75789 - Theatres in Asia (LM)

Learning outcomes

Through this course, the student will: - acquire knowledge about the origins and development of the main Asians theaters; - know how to contextualize Asian theaters within an appropriate historical and anthropological framework; - develop skills in research and interpretation of relevant documentary evidences (oral and written). He or she will also: - be able to recognize and interpret the aesthetic and theatrical principles underlying the different languages of the Asian theater; - know how to decode, on a cultural and theatrical plan, the main Asian models of theater; - be able to interpret the intercultural dynamics between Eastern and Western theatrical traditions.

Course contents

First module:
Codification of theatrical knowledge is a structural element common to several Asian traditions. The course will investigate, by means of a preliminary anthropological contextualization, the codification of theatrical knowledge in Asia. In particular, a number of theatrical treatises - from Japan, China and India - that have founded relevant theatrical poetics, aesthetics and ethics will be analyzed.

Second module:
The second module will be devoted to Japanese theater. In particular, works from the repertoire of classical theatrical genres (nō, kyōgen, bunraku and kabuki) derived from great literary masterpieces such as Genji monogatari and Heike monogatari will be addressed. The examples will be useful to learn about the deep interrelationships between different artistic languages and, at the same time, the specific ways of stylistic transposition of the theatrical genres presented.

Optional seminars
All the students are encouraged to attend the seminar:

dr. Giulia Sala

March, 17-18-19
1pm-3pm
Salone Marescotti

The Barong in Bali: The Influence of Tourism on Performing Arts

Originally conceived as a ritual drama and later developed as a form of entertainment, the Barong is now a performance showcased in many of Bali’s most tourist-populated areas.
During the seminar, the origins of the Barong as a ritual practice and the impact of mass tourism on its development and innovation will be explored, supported by audiovisual material and interviews collected during a field work conducted in 2024.
The seminar will also provide an overview of the gradual commercialization and professionalization of traditional Balinese dances and the role of culture in promoting the tourism industry.

Readings/Bibliography

Program Examination: 6 CFU for attending students

- Giovanni Azzaroni e Matteo Casari, Asia il teatro che danza, Le Lettere, Firenze, 2011.

- Casari Matteo, Teatro nō. La via dei maestri e la trasmissione dei saperi, CLUEB, Bologna, 2008.

- Gioia Ottaviani, I fondamenti del teatro in Asia, Aracne, Roma, 2004.


Program examination: 6 CFU for working groups during lessons
Attending students may choose to participate in working groups carrying out activities in-depth on some topics of the course. For these students the program examination is:

-3 chapters of your choice of: Giovanni Azzaroni e Matteo Casari, Asia il teatro che danza, Le Lettere, Firenze.

-Casari Matteo, Teatro nō. La via dei maestri e la trasmissione dei saperi, CLUEB, Bologna, 2008.*

- Gioia Ottaviani, I fondamenti del teatro in Asia, Aracne, Roma, 2004.

Program Examination: 12 cfu for attending students

- Giovanni Azzaroni e Matteo Casari, Asia il teatro che danza, Le Lettere, Firenze, 2011.

- Matteo Casari, Teatro nō. La via dei maestri e la trasmissione dei saperi, CLUEB, Bologna, 2008.

- Gioia Ottaviani, I fondamenti del teatro in Asia, Aracne, Roma, 2004.

- Bonaventura Ruperti, Storia del teatro giapponese. Dalle origini all’Ottocento, Marsilio, Venezia, 2015.

- Murasaki Shikibu, La storia di Genji, a cura di Maria Teresa Orsi, Einaudi, Torino, 2012 (solo pp. VII-LVI; 60-90; 173-205).

 

Program examination: 12 CFU for working groups during lessons
Attending students may choose to participate in working groups carrying out activities in-depth on some topics of the course. For these students the program examination is:

-3 chapters of your choice of Giovanni Azzaroni e Matteo Casari, Asia il teatro che danza, Le Lettere, Firenze.

- Matteo Casari, Teatro nō. La via dei maestri e la trasmissione dei saperi, CLUEB, Bologna, 2008.

- Gioia Ottaviani, I fondamenti del teatro in Asia, Aracne, Roma, 2004.

- Bonaventura Ruperti, Storia del teatro giapponese. Dalle origini all’Ottocento, Marsilio, Venezia, 2015.

- Murasaki Shikibu, La storia di Genji, a cura di Maria Teresa Orsi, Einaudi, Torino, 2012 (solo pp. VII-LVI; 60-90; 173-205).

Not attending students will also have to prepare on a text chosen from:

-Azzaroni Giovanni, Sguardi sul corpo tra Oriente e Occidente. Studi di antropologia filosofica, Bologna, CLUEB, 2019.

- Azzaroni Giovanni, Teatro in Asia. Malaysia – Indonesia – Filippine – Giappone, vol. I, CLUEB, Bologna, 1998, solo pp. 273-388.

- Azzaroni Giovanni, Teatro in Asia. Myanmar – Thailandia – Laos – Kampuchea – Viêt Nam, vol. II, CLUEB, Bologna, 2000, solo pp. 273-388.

