OVERVIEW

Intertwining the point of view of actors with that of directors, critics and scholars, the course questions some of the constituent elements of acting: pedagogy, training, technique, poetry, social role. To this end, a wide range of sources will be considered: memoirs, manuals, dramatic and theoretical texts, iconographic and video documentation.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to offer examples and methodological tools to allow students to navigate the panorama of practices and theories of acting in history, with particular reference to the XIX-XX centuries and the present day. Special attention will be paid to the intertwining of the construction/use of the body on stage, the relationship with the audience and the social role of actors and actresses.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course, students:

• learn the complementarity of actor and spectator in co-determining the scenic event and iots meaning;

• master the basic methodological principles necessary for the study of acting in history;

• know the main theories of acting, in particular from the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century;

• properly contextualize actors’ biographies;

• are able to analyse the different types of sources useful for the study of acting.

Students with disabilities or DSAs are reminded that in order to request adaptations in the exam, they must first enter their certification on the University website at servizionline.unige.it in the "Students" section. The documentation will be verified by the University's Services for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and DSA Sector (https://rubrica.unige.it/strutture/struttura/100111). Subsequently, at least 10 days before the date of the exam, an e-mail must be sent to the teacher with whom you will take the exam, including in the knowledge copy both the School's Teacher Referent for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and with DSA (Prof. Elisabetta Colagrossi: elisabetta.colagrossi@unige.it) and the Sector indicated above. The e-mail should specify: the name of the teaching; the date of the call; the student's last name, first name and roll number; the compensatory tools and dispensatory measures deemed functional; and required.  The contact person will confirm to the lecturer that the applicant is entitled to apply for adaptations in the examination and that these adaptations must be agreed upon with the lecturer. The lecturer will respond by informing whether the requested adaptations can be used. Requests should be sent at least 10 days before the date of the call in order to allow the lecturer(s) to evaluate the content. In particular, in case you intend to make use of maps conceptual maps for the exam (which must be much more concise than the maps used for studying) if the submission does not meet the deadline there will not be the technical time needed to make any changes.

PREREQUISITES

Elementary knowledge of theatre history.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures supported by PowerPoint presentations and videos (recordings of shows, documentaries, interviews).

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

In the first part, the course introduces some of the main theories for actors elaborated from the second half of the Nineteenth Century and throughout the Twentieth Century.

In the second part of the course students will be introduced to several types of acting and actors: the shaman actor, ubiquitous, devil, fool, playwright, clown, narrator, grammelot, revolutionary, freak, performer; man or woman (as you like it), Western or Eastern, by force or choice, professional or amateur, burned alive or star, singer or mute, "holy" or "prostitute”.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fabrizio Cruciani, Claudio Meldolesi, Franco Ruffini, Ferdinando Taviani, Pensare il teatro, a cura di Roberto Cuppone, Corazzano (PI), Titivillus, 2024.

Clelia Falletti (a cura di), Il corpo scenico, Spoleto, Editoria&Spettacolo, 2008.

Lesson slides, available on Aulaweb.

Handouts, available on Aulaweb.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ROBERTO CUPPONE (President)

GIULIA TADDEO (President)

ANGELA ZINNO

LESSONS

LESSONS START

25 September 2024

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The evaluation will be in equal parts (3/3) a) on learning the informative contents of the prescribed texts, b) on the ability to critically process their contents, and c) on the personal in-depth study.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

It is recommended to contact the teacher for bibliographic indications or materials related to the lessons; to solve any problems in the availability of texts; to agree on motivated changes to the program.