29019 - History of Directing (1) (2nd cycle)

Learning outcomes

Fundamentals of Theatre Directing (LM)
For the purposes of the Fundamentals of Theatre Directing (1) classes, the concept of theatre directing will be considered as potentially referring to all forms of live performance, including musical theatre. At the end of the course unit, the students will know:
- the main theoretical and methodological aspects of directing, in connection with the artistic context of the theatre and with the framework of human sciences in general;
- the main study tools with which to set up a research on a director's work;
- the main practical steps in a director's creative process;
- the structural conditionings the director's work must face.
Moreover, they will be able to:
- employ the language of directing effectively;
- work out a mature and original critical thought on the art of staging and correctly carry out a research of their own, in the field of theatre directing, that makes use of various sources of information (documentary and not), intended to be presented either in writing or in spoken form;
- confront and solve the main problems posed by the actual staging of a production, specifically developing communicative and relational competence and skills and improving their creative talents;
- critically confront the structural conditionings that influence a director's work.

Course contents

Bertolt Brecht «was very emaciated. He had a hungry face, which looked askew because of his cap.  His words came out wooden and choppy. When he gazed at you, you felt like an object of value that he, the pawnbroker, with his piercing black eyes, was appraising as something that had no value». Elias Canetti's portrayal of Brecht in Torch in My Eye is magnetic and disturbing. Brecht was the  pugnacious ensign of a new kind of political theatre that made him one of the main figures of the past century's avant-garde and a prominent exponent of the new epic playwriting school that anticipated post-dramatic theatre; he is therefore one of the great directors of the twentieth century and he commands the following theatre's attention both as a Master and as a mystery. As a matter of fact, many stage experiences of the second half of the twentieth century appear to take on the challenges he mounted more than sixty years ago. The 2015-2016 Theory of Direction course, entitled The remains of Brecht, aims at studying the mechanisms of the director's language, together with the main trends and codes of contemporary staging in the light of the different ways Brecht's heritage has been interpreted in the second half of the twentieth century and at the beginning of the twenty-first. It will specifically bring into focus the role of music in the stage practices of Brecht and of directors that have followed his steps or confronted his work. The classes aim at both a theoretical survey and a practical test of the main issues of theatre staging, and it will take the form of a series of workshops divided into two modules:

 

Module I = first 30 hours


During the first module, after a brief introduction to the concept of directing, the basics of the director's art will be analysed by studying the way Brecht's poetics has been reinvented after his death; this theoretical point of view and the analysis of the complex cultural debate on this subject will nevertheless be combined with practical field-work on some meaningful contemporary experiences, with the aim of making the participants acquire the basics of the director's planning work empirically.

 

Module II = following 30 hours


Students attending the second module will be guided in the development of an original stage project  based on a free reworking of Brecht's parable The Horatians and the Curiatians (1934) aimed at questioning the workability of Brecht's model in today's context and the theatre's political function in our society.

 

Module I begins = 1 February 2016

Module II begins = 7 March 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):

 

6 cfu course unit (Module I)

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

 

- A. Sacchi, Il posto del re: estetiche della regia teatrale nel modernismo e nel contemporaneo, Roma, Bulzoni, 2012;

- F. Jameson, Brecht e il metodo, Napoli, Cronopio, 2008;

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

- B. Brecht, Scritti sulla letteratura e sull'arte, Torino, Einaudi, 1973.

 

12 cfu course unit (Module I + Module II)

 

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

 

- A. Sacchi, Il posto del re: estetiche della regia teatrale nel modernismo e nel contemporaneo, Roma, Bulzoni, 2012;

- F. Jameson, Brecht e il metodo, Napoli, Cronopio, 2008;

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

- B. Brecht, Scritti sulla letteratura e sull'arte, Torino, Einaudi, 1973.

 

- E. Barba (a cura di), Il Brecht dell'Odin, Milano, Ubulibri, 1981;

- B. Brecht, Gli Orazi e i Curiazi. Rappresentazione per le scuole, in B. Brecht, Teatro, 4 voll., 1951-1961, vol. II, 1954, pp. 213-245;

- F. Dürrenmatt, Lo scrittore nel tempo: scritti su letteratura, teatro e cinema, Torino, Einaudi, 1982;

- L. Nono, Intolleranza 1960: azione scenica in due parti su un'idea di Angelo Maria Ripellino, in G. Gronda e P. Fabbri, Libretti d'opera italiani: dal Seicento al Novecento, Milano, Mondadori, 1997, pp. 1747-1765;

- G. Tabori, Le variazioni Goldberg, Spoleto, Editoria&Spettacolo, 2014;

- F. Vazzoler, Il chierico e la scena: cinque capitoli su Sanguineti e il teatro, Genova, Il Melangolo, 2009.

