Archetype VS Stereotype

In our recently announced and currently available Digital Intro Class to Commedia dell’Arte, we talk about Archetypes VS Stereotypes and thought it was a great thing to share with more folks.

So, what is an archetype?

An archetype is a tool for building a character. In terms of performance, an archetype is a baseline for how to start on an interesting/exciting character. It does not tell the whole story, it is the main ingredients you need to make the cake.

How are they different from a stereotype?

A stereotype is when a characteristic has been used too often when connected to a specific group. It has made one story the whole story for a group of people. These can be reductive and dangerous. In some ways these are the opposite of an archetype - they reduce a group to a broad characterization. An archetype is something you jump from when you are creating a character.

There is a place within archetypes where stereotypes can become dangerous. That is when an archetype has a stereotype baked in.

We, at Tut’zanni, are always checking in on our archetype profiles/formulas to make sure that they are not unknowingly stereotypical. Sometimes we will lean into a stereotype to make a statement, but that is knowingly using it to complicate a notion. That is an active choice. If a stereotype is part of a character without it being an active choice, that is not good. Be on the lookout always.