OVERVIEW

This course provides students with a basic knowledge of the history of Western Theater. The course aims at: 1) introducing students to the concepts of “Theater” and “Performing Arts” in their complexity; 2) making students familiar with the most important forms and functions that theater has covered during history; 3) offering cues 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. Attendance at the theatre evenings is optional.

Lessons are envisaged in dual mode (presence in class + remote streaming on Unige MSTeams). The code for access will be available here.

Registration on Aulaweb is compulsary.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

For students who take 6 CFU

After a brief introduction to the discipline, the first two modules will be dedicated to studying the most important events of the history of Theater in the West from the 5th century B.C. to the second half of the 20th century.

For students who take 9 CFU

The third module of lessons will be focused on Carlo Quartucci (1938-2019), one of the protagonists of the Italian experimental scene. Themes that will be discussed are: the redifinition of the concepts of actor, director, dramaturgy; the contamination theatre/visual arts; the relationship between experimental theatre and institutions; the decentralization; performance's aesthetic.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

ERASMUS STUDENTS - 6 CFU

1. Storia del teatro e dello spettacolo, edited by M. Cambiaghi, A. Egidio, I. Innamorati, A. Sapienza, Milano-Torino, Pearson, 2020.
2. Six plays to be read in full, amongst the ones listed below:

• Euripide, Baccanti
• Euripide, Troiane
• William Shakespeare, Macbeth
• Luigi Pirandello, Enrico IV
• Eduardo De Filippo, Sik Sik l’artefice magico
• Eugène Jonesco, Le sedie
• Tennessee Williams, Lo zoo di vetro
• Edward Albee, Chi ha paura di Virginia Woolf?
• Thomas Bernhard, Piazza degli eroi

3. Slides and videos published on Aulaweb.

ERASMUS STUDENTS - 9 CFU

Add to the previous bibliography: Donatella Orecchia, Stravedere la scena. Carlo Quartucci. Il viaggio nei primi venti anni 1959-1979, Mimesis, Milano 2020

Bibliography for students not proficient in Italian language may be arranged individually in other languages (English, or French or German).

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

LIVIA CAVAGLIERI (President)

ROBERTO CUPPONE

EMANUELA CHICHIRICCO' (Substitute)

FEDERICA SCAGLIONE (Substitute)

VALERIA SCREPIS (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

February 2022

Class schedule

HISTORY OF THE PERFORMING ARTS

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Attending students may take a written test. Not attending students will take 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 not compulsary, but recommended (for more information, see https://corsi.unige.it/8457/p/studenti-laboratori):

• Laboratorio di allestimento del testo teatrale
• Laboratorio di teatro pratico
• Laboratorio di teatro sociale
• Laboratotio di analisi della performance tecnologica