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”; 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.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

- Ability to put 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 of a theatre performance

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

For students attending regularly lessons and taking the written examinations:
- Ability to communicate (written and oral) successfully, by using textual and iconografic sources
- Ability to organise and evaluate individual laearning through istant polling methods

PREREQUISITES

There are no specific requirements

TEACHING METHODS

In-class lectures with slides and video projections.

Registration on Aulaweb is compulsary.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

After a brief theoretichal introduction to the discipline, the lessons will be dedicated to the most important figures, mouvements and events of the history of theater in the western world from the 5th century B.C. to the second half of the 20th century. The third module will focus on the director Luca Ronconi.

NB: check Aulaweb for updates and specifications

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR ERASMUS STUDENTS - 6 CFU (= 40 hours class lessons)

1. Storia del teatro. Scena e spettacolo in Occidente, a cura di M. Cambiaghi, A. Egidio, I. Innamorati, A. Sapienza, Milano-Torino, Pearson, 2020
2. Notes and slides published on Aulaweb
3. Four plays to be read in full (titles will be communicated at the beginning of the theatrical season 2025-26)

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR ERASMUS STUDENTS - 9 CFU (= 60 hours class lessons)

Add to the bibliography for 6 CFU a book to be chosen between: C. Longhi, Orlando furioso di Ariosto-Sanguineti per Luca Ronconi, ETS, 2006 or M. Marchetti, Guardare il romanzo. Luca Ronconi e la parola in scena, Rubbettino, 2016 or S. Tomassini, New York furioso, Marsilio, 2018

Check Aulaweb for updates

Erasmus students not proficient in Italian may request a substitutive bibliography, and take the examination in English, French or German

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Mid February 2026

Class schedule

THEATRE AND PERFORMING ARTS HISTORY

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Attending students may take the program for 6 CFU with two partial written tests, during the teaching period. The third module (for 9 CFU) will be taken with an oral exam. Not attending students will take an single oral exam.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Students will be evaluated in their capacity of giving a clear account of the subjects; problematizing studied issues; debating with the istructor.

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.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The following workshops are not compulsary, but recommended :

• Laboratorio di Analisi dello spettacolo teatrale
• Laboratorio di Costruzione scenica
• Laboratorio di Teatro sociale “Anna Solaro” (in collaborazione con Teatro dell'Ortica) 
• Laboratorio di Promozione e comunicazione dello spettacolo dal vivo
• Laboratorio di Autoimprenditorialità e creazione d'impresa culturale