Learning objectives
This course intends to provide its students with the skills and knowledge needed to understand theatre, staging and direction, within the framework of the second-level degree descriptors (i.e., the Dublin Descriptors). First of all, as per the first Dublin Descriptor, theatre staging and direction should be understood by examining in depth and critically interpreting both its written and visual sources).
At the end of this course, the students should be able to:
- apply the aforementioned skills and knowledge when autonomously taking on critical understanding of theatrical events, fully framing them within the correct historical and cultural contexts (as per the second Descriptor);
- manage complex judgments and information on staging, theatrical activities and all their different actors (as per the third Descriptor);
- transmit in a clear and unambiguous way the knowledge they gained, by making the most of the specialized terms used in the field (as per the fourth Descriptor);
- develop further skills in autonomous learning when study and critical learning in staging an theatre direction are concerned, making the most of all methods of historical and artistic survey 8as per the fifth Descriptor).
The minimum learning level for this course is considered reached by students when they become able to navigate the history of staging and theatre direction by applying the correct analytical tools to the critical interpretation of staging.
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
This subject follows the branch of theatrical studies involved in play in performance (or play in production): different theatrical civilizations deal very differently with drama, changing its ratio, ideas, setup and play. One of the classical works by William Shakespeare, namely “The Tempest” will be our focus, giving us the opportunity to experience an excursus in staging as Europeans intend it, considering it from the Elizabethan age until the current times. An important part of the course will involve staging in contemporary theatres, while another important part of the course will examine the various incarnations The Tempest had in visual arts and cinema, thus reflecting on the different tools artistic visions can rely upon and their ubiquitous “cross-pollination”.
This course will also rely on several audio and video sources, all the while involving its students in shaping keys and paths to explore and understand its main themes.
Full programme
Course title: “Tempeste. Staging, directions and visions from the age of Shakespeare to our time”.
METHODOLOGICAL CORNERSTONES (4 hours in total)
Drama literature and stage setup
Elements for a history of staging and theatre direction
AN HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL INTRODUCTION (6 hours in total)
William Shakespeare as a theater artist and his drama corpus
“The Tempest" – Guided reading
Paths and case studies (20 hours in total)
The Tempest on stage during the Elizabethan age
The Tempest on stage during the European Restoration
The Tempest during the Romantic era
The Tempest in the age of theatre direction: Giorgio Strehler and Peter Brook
Adaptations and rewritings of this work of art during the 1900s
Other visions: The Tempest in visual arts
Other visions: The Tempest
Bibliography
The following texts, documents and materials will feature within the examination subjects:
William Shakespeare, La Tempesta, as translated by Agostino Lombardo, Feltrinelli
Nadia Fusini, Vivere nella tempesta, Einaudi, 2016
A PAPER HANDOUT/BOOKLET featuring some cornerstone essays (it will be made available as the course begins)
A TEXT TO BE CHOSEN amongst the following (or an alternate bibliography, to be specified during lectures):
Chris Dymkowski (ed. by) The Tempest, itself part of the Cambridge University.
Press “Shakespeare in Production” series, London, 2000.
Elam Keir, Mettere in scena Shakespeare (with Alessandro Serpieri), Parma 1986*
Bajma Griga, Stefano, La Tempesta di Shakespeare per Giorgio Strehler, Pisa, ETS, 2003.
Kott, Jean, Shakespeare nostro contemporaneo, Milan, Feltrinelli.
* the text by Elam Keir is mandatory for those students not attending this course.
Teaching methods
The lectures for this course will rely on audio and video sources as well.
Researches and seminars, especially on case studies, will also be carried out and implemented.
Assessment methods and criteria
This course will feature an oral exam and a written essay on topics chosen by the students
Other information
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2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
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