Zanni - the fool and lowest servant of the group, the name is a generic name for slave or servant, and is where the word 'zany' (meaning crazy or erratic) is derived from. The mask often features a long nose, longer meaning less intelligent. There may be first or second zannis, the first being in charge of the second but both under the servitude of a master. He wears a simple and unembellished costume

Zanni is an extremely curious and alert character of a high energy level, often the butt of particularly slapstick jokes due to his stupidity and abusive relationship with his master (often Pantalone). Zanni is often tired and hungry, which leads to a desire for food or sleep that motivates him in many cases. This leads to lazzi in which he will eat anything - food on him, costume, props, or famously miming eating cherries, throwing them in the air, missing, choking on the stones. He is also often involved in a lazzo in which he passes messages between the two lovers in the midst of an argument, but through misunderstanding and miscommunication, the situation is worsened.

Zanni's gait leads with his knees or feet, and he walks with flat, out-turned feet with rapid steps in a rhythm of three at a time. One leg is often bent and the other straightened, with his arms hanging in front of him, and his back fairly straight. His head and eyes moves around rapidly to view his surroundings, with a chicken or monkey like physicality, with quite an irregular and erratic rhythm. Some portray him as having a very high pitched and fast paced voice to show his energy and anxiety, never dropping below a tension level of 4 or 5, and other use a much slower pace and an unintelligent tone.

Arccheloni - also known as the second zanni, he is the servant above Zanni. The English character and word 'Harlequin' comes from him as the court jester or trickster. His mask features a broad, upturned lip to give the effect of a constant smile, meaning the actor must exaggerate their jaw movements when using facial expressions. The character also carries a slapstick (or battochio) that is used by others to punish him, or as other props such as a spoon, fly squatter, back scratcher, sound effect device, or a weapon. He is a trickster and often uses costumes in lazzis or deception to mock and prank other characters.

Arlecchino too is energetic and eager to please, and a very quick thinker and problem solver to get out of trouble - a more intelligent zanni. He can however be bribed by others for more money or food to betray his loyalty to his master, keeping the Zanni's desires. His lazzo is often based around thinking to show some of his cunning - he tries to kill himself, despairing over his love for Columbina, but each method he thinks of is too difficult or painful. This relationship is often played on in Commedia. Arlecchino in fact has many different lazzi because of his comedic, practical joke-esque actions.

Arlecchino uses a monkey or puppy like physicality, and moves quickly and acrobatically, with a skipping and light gait, leading with his chest or eyes. Somersaults, flips and cartwheels are often unnecessarily added in as he is an extravegant performer.

Brighella - another servant (in the household of Pantalone), Brighella is a first zanni, and the top servant in charge of all the others, and is a rogue slave who is often in a better position, such as an innkeeper, bailiff or stable master, often the right-hand man to the master of the house and a loyal servant. He also often carries a battochio (or wooden sword), and wears green and white livery with an olive green mask with thick lips, a hooked nose and a large mustache to symbolise his own lust and greed.

Brighella is more intelligent and more vindictive than Arlecchino, and a greedy opportunist who always finds a solution that will favour himself, sly, and double dealing - selfish whilst appearing loyal. He abuses lower zannis and uses them for the hard work, but can still be tricked himself. He too has a working class regional accent to show his rise from poverty. His lazzi often involve him in charge of the lower slaves, treating Arlecchino like a dog for example and throwing him food or whistling for him.

Brighella has the physicality of a bull terrier (the clown of the dog world, or a rat or snake, as he is crafty and at times sinister. He moves without using too much energy, nonchalant, leading with the hips and head tilted to one side, with a wide and open posture. He always sleeps with one eye open, and has a generally relaxed body language that shows he is in control.

The Captain (Il Capitano) - always the stranger in town, the captain could be a zanni in a different village but portrays himself as a fierce warrior and brags of his feats constantly. He is a master character and represents the military, deliberately satirising bravery. His costume is extravagant and multicoloured, and his mask features a long nose that indicates his physical strength over intelligence and may resemble a phallus. He also often carries a sword, which is hold at all time by his hip, but may not know how to use it. The Captain may be shown as a second lover, as he wants love and appreciation from others, but by overstepping the mark, loses it.

The Captain is cowardly but shows an outward appearance of bravery, and has a hyper-masculine personality until scared and his cowardice is revealed, and the other characters realise this. This often leads to a self-parody and mockery as he carries off his act so poorly. His lazzi always involve the moment where his true nature is revealed - Arlecchino may pull a chair out from under him when he is sitting, his cape may be pulled to take him off a chair, he may be imitated by an Arlecchino, or may be frightened by a mouse or spider or some other tiny threat when telling his tales of bravery - any of these may be used.

He leads with his chest pushed outward, shoulders rolled backward, head pointed upward, eyes following his nose where he looks, and moving with a slow, grand gait and large, kicking strides with his feet, and hips turned outward. However when he is frightened he becomes very small and completely closes off his posture. He may be compared to a rooster or peacock (with all his feathers removed but is not aware, as some describe) due to his exaggerated physicality. His tone of voice is often commanding, with a deep pitch, until he is scared and shows a comically contrasting high pitch. The character is often played with a Spanish or other foreign accent to show he is a stranger and able to lie.