- Azzaroni Giovanni, Teatro in Asia. Tibet – Cina – Mongolia – Corea, vol. III, CLUEB, Bologna, 2003, solo pp. 101-256.

- Azzaroni Giovanni, Teatro in Asia. Nepal, Bhutan, India, Sri Lanka, vol. IV, CLUEB, Bologna, 2006, solo pp. 149-338.

- Casari Matteo, Teatro, vita di Mei Lanfang. Con la traduzione integrale di Addio mia concubina, CLUEB, Bologna, 2003.

- Casari Matteo e Elena Cervellati, a cura di, Butō. Prospettive europee e sguardi dal Giappone. Omaggio o Ōno Kazuo, in Arti della Performance: orizzonti e culture, n. 6, 2015, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Dipartimento delle Arti e ALMADL, Bologna (free download)

- Matteo Casari e Giuditta de Concini, a cura di, Danzare il Nāṭya. Permanenze e trasformazioni del teatro-danza indiano, in Arti della Performance: orizzonti e culture, n. 5, 2015, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Dipartimento delle Arti e ALMADL, Bologna (free download).

- Centonze Katja, ed., Avant-gardes in Japan. Anniversary of Futurism and Butō: Performing Arts and Cultural Practices between Contemporariness and Tradition, Cafoscarina, Venezia, 2010, solo pp. 27-171.

- Alessandra Consonni, a cura di, ‘Cham yig, CLUEB, Bologna, 2008.

- Covito Carmen, Sadayakko, la Duse del Giappone. Cronache della prima tournée giapponese in Italia (1902), CLUEB, Bologna, 2023.

- Cuneo Daniele, Ganser Elisa, Pensare l’attore. Le fonti sanscrite, Unicopli, Milano, 2024.

- Margherita De Giorgi, "To be renewed again". Esperienze di butō in Europa: Yvonne pouget, Imre Thormann e Xavier Le Roy, in Arti della Performance: orizonti e culture, n. 2, 2012, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Dipartimento delle Arti e ALMADL, Bologna, solo pp.1-183 (free download).

- Guidi Alessandro, Lo Yueji. Il pensiero musicale nelle Cina antica, CLUEB, Bologna, 2005.

- Morotti Fabio, Teatro e danza in Cambogia, Editoria&Spettacolo, Riano, 2010.

- Nandikeshvara, Abhinayadarpaṇa, trad. it. di Pietro Chierichetti, Alfredo Ferrero Editore, Torino, 2010.

- Ruperti Bonaventura, Storia del teatro giapponese. Dall’Ottocento al Duemila, Marsilio, Venezia, 2016.

- Scholz-Cionca Stanca e Balme Christofer, Nō Theatre Transversal, iudicium, München, 2008.

- Toscano Cinzia, Il teatro dei robot. La meccanica delle emozioni nel Robot-Human Theatre di Hirata Oriza, CLUEB, Bologna, 2019.

- Umali A., Umewaka N.; Casari M, eds, Nō Theater and Cultural Diplomacy. With a Glimpse into Philippine Practices, in Arti della Performance: orizzonti e culture, n. 11, 2018, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Dipartimento delle Arti e ALMADL, Bologna (free download)

- Zeami Motokiyo, Il segreto del teatro nō, Adelphi, Milano, 1987 (o successive edizioni).

Teaching methods

The teaching will be a balanced mix of theoretical and practical examples, in anthropological context, in order to allow all students to be able to reach the final target.

Assessment methods

During the lessons the lecturer will involve the students in an active discussion of the lesson topics. The exchanges will be addressed to bringing out any difficulties concerning the subject matter, but not to actually forming part of the final mark.
The final exam will consist of an oral test. The exam will be the chance for the student to prove his/her knowledge of the course books. Students attending the class may refer their answers back to the topics actually analyzed in class.
Students studying the course set books, especially the core text, should pay attention to the fundamental aspects of the topics and, of course, to the ways in which they are connected to one another rather than to learn by rote.

The exame will take account of the propriety and the adequacy of oral linguistic expression:

30 cum laude: excellent performance showing soundness of knowledge, rich discursive articulation, appropriate expression, interest of critical contribution;
30: Excellent performance, complete, and appropriate knowledge, well-articulated and appropriately expressed, with interesting critical contributions;
29-27: Good performance, more than satisfactory knowledge, correct expression.
26-24: Standard performance, essential knowledge, but not comprehensive and / or not always correctly expressed;
23-21: Sufficient performance, general but superficial knowledge; often inappropriate expression and/or confused articulation of speech;
20-18: Poor performance, sufficient expression and articulation of speech with significant gaps;
<18: Insufficient performance, knowledge absent or very incomplete, lack of orientation in the discipline, poor and seriously flawed expression.

 

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is suggested that they get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) and with the lecturer in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.

Teaching tools

Dance performances videos relating to the topics presented during the course.

Office hours

See the website of Matteo Casari