 

It is actually possible to use any available Italian edition of Brecht's books.

 

For both the 6 cfu course unit (Module I) and the 12 cfu one (Module I + Module II), both students who attend the lessons and students who do not are furthermore required to study a text of their choice among the following:

 

1) A. Antoine, I miei ricordi sul Teatro Libero, Roma-Milano, Mondadori, 1923;

2) A. Attisani e M. Biagini (a cura di), Jerzy Grotowski. Testi 1968-1998, Roma, Bulzoni, 2007;

3) A. Artaud, «Il teatro e il suo doppio» con altri scritti teatrali, Torino, Einaudi, 1968;

4) C. Bene e G. Dotto, Vita di Carmelo Bene [1998], Milano, Bompiani, 2008;

5) E. Barba, La canoa di carta. Trattato di antropologia teatrale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1993;

6) J. Beck, La vita del teatro: l'artista e la lotta del popolo, Torino, Einaudi, 1975;

7) B. Brecht, Scritti teatrali, 3 voll., Torino, Einaudi, 1975;

8) J. Copeau, Ricordi del «Vieux Colombier», Milano, Il Saggiatore, 1962;

9) J. Copeau, Il luogo del teatro, a cura di M.I. Aliverti, Firenze, La casa Usher, 1988;

10) G. Craig, Il mio teatro, a cura di F. Marotti, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1971;

11) S.M. Ejsenstejn, Forme e tecniche del film e lezioni di regia, Torino, Einaudi, 1964;

12) S.M. Ejzestejn, Il movimento espressivo. Scritti sul teatro, Venezia, Marsilio, 1998;

13) E. Faccioli, Nikolaj Michajlovic Foregger (1892-1939). Dal simbolismo al realismo socialista, Roma, Bulzoni, 2007;

14) L. Flaszen, Grotowski & company. Sorgenti e variazioni, Bari, Pagina, 2014

15) J. Grotowski, Per un teatro povero, Roma, Bulzoni, 1970;

16) J. Grotowski, Testi, 1954-1988. La possibilità del teatro (1954-1964), Lucca, La Casa Usher, 2014;

17) J. Grotowski, Testi, 1954-1998. Il teatro povero (1965-1969), Lucca, La Casa Usher, 2015;

18) M. Knebel', L'analisi della pièce e del ruolo mediante l'azione, Milano, Ubulibri, 2009;

19) H.-T. Lehmann, Postdramatisches Theater, Frankfurt am Main, Verlag der Autoren, 1999 (è possibile utilizzare anche l'edizione inglese o francese);

20) C. Meldolesi et al., La terza vita di Leo: gli ultimi vent'anni del teatro di Leo De Berardinis a Bologna, Corazzano, Titivillus, 2010;

21) V.E. Mejerchol´d, L'attore biomeccanico, Milano, Ubulibri, 1993;

22) V.E. Mejerchol´d, 33 svenimenti. Una domanda di matrimonio, L'anniversario, L'orso di Anton Cechov; Milano, Ubulibri, 2006;

23) V. Pandolfi, Spettacolo del secolo. Il teatro drammatico, Pisa, Nistri-Lischi, 1953;

24) F. Perrelli, I maestri della ricerca teatrale, Il Living, Grotowski, Barba e Brook, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2007;

25) B. Picon-Vallin, Mejerchol´d, Perugia, MTTMedizioni, 2006;

26) E. Piscator, Il teatro politico, Torino, Einaudi, 1960;

27) G. Pitoëff, Il nostro teatro, Roma, Bulzoni, 2009;

28) F. Quadri (a cura di), Il teatro di Trionfo, Milano, Ubulibri, 2002;

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

30) L. Squarzina, Da Dioniso a Brecht. Pensiero teatrale e azione scenica, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1988;

31) K. Stanislavskij, La mia vita nell'arte, prefazione di G. Guerrieri, Torino, Einaudi, 1983;

32) K. Stanislavskij, Il lavoro dell'attore su se stesso, a cura di G. Guerrieri, prefazione di F. Malcovati, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2003 (collana «Biblioteca Universale»);

33) K. Stanislavsikij, Il lavoro dell'attore sul personaggio, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1988;

34) G. Strehler, Per un teatro umano: pensieri scritti, parlati e attuati, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1974;

35) A. Tairov, Il teatro liberato. Annotazioni di un regista [1927], Urbino, Quattro Venti, 1987;

36) E.B. Vachtangov, Il sistema e l'eccezione: taccuini, lettere, diari, Pisa, ETS, 2004.

