27110 - History of Directing

Learning outcomes

The student acquires knowledge about the history of the theories and poetics that have passed through the theatre in the twentieth century, with particular attention to protagonists and to the elements that help to define the notion of directing. The student will also acquire skills on the tools of historical and theoretical knowledge to understand and analyze a theatre production in all its components.    

Course contents

Luca Ronconi died on February 21st. In the context of the ongoing debate on such themes as post-dramatic theatre, post-directors and post-twentieth-century stages, this great Master's departure has left on the Italian (and not only Italian) scene an emptiness that cannot be filled and that requires some thought. Pressing thoughts on the meaning of our present and on the future of theatre directing, but also on what has preceded and therefore on tradition's ties and on the hot issue of heritage. The History of Theatre Directing 2015-2016 course, entitled The theatre of knowledge: the director's role according to Luca Ronconi, will offer attending students a chance to explore the main phases in the evolution of Western directors' language by following the routes of Ronconi's artistic journey. The birth and the development of political theatre, the reinvention of the commedia dell'arte  myth, the debate on alienation an identification, the struggle between fidelity to the text and refusal of the script, the performance/representation dichotomy: all the fundamental problems that have characterised twentieth-century theatre and that still haunt our present will be illustrated by means of Ronconi's overwhelmingly visionary art. It will not be a commemoration, then, but a plunge into history's boiling magma that will enable us to investigate the possibilities of our future on the basis of our past, by following the tracks of one of the greatest directors of our times.

 

Module I. After defining the concept of directing in statu nascendi, highlighting the ambiguous nature of the art of staging and classifying its various possibilities, during the first module of the course we will try to trace the history of theatre directing; this study line will be interlaced with the analysis of Luca Ronconi's productions. By means of these classes, students will be provided with the critical means to interpret a staging.

 

Module II. During the second module of the course students will be led to apply the analytical tools acquired during the first series of classes to decode some specific instances of theatre staging chosen among Ronconi's productions in order to question the role of the director and its meaning in today's theatre.

 

During the course, students will be offered the chance to take part in external performances and experiments.

Students who do not attend at least 80% of the lessons are required to study a specific programme approved by professor Longhi.

 

Lessons begin on 1 February 2016.

Readings/Bibliography

A) Compulsory reading list both for students who attend the lessons and for those who do not (attending the lessons means attending at least 80% of them):

   

All students (whether attending the lessons or not) are required to study:

 

- R. Alonge, Il teatro dei registi. Scopritori di enigmi e poeti della scena, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2006;

- M. Schino, La nascita della regia teatrale, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2003;

- C. Longhi, «Orlando furioso» di Ariosto-Sanguineti per Luca Ronconi, Pisa, ETS, 2006.

 

- A. Artaud, «Il teatro e il suo doppio» con altri scritti teatrali, Torino, Einaudi, 2000;

- B. Brecht, Scritti teatrali, Torino, Einaudi, 2001;

- L. Ronconi e G. Capitta, Teatro della conoscenza, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2012.

 

- K. Kraus, Gli ultimi giorni dell'umanità, Milano, Adelphi, 1980.

- G. Bruno, Il candelaio, Torino, Einaudi, 1964.

 

 

It is actually possible to use any available Italian edition of the texts by Artaud, Brecht, Kraus and Bruno.

 

 

B) Compulsory reading for students who attend less than 80% of the lessons:

   

Only students who attend less than 80% of the lessons are furthermore required to study a text of their choice among the following:

 

1) U. Artioli (a cura di), Il teatro di regia. Genesi ed evoluzione 1870-1950, Roma, Carocci, 2004;

2) G. Zanlonghi, La regia teatrale del secondo Novecento. Utopie, forme e pratiche, Roma, Carocci, 2009;

3) L. Squarzina, Il romanzo della regia. Duecento anni di trionfi e sconfitte, Ospedaletto di Pisa (PI), Pacini, 2005;

4) F. Perrelli, La seconda creazione. Fondamenti della regia teatrale, Torino, Utet, 2005;

5) F. Perrelli, I maestri della ricerca teatrale: il Living, Grotovski, Barba e Brook, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2007.

 

N.B.: Any change to this programme must be approved by professor Longhi.

 

There may be some further reading materials; if so, they will be available as an attachment to these pages from January 2016.

Teaching methods

The course will be primarily developed through a series of front lectures. These lessons will be accompanied by discussions with the students and by short theses on agreed topics presented by the attending students. Students are also expected to attend theatrical performances scheduled during the course's duration.

Assessment methods

The final examination consists of:

1) an oral examination on the topics covered in class and on the books read by the student;

2) the presentation of a short thesis about one of the topics covered in class, of maximum 20,000 characters (including spaces), which needs to be handed in to the professor at least two days before the day of the exam also by e-mail (the subject of the short theses of both attending and not-attending students must  be agreed upon by the student and the professor beforehand).

 

The oral examination is designed to assess the methodological and critical skills acquired by the students, who will be invited to confront themselves with the texts discussed during the course.

We will evaluate in particular the ability of the candidate: 1) to navigate the contents of the course's bibliography confidently, 2) to interpret the different stages of the development of the language of directing over time with competence, 3) to analyse a show consistently.

The evaluation of the short thesis will verify the student's ability to develop an independent research in the field of the history of theatre directing and present its results effectively in writing.

The oral examination and the short thesis will be evaluated jointly because they are expressions of different skills within the same knowledge of the history of theatre directing.

 

The achievement of an organic vision on the issues addressed in class, together with their critical use, a  mastery of expression and of specific language, the ability to understand a theatre production, the full autonomy displayed by the student in dealing with research in the field of history of directing and/or the ability to effectively present his/her critical investigation in writing will be assessed as excellent.

A mechanical and/or mnemonic knowledge of the topics, a non-articulated capacity for synthesis and analysis and/or a correct but not always appropriate language, a mediocre ability to understand a theatre production as well as the relative autonomy displayed by the student in dealing with research in the field of history of directing and/or a mediocre ability to present his critical investigation in writing will be assessed as good.

Training gaps and/or inappropriate language, a difficulty to understand theatre productions as well as a very limited autonomy in dealing with research in the field of history of directing and/or the lack of the ability to present the results of a critical investigation in writing - even though in the context of a minimal knowledge of the course's material - will lead to a barely sufficient mark.

Training gaps, inappropriate language, the inability to navigate the reference materials offered during the course, an inadequate understanding of theatre productions as well as a lack of autonomy in dealing with research in the field of the history of directing and/or the inability to present the results of a critical investigation in writing will be evaluated negatively.

 

Note: if any of the contributions included in the bibliography have not been studied by the candidate (without a prior agreement with the professor) the test will be immediately interrupted and cancelled.

Teaching tools

External performances and experiences: a calendar and instructions as to how to participate in external performances and experiences will be announced during classes. There may be some further reading materials; if so, they will be available as an attachment to these pages from January 2016.

Links to further information

http://www.unibo.it/docenti/claudio.longhi2

Office hours

See the website of Claudio Longhi