters that might be found in your average secondary school. We then narrowed that down to six: the popular girls, the wannabe populars, the teachers pets, the nerd, the new kids and the trouble makers. I will be talking about three of them, and the others, you can find on Kheilah's blog, by clicking here.

So, the three characters I chose were the nerd, the new kid, and the trouble maker.

The Nerd(ette)

This is what most people would think of, when it comes to a nerd. Our little girl here has the big, thick glasses, shiny braces, tight, tied back hair, a big, chunky wristwatch, and striped, knee high socks to pull everything together. I call her, Beatrice, Bea for short. Bea is a very nice girl, who knows almost everything there is to know. She is quite, and usually quite lonesome. She only has a couple friends, who she sees during her chess club meetings. She is an avid Mathlete, scoring the highest in her grade. In class, Bea is among one of the shortest, skinniest girls, and doesn't talk much, except for when answering questions. She is a straight A student. However, the popular girls constantly tease her, and she feels really sad, but can't do anything about it. She is unsure of herself, and her self-esteem is at an all time low. If one had to pick a color for Bea, it would be light green. Wether a girl or boy, there is often one student like this in every grade, and so, Beatrice is a good stock character of a modern school.


The New Girl

 This is Charlotte. She is the new student, and comes from a cool country in Europe, or someplace everyone is unfamiliar with. As she is a new kid, others are interested in her, and she is shy. She isn't sure who to hang out with, but likes Beatrice, the other quiet girl. Charlotte knows the fashion, but isn't annoying about it. She is very nice, to everyone. Most of the kids in the grade like her, and her funny, but cute accent. She is of average height, and is quite pretty. She is settling in well enough. When she speaks, she's confident, and she doesn't mind voicing her opinions. Charlotte is very excited for the school, and to describe herr with a color would be simple, she would be a light, but bright pink. Most of the time, there is a new kid every year, in every school, and so it is a character that all would recognize.






The Trouble Maker

Meet Stacy. Stacy is your average, rebellious, teenage girl. With a quick tongue, she jokes about everything, sometimes distracting everyone from something important. In short, she is almost the complete opposite of Beatrice or Charlotte. Stacy breaks every rule there is, does what she wants, and almost never turns in assignments. To show what a trouble maker she is, she styles her hair crazily, wears ripped shirts that plunge down, coupled with extremely low waisted, short skirts, fish net stockings and thigh high, black, leather, studded boots. Not to mention, multiple piercings on the ear and one on the belly button. Stacy doesn't like being told what to do, and never listens to anyone. She is very critical of others, and is always rude. She doesn't care what others think. A color to describe Stacy might be black, or red. Stacy is someone you might find in every class, although, they might not show it as much. The trouble maker jokes around, is never serious, and doesn't care. They like breaking the rules, and being reckless. Now, doesn't that remind you of someone you know?




Commedia Dell'Arte Stock Characters vs. Middle School Stock Characters

Just like in a modern school, Commedia also has certain stock characters. All of these characters would be easy for the audience to understand, whether rich or poor, educated or otherwise. Characters such as: Arlecchino, Brughella (Arlecchino's crony), the captain, the doctor, Pantalone (the retired merchant), Pedrolino (somewhat a clown), a servant and master, lovers, and so on. Now, the characters I chose, were very different, mostly because it is in a very different environment. The Commedia characters were meant for a whole country to be able to understand, the common characters that might be found anywhere. However, my characters were the ones you might find only in a school. Therefore, my characters are much more specific. If these characters were used to perform around the country, everyone might not know what they are about, as not everyone has been to a school. Although our 6 characters are not similar, there are other characters that are. A class clown, for example, might portray Pedrolino. The popular girls and their follows might show us hoe the whole master-servant thing works. Lovers could be any two dating, and Arelecchino could be the trouble maker. Although their roles are similar, they are not exactly the same, as the settings and audience are completely different. I think that all Commedia characters aren't relevant to a modern day society, however, there are a few, like the ones mentioned above, that might be of significance to an audience. There are many of these stock characters represented in todays world, in almost every movie, there is a villain, who may have a crony, a pair or lovers, someone who is in it for the fun. Take the movie "The Mummy Returns" for example. The parents (the two main characters) are the lovers. Evelyn's brother, Jonathan, is the modern Pedrolino, and the evil character would be the scorpion king, or the other lovers, who wanted to resurrect themselves. So, in all, it is evident that Commedia is strongly intertwined with todays entertainment.