Performing the Female “Gypsy”

Abstract

The role or the disguise of female “Gypsy” appears on European stages as early as the sixteenth century. The present article proposes to study the creation of this role, its connections with the actual lives and images of Romanies, and its use by various performers of the comme-dia dell’arte tradition as a metaphor for the emancipation of women. First, a working definition of the commedia dell’arte is in order. Also known as commedia all’improviso (improvised comedy), commedia delle maschere (comedy of masks), and commedia dei zanni (comedy of servants), the commedia dell’arte is exclusively an actors’ theater that emerged and knew its golden period during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Italy, France, and later, in Spain, England, and Germany. The term arte is used in its ancient meaning of skill and professionalism, calling to mind the medieval guilds of specialized groups of professionals. The complete definition of this theater is given by the very names it has acquired: it relies entirely on the actors’ professionalism and imagination, it is largely based on improvisation, most of the characters wear masks, and the characters who give it its very comic essence are servants.¹