03510 - Dramaturgy

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student: - acquires knowledge on major dramaturgical practices; - can analyze literary texts and scenic text; - master basic skills useful for identifying the textual structures of contemporary performance

Course contents

DRAMATIC, SCENIC AND PERFORMATIVE WRITING:

INTERACTION AND DIALECTICS BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT METHODS OF THEATRICAL COMPOSITION

The course will provide basic knowledge elements on the forms and historic structures of dramatic writing and it will address 1) the sources, context and performance levels in historical dramas; 2) the orientation of new dramas in the twentieth century; 3) the gradual emancipation of the different and multiple modes of “stage writing”; 4) the interactions between “stage writing” and textual dramaturgy in the framework of contemporary theater; 5) reports of “stage writing” and textual dramaturgy with the realities of the social world and the dynamics of information. In particular, the course will refer to the works of various twentieth-century and contemporary authors, examining the relationship between text, direction, actor, story and audience. The course also deals with the relationship between theater and society, highlighting, on the one hand, the influence of Athenian democracy on tragedy and comedy, on the other, the action carried out by the great playwrights (primarily Shakespeare) by mediating and culturally organizing the relationships between royal power and social classes.

Lessons from 1 February until 3 March will be held exclusively remotely; the first lesson in attendance will be Monday, 8 March.

Lessons start: Monday 1 February 2021, 11-13.

Lessons end: Wednesday 28 April, 11-13

Didactic pause: 15-19 March

The lessons are held on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, in the Berti Hall of the Nosadella Cinema,

with the following calendar:
Monday, 11-13. (Berti Room)

Tuesday, 11-13. (Berti Room)

Wednesday, 11-13 (Berti Room)

Readings/Bibliography

Readings/Bibliography

Examination program

1 - Gerardo Guccini, Nicoletta Lupia (a cura di), Periodizzazioni storiche: la tragedia greca; il teatro elisabettiano; il dramma borghese. Con un'Appendice sulle nozioni di ”scrittura scenica” e di “postdrammatico” (available at Arpho, Via Barberia 9).

2 - Peter Szondi, Teoria del dramma moderno (1880-1950), Einaudi

3 - Franco Perrelli, Le origini del teatro moderno. Da Jarry a Brecht, Roma-Bari, Editori Laterza, 2016 (only the pages 1-42; 134-141; 172-190)

4 – Hans-Thies Lehmann, Il teatro postdrammatico, Cuepress, 2018 (2^a ed.).

5 – Intorno a Shakespeare: dialoghi contemporanei, a cura di Gerardo Guccini, in "Prove di Drammaturgia", nn. 1-2/2016, esclusivamente le pp. 3-30 (also available in digital format).

6 - To take the exam it is necessary to have seen at least five theatrical performances

7 - Non-attending students are required also to prepare:,

two select texts among the followings: Eschilo, Agamennone, Shakespeare, Macbeth, Cechov, Tre sorelle, Strindberg, Il padre, Maeterlinck, I ciechi.

Or, in substitution:

Luigi Allegri (a cura di), Il teatro e le arti. Un confronto fra linguaggi, Roma, Carocci, 2017, only the pages 15-42; 93-123.

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons supported by formative meetings and seminars.

Assessment methods

The achievement of an organic vision of the issues addressed, the possession of an expressive mastery and a specific language, the originality of the reflection as well as the familiarity with the instruments of analysis of the dramaturgy will be evaluated with marks of excellence. The mostly mechanical or mnemonic knowledge of the subject, a capacity for uncoordinated synthesis and analysis or a correct but not always appropriate language, as well as a scholastic domain of dramaturgy will lead to discrete evaluations. Formal gaps or inappropriate language, as well as a lack of knowledge of the instruments of drama will lead to votes that will stand on the threshold of sufficiency. Formal gaps, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the bibliography and inability to analyze dramaturgy can only be negatively assessed.

Teaching tools

Frontal Lessons equipped by audiovisual tools

Office hours

See the website of Gerardo Guccini