OVERVIEW

This course provides students with a basis of knowledge on the history of Western Theater and Performing Arts. Throughout the lessons (supported by power points and videos, enriched by talks of artists) and individual study, the course introduces students to the concepts of “Theater” and “Performing Arts” in their complexity. It focuses on the forms and functions that theater has covered in different times and places and offers models for analyzing contemporary spectacle.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

This course provides students with a basis of knowledge on the history of the Theater and performing arts. The aim is to connect knowledge of historical events to an understanding of the various forms, meanings and functions the “Theater” and “Spectacle” have taken in different times and places. A special focus is on the relationship that, at times, has been established between the original text of a play, where present, and the performed version (the spectacle, which can be broken down into many elements: playwriting, acting, direction, scenography etc.). The ultimate goal to provide students with the skills to describe, analyze and interpret contemporary theater.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

- Ability to set a theatrical phenomenon in its historical context (in relation to dramaturgy, space and acting).

- Ability to analize at a basic level the different elements that build a theatre performance.

- Ability to distinguish the different elements that build a theatre performance.

In addition for 9 CFU:

- Ability to describe, analize and interpret at a basic level contemporary theatre.

PREREQUISITES

There is no prerequisite for this course.

TEACHING METHODS

In-class lectures with slides and video projections with optional attendance at the theatre evenings.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

6 CFU

A brief introduction to the discipline and its objects of study will familiarize students with the complexity of the term “Theater” and teach them the main characteristics and components of what we call a “performance”. Afterward, the first two modules will be dedicated to studying the main events and periods of the history of Theater in the West from the 5th century B.C. to the 19th century A.D. Students will carry on individually at home the study of the 20th century. In collaboration with the theaters of Genoa, students will have “guided” viewings of plays during class time along with the artists and theater companies.

9 CFU

The third module of lessons will be focused on the 20th century theatre.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

ERASMUS STUDENTS - 6 CFU

1. Storia del teatro. Le idee e le forme dello spettacolo dall'antichità ad oggi, edited by Luigi Allegri, Roma, Carocci, 2017, First part.
2. Plays to be read in full: Sofocle, Antigonis; W. Shakespeare, Macbeth or Hamlet; C. Goldoni, La locandiera; H. Ibsen, John Gabriel Borkman; L. Pirandello, Così è (se vi pare) or Enrico IV or I giganti della montagna; S. Beckett, Fin de partie.
3. Images and videos on Aulaweb.

Bibliography for student not proficient in Italian language may be arranged individually.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

LIVIA CAVAGLIERI (President)

EMANUELA CHICHIRICCO'

ROBERTO CUPPONE

RAFFAELE MELLACE

MATTEO PAOLETTI

LESSONS

LESSONS START

18 February 2019

Class schedule

HISTORY OF THE THEATRE AND ENTERTAINMENT

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam is oral. Only attending students may take a written test at the end of the semester in May for the 6 cfu program.  Students taking the 9 cfu program will complete the program with an oral exam following the written test.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The written exam for attending students is divided into two sections: a) four multiple choice questions on the handbook edited by Allegri  b) two essay questions on topics covered in class, handbook and materials from Aulaweb.

6 cfu oral exam:

• Two questions on the handbook and/or on Aulaweb materials.
• One question on topics covered in class or in the text for not attending students.

9 cfu oral exam:

• Two questions on the handbook and/or on Aulaweb materials
• One question on topics covered in class or in the text for not attending students
• One questions on a text arranged individually

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

The following workshops are recommended (for more information, see the individual pages in the Course section):

• Laboratorio di lettura e produzione dello spettacolo operistico 1 e 2
• Laboratorio di allestimento del testo teatrale
• Laboratorio di teatrodanza