96432 - History of Directing (1)

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide students with the following competences and skills: - Knowledge of the milestones in the history of stage direction; - Knowledge of the main historiographic and critical perspectives of studies in the field of stage direction; - Ability to use a method of investigation for the analysis of stage direction as an event.

Course contents

Title: The air of the stage. From the beginnings of stage direction to twentieth-century experimentations

The course will offer an overview of the history of stage direction with a focus on the crucial moments in which a paradigm shift occurs in the conception of theatre. It will deal with the French pioneering stagings of 19th century and the advent of naturalist direction; it will focus on the relationship between director and actor in the work of Konstantin Stanislavsky and in the elaboration of Edward Gordon Craig’s Übermarionette; it will examine Bertolt Brecht’s epic theatre and Antonin Artaud’s theatre of cruelty. The concluding lectures will be dedicated to the analysis of some of Carmelo Bene’s works with particular attention to his subversive directorial conception.

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.

Readings/Bibliography

ATTENDANTS

Il teatro di regia: genesi ed evoluzione (1870-1950), a cura di U. Artioli, Carocci, Roma 2004;
C. Bene, G. Deleuze, Sovrapposizioni, Quodlibet, Macerata 2012;
Handout consisting of extracts from plays analysed during lectures;
Lecture notes.

 

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

Two texts to be chosen from:
R. Alonge, Il teatro dei registi. Scopritori di enigmi e poeti della scena, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2006;
Il teatro di regia: genesi ed evoluzione (1870-1950), a cura di U. Artioli, Carocci, Roma 2004;
F. Perrelli, La seconda creazione. Fondamenti della regia teatrale, Utet, Torino 2005;
R. Tessari, Linee di avviamento alla lettura critica dello spettacolo teatrale, in R. Alonge e R. Tessari, Lo spettacolo teatrale. Dal testo alla messinscena, LED, Milano 1996.

One text to be chosen from:
C. Piccione, Non pensare a niente. Carmelo Bene e l’abbandono del soggetto, Mimesis, Milano 2022;
C. Piccione, Martha Graham, Carocci, Roma 2024.

One text to be chosen from:
A. Artaud, Il teatro e il suo doppio, Einaudi, Torino 2000;
C. Bene, G. Deleuze, Sovrapposizioni, Quodlibet, Macerata 2012;
E. G. Craig, L’attore e la supermarionetta, in E. G. Craig, Il mio teatro, a cura di Ferruccio Marotti, Feltrinelli, Milano 1971;
J. Grotowski, Il teatro povero, Bulzoni, Roma 1970;
T. Kantor, Il teatro della morte, ubulibri, Milano 2000.

Teaching methods

The course consists of lectures. Various examples of stage directions will be analysed during the through textual sources, iconographic materials and audiovisual documents. The active participation of the attending students will be solicited through classroom discussions. The lectures will occasionally include meetings with artists and scholars on topics close to those dealt with in the course.

Assessment methods

The final examination will consist of an oral interview that will focus on the topics covered in the lectures and on the texts in the bibliography in the case of those who attend; those who do not attend, on the other hand, will refer to the volumes indicated in the bibliography. The interview results in a grade in 30/30. No further papers are due before the oral examination interview. Active attendance of lectures is a relevant factor in the learning process and will therefore also influence the final assessment.

The learning of knowledge, the ability to analyse and synthesise, the organic view (and not the mechanical repetition) of the topics, lexical and expressive mastery, originality in the critical reworking of content will be taken into consideration for the assessment.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

Lectures accompanied by videos, iconographic material, textual sources.

Office hours

See the website of Caterina Piccione