Commedia dell'arte masks

Commedia dell'arte masks are a type of mask worn by performers of commedia dell'arte. Masks are an integral part of the performance, and each character wears a particular mask design. All masks were originally leather, but are now more commonly made of neoprene. They are an extension of the actors and their costumes, hair, and accessories. The masks create an entirely different face for the people wearing them. Masks in commedia dell'arte speak of the types of characters that each represents, saying that they are an unchanged type.

Masks told the audience who the character was, their social class and type, what they would or wouldn't do, and their attitudes. A comic mask is a nobody and a somebody at the same time, important even if a lowly servant. Characters who embody the upper class–usually the lovers or innamorati–and the female servants do not wear physical headpieces, but their personalities are still referred to as "masks".

Commedia stock characters introduce themselves as soon as they notice the audience, and the mask helps them to do so. To the audience, the actor's physical movements and embodiment of the stock characters help establish their character, and the mask enhances this. The masks and the lazzo comedic routines were connected; without the lazzo a character in a mask would be less entertaining.

Commedia dell'arte originated in the 1530s and 1540s. Performers needed to be recognized immediately as the characters they portrayed. Many actors see the characters as a mask; with it on, they are that specific character; without it, they are themselves or another character. Lovers can wear a mask as a disguise, however, and do not become another character. Actors are directed more by the mask than by the director; they use the movements associated with the character and follow their character's type. An actor must surrender his entire body to the character, not just change his face with the mask.