OVERVIEW

This course provides students with a basic knowledge of the history of western theater. The course aims at: 1) introducing students to the complexity of the concepts “Theater” and “Performing Arts”; 2) making students familiar with the most important forms and functions that theater has covered during history; 3) offering tools for a first analytic approach to contemporary theatre.

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 that “Theater” and “Spectacle” have taken in different times and places. A focus is on the relationship that, at times, has been established between text (if present) and performance (the spectacle, which can be broken down into many elements: playwriting, acting, direction, scenography etc.). The ultimate goal is to provide students with the skills to describe, analyze and interpret contemporary theater.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

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

- Ability to distinguish and analize, at a basic level, 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. Registration on Aulaweb is compulsary. Attendance at the theatre evenings is optional.

In case of lockdown, lessons will be held on Unige MSTeams. Access code is è 79gs0z

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

6 CFU

After a brief introduction to the discipline, 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 Second World War. Students will carry on individually at home the study of the second half of the 20th century.

9 CFU

The third module is focused on Adelaide Ristori (29 January 1822 -  9 October 1906), a distinguished, worldwide famous, Italian actress and a protagonist of the so-called “first phase of globalisation”. Daughter of poor strolling players, after having worked in the best royal companies of the country, she conducted her own company, together with the husband the marquis Giuliano Capranica del Grillo. In thirty years of transnational touring (1855-1885) she performed in 334 cities, 33 countries and 5 continents. She was an emblem of United Italy, a model of western acting on European repertoire (Shakespeare, Racine, Alfieri, Giacometti), and a symbol of the power of theatre, capable to communicate and move different audiences, even in a language foreign for the large majority of the spectators.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

ERASMUS STUDENTS - 6 CFU

1. Storia del teatro e dello spettacolo, edited by Roberto Alonge and Franco Perrelli, Torino, UTET, 2019, III edition (with exception of the chapters: 13, 25, 27, 30, 31).
2. Plays to be read in full: Sofocle, Antigonis; W. Shakespeare, Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet; H. Ibsen, A Doll's House; B. Brecht, Three-penny-opera.
3. Slides and videos published on Aulaweb.

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

ERASMUS STUDENTS - 9 CFU

Add to the previous bibliography: Adelaide Ristori, Ricordi e Studi artistici, edited by Antonella Valoroso, Roma, Audino, 2005

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

LIVIA CAVAGLIERI (President)

ROBERTO CUPPONE

EMANUELA CHICHIRICCO' (Substitute)

VALERIA SCREPIS (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

17 February 2021

Class schedule

HISTORY OF THE THEATRE AND ENTERTAINMENT

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Attending students may take a written test. Not attending students will have an oral exam.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

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 (I e II semestre)
• Laboratorio di allestimento del testo teatrale (II semestre)
• Laboratorio di teatro pratico (I semestre)
• Laboratorio di teatro sociale (II semestre)