96365 - Processes and Forms of Scenic Creation. Laboratory (1) (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the laboratory the student: knows how to recognize and contextualize the compositional and dramaturgical processes on stage, starting from the analysis of direct and indirect sources; knows how to identify and analyze – starting from audiovisual documents – the philosophical, intertextual, intercultural and iconographic references that guide the process of composition; knows how to orient himself in the creative processes of the contemporary scene, recognizing their expressive forms and placing them in a historical perspective.

Course contents

Part II: Laboratory Module

Period: November 4 – December 16, 2026

Class Schedule

Monday, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

Tuesday, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

Wednesday, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

Location: Via Azzo Gardino 23, Classroom A

Topics:

The module Processes and Forms of Scenic Creation. Laboratory explores the history of theatre and the performing arts through the presentation of several productions/staging of exemplary works: for the Sixteenth century, Parlamento de Ruzante che era vegnù de campo and William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet; for the Nineteenth century, Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and August Strindberg’s Miss Julie.

Following a methodological introduction on how to locate direct and indirect sources relating to the case studies, the module will address the use of audiovisual documentation for the dramaturgical and symbolic analysis of the performance.

Students are required to read the full texts on which the performances are based; these will be presented in theatrical, choreographic and 20th-century film versions, with particular attention paid to the predominant scenic elements in each form. 

Passage of letter (A-L => M-Z; M-Z => A-L)
The teaching of History of Theatre and Entertainment is divided into two courses according to the letter of the surname (A-L; M-Z). The passage from one letter to another is only possible in the presence of: (i) overlap with another course; (ii) proven work needs. In both cases, it is necessary to contact the teacher of the destination course and justify the request for change by producing proper documentation.

Readings/Bibliography

Module Laboratory (6 cfu) 

Attending and non-attending Students:

• Lecture notes
• Materials available on Virtuale, with links to the productions analysed in class
• Roberto Alonge, Franco Perrelli, Storia del teatro e dello spettacolo, terza edizione, Utet, Torino, 2026 (chapters 4, 6, 11, already part of the institutional programme)
• Ruzante (Angelo Beolco), Due dialoghi; a cura di Ludovico Zorzi, Einaudi Torino, 1968, pp. 5-49
• William Shakespeare, Romeo e Giulietta, traduzione di Agostino Lombardo, Feltrinelli, Milano 2026
• Henrik Ibsen, Una casa di bambola, a cura di Franco Perrelli, Mondadori, Milano 2025 or August Strindberg, Teatro scelto – La signorina Julie, a cura di Franco Perrelli, vol. 1, Edizioni di Pagina, Bari 2026 (to be published)

Non-attending Students must add one of the following readings:

• Simona Brunetti, Marzia Maino (a cura di), Ruzante sulle scene del '900, progetto e coordinamento di Cristina Grazioli, Esedra, Padova 2006
• Alonge, Roberto [https://www.torrossa.com/it/authors/alonge-roberto.html], Rinascimento torbido e malioso: il teatro del Cinquecento, Edizioni di Pagina [https://www.torrossa.com/it/publishers/edizioni-di-pagina.html], Bari 2024
• Franco Perrelli, Il teatro scandinavo, Carocci, Roma 2024
• Franco Perrelli, Henrik Ibsen. Un profilo, Edizioni di Pagina, Bari 2006
• Franco Perrelli (a cura di), La signorina Julie di Strindberg: studi e prospettive, in «I Quaderni del Castello di Elsinore», Supplemento al n. 42 (2001).
• Annamaria Corea, Raccontar danzando. Forme del balletto inglese nel Novecento, Sapienza Università Editrice, Roma 2017

Teaching methods

All classes are held in person.

The course combines lectures and seminar-style discussions centered on the critical analysis of primary and secondary sources, including epigraphic, iconographic, textual, and audiovisual materials. In addition to regular class meetings, the course features guest lectures and conversations with scholars, artists, and cultural practitioners, organized in conjunction with the publication of significant new scholarship and with theatrical productions presented in Bologna and the surrounding areas during the academic year.

Assessment methods

Student learning will be assessed through an oral examination consisting of open-ended questions based on the assigned readings, lecture materials, and primary sources discussed in class. Students will be expected to identify, analyze, and contextualize the sources examined during the course.

Assessment will place particular emphasis on the student's ability to relate themes, authors, works, and performance practices to their respective historical periods and aesthetic traditions.

Outstanding performance will demonstrate a comprehensive and integrated understanding of the course material, the ability to engage critically with historical and theoretical issues, and a confident command of appropriate scholarly terminology.

Good performance will reflect a solid knowledge of the material, supported by effective analytical and synthetic skills, although the use of disciplinary terminology may not always be fully precise.

A satisfactory performance will demonstrate only a basic knowledge of the course material and may reveal gaps in preparation and/or an inconsistent use of disciplinary terminology.

Unsatisfactory performance will be characterized by significant gaps in knowledge, inadequate use of scholarly terminology, and an inability to engage critically with the assigned readings and primary sources discussed throughout the course.

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

The course makes extensive use of lecture slides based on a wide range of primary and secondary sources, including epigraphic, iconographic, textual, and audiovisual materials. Lectures incorporate references to key scholarship in theatre historiography and cultural studies, as well as the reading and discussion of selected literary, dramatic, cinematic, and visual works that illuminate the cultural imagination of the historical periods under consideration.

Course announcements, lecture slides, and supplementary materials will be distributed through the University's Virtuale learning platform. All students, including those who do not attend classes regularly, are expected to enroll in the course's Virtuale site in order to access course materials and instructional information.

Office hours

See the website of Rita Maria Fabris