OVERVIEW

The course gives students the basic instruments to understand the institutional aspects, the economic context, the cultural policies and the management practices of the performing arts (notably, spoken theatre) in Italy.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course gives students the basic instruments to understand, on historical basis, the institutional aspects, the economic context, the cultural policies and the management practices of the performing arts in contemporary Italy.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

For 6 CFU students:
• Capacity to understand and analyse theatrical events according to an economic-organisational perspective;
• Knowledge of the main productive and distributive set-ups in Italy (with regard also to their historical shaping);
• Understanding of the issues of economic sustainability of theatre enterprises.

In addition, for 9 CFU students:
• Ability to write and to present a research paper;
• Ability to take part in a scientific discussion.

PREREQUISITES

Although it is not compulsary, students are advised to have taken History of theatre before attending to this course.

TEACHING METHODS

Class lecturesduring the first two modules. Active participationis required in the third module : students will research into the Adelaide Ristori Archive, in order to write a paper (other languages in addition to Italian are possible) and to present it to the class.

NB Subscription to Aulaweb is mandatory for all students.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Programme for students taking the course for 6 CFU (= 40 hours class lessons)

Theoretical and historical basics
The first two modules will sketch the main outlines of the history of the Italian spoken "theatre system", with particular regard to organisational, political and economic aspects.

Programme for students taking the course for 9 CFU (= 60 hours class lessons)
Case study: the world tour of Adelaide Ristori (1874-76) 

The third module will focus on the two-year tour of Adelaide Ristori and the Drammatica Compagnia Italiana, known as the ‘giro del mondo’. We will investigate the repertoire, the strategies of communication, and the economic-financial aspects of this long tournée, which crossed the Americas and Australia. Students will be directly confronted with the documentation present in the Fondo Adelaide Ristori (at the Museo Biblioteca dell'Attore). The class will carry out field research, under the guidance of the lecturer.

NB: check Aulaweb for updates and specifications

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliography for Erasmus students taking 6 CFU (= attending 40 hours class lessons):
1. L. Cavaglieri, Il sistema teatrale. Breve storia dell'organizzazione, dell'economia e delle politiche del teatro in Italia, Roma, Dino Audino, 2021
2. Slides of the lessons published on Aulaweb

Bibliography for Erasmus students taking 9 CFU (= attending 60 hours class lessons):
Additional specific bibliography related to the case study, for ATTENDING STUDENTS

NOT ATTENDING students may choose an additional book amongst:
SPOKEN THEATRE
• E. Scarpellini, Organizzazione teatrale e politica del teatro nell’Italia fascista, LED, Milano 2004
• G. Pedullà, Il teatro italiano nel tempo del fascismo, Titivillus, Corazzano 2009
DANCE
• A. Pontremoli e G. Ventura, La danza: organizzare per creare. Scenari, specificità tecniche, pratiche, quadro normativo, pubblico, Franco Angeli, Milano 2019
OPERA
• J. Rosselli, L’impresario d’opera. Arte e affari nel teatro musicale italiano dell’Ottocento, Torino, EDT, 1985 (nuova edizione 2018)
• S. Baia Curioni, Mercanti dell’opera. Storie di Casa Ricordi, Milano, Il Saggiatore, 2011
• G. Stefani, Sebastiano Ricci impresario d'opera a Venezia nel primo Settecento, Firenze, Firenze University Press, 2015
• M. Paoletti, Savona e la sua scena. Il Teatro Chiabrera tra Risorgimento e Unità (1853-1883), Quaderni Franzoniani, XX (2007) [2017]

CINEMA

• M. Cucco, G. Manzoli (a cura di), Il cinema di stato. Finanziamento pubblico ed economia simbolica nel cinema italiano contemporaneo, Il Mulino, 2017

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

NB: check Aulaweb for updates and specifications

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Mid September 2025

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Attending students will take an oral examination on the topics discussed in the first two modules. For the third module they will present and discuss within the class a paper, that will be peer evaluated.
The exam for not attending students will be oral.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

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