The Doctor (Il Dottore) - another master character, the Doctor represents knowledge and academia, and is a supposed expert in every subject, when in reality he is very uninformed about, and is a satire of another authority in society similar to the Captain. He is often portrayed as a friend of Pantalone and almost an advisor to him. His costume is a dark robe and requires the actor to appear fat and old to mock him. His mask covers the forehead and the nose to show his arrogant thoughts and overinflation.

The Doctor is too a braggart in a way, and shown as a much older and wiser man, quite disgusting in physicality and actions. The lazzi of the Doctor prescribing a patient a ridiculous treatment (such as drinking urine) then overcharging thus (by making them buy his own urine) is often used to show his greed, dishonesty and unintelligence. Other lazzi may show him being taken advantage of, such as an Arlecchino disguised as a barber, getting him to drink water with shaved hair in.

The Doctor is played like a large ape (like a howler monkey) - the back is straight, the hands animated and constantly using gestures for explanation, and his gait uses flat, stomping feet. He leads with his forehead, as with his mask, to show his arrogance, and he looks down his nose and everyone. He walks with a slight bounce but slowly due to his size. His vocal tone is extremely important to his character, as grammelot is frequently used to make the character sound falsely intelligent, throwing in complicated words at points, or with an ancient Latin or Greek sound. His pitch is deep and from the stomach, and his tone can be condescending and haughty.

Pantalone -  the master of the house, and the master to the servants - but he is an old character, a miser and a letch, and extremely protective and paranoid of his money (and as shown in his physicality, his crotch area). Pantalone convinces others to work for him through rewards such as food or money, but is often taken advantage of and made a fool off, representing the business and money in society and mocked. He often abuses his servants, especially the second zanni character, and this master-servant relationship is vital to his character. His costume often has a long robe and red leggings and livery - this shows his lust and desire as well as his high status. His mask features a long beak-like nose which shows his greed and unintelligence, as well as a wrinkled brow, bushy eyebrows, and drooping eyes to show his grumpy disposition and old nature. Shylock from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice is extremely reminiscent to Pantalone as an old Jewish miser and money-loaner.

Pantalone is constantly annoyed and angry at someone, but his lazzi always show his misfortune. In one, he tells stories of famous people he has met, and in another, he attempts to fight a Captain with his zanni, but each forgets how to wield a sword and fight the Captain, and end up pushing the other towards him. He is a letch and lustful for younger women, often his servant Columbina. Another common lazzo is his dagger rising between his legs when being told about a woman. He is also often the father to Isabella, the First Lover. He values his money and wealth above anything and is very paranoid

Pantalone's physicality is old and weak, with a hunched over back, shoulders pulled forward, leading his strides with his knees and his head with his chin. His hands linger around his crotch are where he often keeps a pouch of coins and his other prized possession. The physicality is similar to that of a vulture or turkey. When angry he may temporarily move quickly or jump up and down in fit of childish rage, but then becomes very out of breath. His voice is squawking and less commanding than others, and very unpleasant to hear, shrill and annoying.

Magnifico (Il Magnifico) - the version of Pantalone before the physical decline with old age, Magnifico wears a similar costume but is far more rich, powerful, and healthy. He is often the leader of a state and the highest ranking master (master of the masters) in the Commedia hierarchy. He is rarely seen on stage in this form. His costume is often dark and includes mysterious robes, with a mask that has more aggressive furrowed brows, no eyebrows and a shorter but hooked nose.

He is quite a mysterious and sinister character, in charge of everyone and always in control of the situation. Magnifico isn't involved in any common lazzi as he is rarely the subject of jokes.

There is always a clear proxemic space between Magnifico and the other characters which shows his intimidation and power. He can be shown as an eagle - powerful, important, and brooding. His voice is low, booming and commanding. His chest is pushed further out, and he still leads with his chin and walks with longer strides.

The Witch - also called Smeraldina, she is another servant in the household, but often viewed as a witch. She is similar to Brighella as she often tricks others and acts towards her own personal gain. She can also sing and story-tell to almost hypnotise others. She often doesn't wear a mask like the lovers, and is the servant to Isabella, and often one of the only clever characters on stage. She is also often shown as a female version of Arlecchino, and has to defend herself from the approaches of Pantalone.

She is a flirtatious and sly character, often engineering situations to her advantage.

She moves quickly with light feet, and often poses with her hands on her hips.

She is in some way linked (through the hint to supernatural abilities) to the Satiro, a satyr like creature that causes havoc for the masters of Commedia, and is a demon-like character to introduce obstacles to others. Puck from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is arguably based off a Satiro character.

Columbina - another servant in Pantalone's household, Columbina is the lustful interest of Pantalone, flirts with the other old men and masters, but is the true love of Arlecchino, and often shown as an Arlecchine, a female version of him (Smeraldina is in fact another name for a Columbina character). She too is a first zanni, and is an intelligent servant, often serving Isabella. She doesn't typically wear a mask which separates her from the other servants, and often wears a patchwork, multicoloured, large dress akin to that of the Arlecchino. She often carries a tambourine or a basket which can be used as a weapon or for other actions, like showing off her femininity.

Columbina is quite flirtatious and cunning, and very independent and autonomous, often the only true intellect on stage, so brings reason to the scene.

Columbina can be played as a motherly figure, caring for the other servants, yet still quite cruel and using them for labour. She leads with her chest or head, and takes lighter foot steps, moving quickly between stances, and stands with her hands on her hips and an open posture with delicate, beautiful gestures. She is quite feline in appearance and can be shown as a pet cat - smart and cuddly.