 

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


 


For both the 6 cfu course unit (Module I) and the 12 cfu one (Module I + Module II), only students who attend less than 80% of the lessons are furthermore required to study a text of their choice among the following:

 

1) B. Alesse, Ariane Mnouchkine e il Théâtre du Soleil, Roma, Editoria & Spettacolo, 2005;

2) A. Attisani e M. Biagini, Il Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards, Roma, Bulzoni, 2007;

3) E. Barba, La terra di cenere e diamanti. Il mio apprendistato in Polonia, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1998;

4) D. Barenboin e P. Chéreau, Dialoghi su musica e teatro: Tristano e Isotta, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2008;

5) J. Beck e J. Malina, Il lavoro del Living Theatre (materiali, 1952-1962), Milano, Ubulibri, 1982;

6) L. Bentivoglio, Pippo Delbono: corpi senza menzogna, Firenze, Barbes, 2009;

7) N. Bionda e C. Gualdoni, Visioni incrociate: Pippo Delbono tra cinema e teatro, Corazzano (PI), Titivillus, 2011;

8) P. Brook, Il punto in movimento 1946-1987, Milano, Ubulibri, 1988;

9) P. Brook, Lo spazio vuoto, Roma, Bulzoni, 1998;

10) P. Brook, La porta aperta, Torino, Einaudi, 2005;

11) R. Castellucci, C. Guidi, C. Castellucci, Epopea della polvere: il teatro della Societas Raffaello Sanzio 1992-1999: Amleto, Masoch, Orestea, Giulio Cesare, Genesi, Milano, Ubulibri, 2001;

12) M. Delgado e V. Valentini (a cura di), Peter Sellars, Sovera Mannelli (CZ), Rubettino, 1999;

13) V. Di Bernardi, Mahabharata. L'epica indiana e lo spettacolo di Peter Brook, Roma, Bulzoni, 1990;

14) F. Fiorentino e V. Valentini, Brecht e la fotografia, Roma, Bulzoni, 2015;

15) R. Gandolfi, La prima regista: Edith Craig, fra rivoluzione della scena e cultura delle donne, Roma, Bulzoni, 2003;

16) F. Gasparini e M. Marino, “Della poesia nel teatro il tremito”. Per Giuliano Scabia, «Culture Teatrali», numero monografico, 2005, n. 12;

17) T. Kantor, Il teatro della morte, Milano, Ubulibri, 2000;

18) L. Jouvet, Ascolta, amico mio, Roma, Bulzoni, 2007;

19) M. Martinelli, Teatro impuro, Ravenna, Montanari, 20062;

20) M. Martinelli e E. Montanari, Primavera eretica. Scritti e interviste: 1983-2013, Corazzano (PI), Titivillus, 2014;

21) R. Molinari, Viaggio nel teatro di Thierry Salmon: attraverso “I demoni” di Fëdor Dostoevskij, Milano, Ubulibri, 2008;

22) V. Mejerchol´d, 1918. Lezioni di teatro, Milano, Ubulibri, 2004;

23) R. Palazzi, Kantor: la materia e l'anima, Corazzano, Titivillus, 2010;

24) F. Quadri, F. Bertoni e R. Stearns, Bob Wilson, Firenze, Octavo, 1997;

25) F. Quadri, L. Ronconi e G. Aulenti, Il laboratorio di Prato, Milano, Ubulibri, 1981;

26) L. Ronconi, Inventare l'opera. L'Orfeo, Il viaggio a Reims, Aida: tre opere d'occasione alla Scala, Milano, Ubulibri, 1986;

27) A. Rossi Ghiglione (a cura di), Barboni. Il teatro di Pippo del Bono, Milano, Ubulibri, 1999;

28) R. Schechner, La teoria della performance 1970-1983, Roma, Bulzoni, 1984;

29) Societas Raffaello Sanzio, Epitaph, Milano, Ubulibri, 2003;

30) V. Valentini (a cura di), Eimuntas Nekrosius, Soveria Mannelli (CZ), Rubettino, 1999;

31) V. Valentini, Mondi, corpi, materie: teatri del secondo Novecento, Milano, Mondadori, 2007;

32) A. Vasil´ev, A un unico lettore. Colloqui sul teatro, Roma, Bulzoni, 2000.

 

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.


 

Students who lack an adequate knowledge of the history of theatre directing are invited to read:

- 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.

Teaching methods

During both the first and the second module, classes will be structured as a seminar, combining lectures, discussions, reports by the students on agreed-upon subjects, practical exercises, theatre performances, and will make use of projections.

Assessment methods

6 cfu course unit


 

The final examination consists of:


1) an oral examination on the topics covered during the class and on the books read by the students;

2) a written review of the volume chosen by the student among those listed in the course bibliography as mandatory for both attending and not-attending students – a review of up to 20,000 characters (including spaces) to be handed in to the professor, also by e-mail, at least two days before the day of the exam.


