Changes

Characters who are down on their [[luck]] or in unhappy situations often angle for the audience to comfort them with a sympathetic 'Aaaaaah!'. For example, the buffoon's unrequited [[love]] for the main female character will often elicit this response.

Characters who are down on their [[luck]] or in unhappy situations often angle for the audience to comfort them with a sympathetic 'Aaaaaah!'. For example, the buffoon's unrequited [[love]] for the main female character will often elicit this response.

===Origins===

==Origins==

As a traditional form of theater, pantomime's conventions are not formalized, but have grown up organically over hundreds of years by drawing on various different influences. Two of the most recognizeable are [[Italian]] [[Commedia dell'arte]], a stylized theater form that provides the templates for many of the stock characters (the word 'pantomime' comes from Pantalone, one such character<ref [http://www.theatrehistory.com/italian/commedia_dell_arte_001.html The Commedia dell'Arte]</ref>); and English [[music hall]], which supplies much of the bawdy humor and audience participation.

As a traditional form of theater, pantomime's conventions are not formalized, but have grown up organically over hundreds of years by drawing on various different influences. Two of the most recognizeable are [[Italian]] [[Commedia dell'arte]], a stylized theater form that provides the templates for many of the stock characters (the word 'pantomime' comes from Pantalone, one such character<ref> [http://www.theatrehistory.com/italian/commedia_dell_arte_001.html The Commedia dell'Arte]</ref>); and English [[music hall]], which supplies much of the bawdy humor and audience participation.

==Present day==

==Present day==