03534 - Entertainment Organisation and Economics

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the student: knows the historic evolution of the Italian theatre system, the laws to manages theatre’s events, the problematic issues of theater production and distribution also deepening real case histories, the fundamentals of public and private funding to cultural activities; builds experiences and develops skills for working in national’s cultural institutions, as he/she is able to collaborate in production, promotion and communication.

Course contents

The course is articulated on two units.

Unit 1 (Prof. Matteo Casari, lecture):

1) The system of live performance in Italy and the state-region relationship: the course will provide a general outline of the system of live performance in Italy, its historical origins and current set-up. Particular attention will be given to the state-region relationship and the regional laws in the field of entertainmentlive performance.

2) Nature, sustainability, theatre: the world of live performance is confronting sustainability issues with increasing awareness and continuity, imagining artistic and production paths that respect the environment and are based on the environment. Some concrete examples from the Italian panorama

3) Elements of project management, communication and cultural marketing: project management, communication theory and cultural marketing are becoming common and indispensable work tools for cultural operators.

Unit 2 (curated by ERT – Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione, lecture)

1) Simulating all the steps of the making of a theatre show: the production and the marketing communication strategy (as weel as, eventually, the selling and distribution to other Theatres and the organisation of a tournée). Only the students who attend the class, divided in small groups, will agree with the Professors a range of in-depth activities aimed at experiencing the contents of the course, starting from the simulating of a case study concerning the organization of a cultural event.

2) Quiz, drills and forum (online on Virtuale)

 

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

Performing arts in nature between project management and sustainability

In the latest years, the field of performing arts in nature is in a phase of strong expansion and it is necessary for an update in terms of live arts management and economy. The three lessons seminary aims to give a theoretical and practical perspective of the issue. The first meeting will be dedicated to the individuation of the phenomenon and its evolution in the last fifty years about three macro-areas: environment (Richard Schechner Environmental Theatre), ecology (from Ecologies of Theater by Bonnie Marranca to Woynarski’s ecodramaturgy) and, finally, sustainability. The second lesson will focus on the current Italian context analysing the most important subject from the Nineties (O Thiasos TeatroNatura, Lorenza Zambon, Teatro delle Selve) to the recent ones (Teatro Selvatico, Campsirago), festivals in nature (Suoni Controvento, Scena Natura, Festa di Teatro Ecologico) and artistic residences (Armunia, L’arboreto). This mapping gives a wide spectrum of good practices to study and frame in order to give general features of cultural activity planning and management on the territory. Finally, from the previous cite models, we will frame some aspects of cultural events project management tailored to natural spaces such as communication strategy, gathering funds, networking with the local entities and authorities, and relationship with the audience.

 

The course participates in the University's teaching experimentation project

Readings/Bibliography

-M. Gallina, Ri-organizzare teatro. Produzione, distribuzione, gestione, FrancoAngeli, Milano, 2014.

-M.Caporale, D. Donati, M. Gallina, F. Panozzo, a cura di, Le politiche per lo spettacolo dal vivo tra Stato e Regioni, FrancoAngeli, Milano, 2023.

-A. Bollo, Il marketing della cultura, Carocci, Roma, 2012.

-L. Argano, La gestione dei progetti di spettacolo. Elementi di project management, FrancoAngeli, Milano, 2010.

Non-attending students shall prepare one text chosen among the following:

-L. Argano, P. Dalla Sega, Nuove organizzazioni culturali. Atlante di navigazione strategica, FrancoAngeli, Milano, 2010.

- F. Benhamou, L’economia della cultura, il Mulino, Bologna, 2020 (nuova edizione).

-A. Carù, S. Salvemini, Management delle istituzioni artistiche e culturali, Egea, Milano, 2011.

-L. Cavaglieri, Il sistema teatrale. Breve storia dell'organizzazione, dell'economia e delle politiche del teatro in Italia, Roma, Dino Audino, 2021.

-M. Gallina, O. Ponte di Pino, a cura di, Oltre il Decreto. Buone pratiche tra teatro e politica, FrancoAngeli, Milano, 2016.

-Paul DiMaggio, Organizzare la cultura. Imprenditoria, istituzioni e beni culturali, il Mulino, Bologna, 2009.

-A. Foglio, Il marketing dello spettacolo. Strategia di marketing per cinema, teatro, concerti, radio/tv, eventi sportivi e show business, FrancoAngeli, Milano, 2005.

-Pasquale Gagliardi, Il gusto dell’organizzazione. Estetica, conoscenza, management, Guerini e Associati, 2011.

- M. Gallina, L. Monti, O. Ponte di Pino, Attore... Ma di lavoro cosa fai? Occupazione, diritti, welfare nello spettacolo dal vivo, FrancoAngeli, Milano,

-D. Haselbach, A. Klein, P. Knüsel, S. Optiz, Kulturinfarkt. Azzerare i fondi pubblici per far rinascere la cultura, Marsilio, Venezia, 2012.

-A. Pontiroli, Nuove economie della musica, Santeria, Milano, 2022.

-A. Taormina, Osservare la cultura, FrancoAngeli, Milano, 2012.

-A. Turrini, Politiche e management pubblico per l'arte e la cultura, Egea, Milano, 2009.

Teaching 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.

Assessment methods

Students will be first assessed during the lectures, as involved in active discussion of the topics. This dialogue aims to bring out any difficulties concerning the subject, not to form the final mark.

The final exam will consist of a written test with several open-ended questions, one question for each textbook cited in the course bibliography. The questions will normally elicit a general description of the topic as well as a more detailed description of its idiosyncrasies and facets.

The exame will take account of the propriety and the adequacy of written and 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.

Teaching tools

Video projections, web sources, meetings with experts.

Office hours

See the website of Matteo Casari

See the website of Valentina Falorni