 

The oral examination is designed to evaluate the methodological and critical skills acquired by the students, who will be invited to confront themself with the texts discussed during the course. Particular value will be given to the candidate's firm understanding of productions and confident navigation of the bibliographical material, in order to be able to identify inside them the useful information that will enable the student to illustrate cultural aspects and areas of the field, as well as a command of the basic elements of the theatre director's planning practices. The oral exam will also test the students' knowledge of the main study instruments with which to draw up a research on a director's work and their ability to find their way in the complex net of relationships that join directing practices, their theatrical artistic context and the framework of human sciences in general.
The evaluation of the review is intended to verify the student's ability to develop an original thought about theatre directing and to fix it effectively in writing.

The oral examination and the written review will be evaluated jointly  because they are expressions of different skills and ways of knowing the language of theatre directing.


 

The achievement of an organic vision on the issues addressed in class together with their critical use, the mastery of expression and of the specific language, the originality of the student's reflections on directing and/or the effectiveness of their written expression as well as familiarity with the strategies of staging will be assessed as excellent.

A mechanical and/or mnemonic knowledge of the topics, a not articulated capacity of synthesis and analysis and/or a correct but not always appropriate language, as well as a modest originality in the development of a thought about theatre directing and/or the average effectiveness of its written expression as well as a basic command of the strategies of staging will be assessed as good.

Training gaps and/or inappropriate language, as well as a lack of originality in the development of a thought on theatre directing and/or the minimum effectiveness of its written expression as well as a lack of expertise in the strategies of staging - albeit in a context of minimal knowledge of the course's material - will lead to marks on the threshold of sufficiency.

Training gaps, inappropriate language, the inability to navigate the reference materials offered during the course, a lack of originality in the development of a thought about directing and/or the ineffectiveness of its written expression as well as the inability to manage staging practices 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.


 

12 cfu Course

 

The final examination consists of:

1) an oral examination on the topics covered during the class and on the books read by the students;

2) a written review of the volume chosen by the student among those listed in the course bibliography as mandatory for both attending and not-attending students – a review of up to 20,000 characters (including spaces) to be handed in to the professor, also by e-mail, at least two days before the day of the exam.;

3) the presentation of a stage project developed during the course for the students attending classes or elaborated on a dramatic score to be agreed with the professor for the students who are not attending classes, to be handed in at least two days before the day of the exam (also by email).


 

The oral examination is designed to evaluate the methodological and critical skills acquired by the students, who will be invited to confront themself with the texts discussed during the course. Particular value will be given to the candidate's firm understanding of productions and confident navigation of the bibliographical material, in order to be able to identify inside them the useful information that will enable the student to illustrate cultural aspects and areas of the field, as well as a command of the basic elements of the theatre director's planning practices. The oral exam will also test the students' knowledge of the main study instruments with which to draw up a research on a director's work and their ability to find their way in the complex net of relationships that join directing practices, their theatrical artistic context and the framework of human sciences in general.
The evaluation of the review is intended to verify the student's ability to develop an original thought about theatre directing and to fix it effectively in writing.

The evaluation of the stage project is aimed at assessing the student's ability to organize a coherent and organic project for a production, which must be relevant to the chosen dramatic score and show the student's significant creative contribution. The staging project will also be used to assess the students' ability to confront  with a critical mind the structural conditionings that influence the director's work.

The oral examination, the written review and the stage project will be evaluated jointly  because they are expressions of different skills and ways of knowing the language of theatre directing.


 

The achievement of an organic vision on the issues addressed in class together with their critical use, the mastery of expression and of the specific language, the originality of the student's reflections on directing and/or the effectiveness of their written expression as well as familiarity with the strategies of staging, enabling the student to develop a complete and original stage project, will be assessed as excellent.

A mechanical and/or mnemonic knowledge of the topics, a not articulated capacity of synthesis and analysis and/or a correct but not always appropriate language, as well as a modest originality in the development of a thought about theatre directing and/or the average effectiveness of its written expression as well as a basic command of the strategies of staging, enabling the student to develop a relatively complete and original stage project, will be assessed as good.

Training gaps and/or inappropriate language, as well as a lack of originality in the development of a thought on theatre directing and/or the minimum effectiveness of its written expression as well as a lack of expertise in the strategies of staging, enabling the student to develop a barely sufficiently complete and original stage project, - albeit in a context of minimal knowledge of the course's material - will lead to marks on the threshold of sufficiency.

Training gaps, inappropriate language, the inability to navigate the reference materials offered during the course, a lack of originality in the development of a thought about directing and/or the ineffectiveness of its written expression as well as the inability to manage staging practices, preventing the student to develop an even barely sufficiently complete and original stage project, 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 on 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