Commedia Dell'Arte (1400-1600 AD) 1.)Commedia dell'Arte was essentially the first improvisational drama. The Commedia dell'Arte was popular in 16th and 17th century Italy, in a period when theatre plays were classic and cold, and amateur actors recited their memorized lines onstage with no apparent emotion. Commedia dell'Arte - in English, "Artistic Comedy" or "Play of Professional Artists" - was the exact opposite: loud, colorful plays using stock characters (culturally stereotyped caricatures which appeared in every …showed first 75 words of 3055 total…

…showed last 75 words of 3055 total…of News" shows a kind of relationship to the moralities, especially in Lady Pecunia, who looks like she could be the aptronym "Riches." Not much has truly changed from medieval drama to modern times. The same plotlines are translated from miracle, mystery and morality plays to modern theater. Today, good usually triumphs over evil, characters have internal conflicts, and obstacles must be overcome by the protagonist on his way to "salvation" - a happy ending.