Research into Zanni

Here's the research I've been doing for my character:

The Zanni’s costume usually consists of white baggy clothing.[8] This was similar to the dress of peasants and farmworkers of the time.[1] The Zanni are also known to sport a peaked hat and a wooden sword.[9] The Zanni at first wore a full faced carnival mask, but because of the need for dialogue between Pantalone and the Zanni, the bottom of the mask was hinged and eventually cut away altogether. The longer the nose of the Zanni, the more stupid he is said to be.[8]

A Zanni is known to take and briefly keep items that belong to someone else. Some items that the Zanni would keep would be bags, letters, valuables, or food.[8]

The stance of Zanni has a “lowered centre of gravity” either from the earth or from carrying heavy bags and chairs. Zanni’s back is arched when he stands up and his knees are bent and apart with splayed feet. The support knee is bent and the other leg is extended with his toe pointed. He switches his feet a lot while speaking or listening within the same position, and without his head moving up and down. Zanni’s elbows are usually bent and arms half lifted

The Zanni is loud and his voice is coarse due to making a living outdoors trying to be heard in a market or busy street.

The earliest literary evidence portrays Zanni as a servant of Pantalone.[1] Of all of the commedia archetypes, Zanni’s survival instinct is the strongest. Zanni is also always hungry which leads to a vision of Utopia where “everything is comestible, reminiscent of the followers of gluttony in carnival processions”.[Note 2] A Zanni also has an animistic view of the world in that he senses a spirit in everything, so it could be eaten. Zanni is ignorant, loutish, and has no self-awareness. The simple act of thinking does not seem to be natural to Zanni. He is a very faithful individual who prefers to live in the present day. Zanni never looks for a place to sleep it just seems to happen to him often in situations where it shouldn’t. Lastly, all of his reactions are completely emotional.[13]


Zanni’s relationship to the audience is that he is the most sympathetic character and treats the audience collectively so he is able to address the audience directly. Zanni contributes to the plot by being the “principal contributor to any confusion”.[13

Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanni

This have cleared my mind on how I should act as Zanni I think this is a very difficult role as he needs to be OTT which I find very difficult, however I like the fact that he has a good relationship with the audience. I think the most time consuming part would be the movement of Zanni so the fierts thing I'm going to try to master is his movements.