95880 - History and Practices of Directing (Lm)

Learning outcomes

The course aims at providing the students with the following competences and skills: - An in-depth knowledge of the history of stage direction and of some relevant events leading up to its birth; - A good knowledge of the historiography and critical literature on stage direction and its theories - A good mastery of a method of analysis of stage direction in performance.

Course contents

The first part of the course will deal with Victor Hugo's stage directions and theorisations of a directorial nature, contextualising them in the French theatre of the time.

In the second half of the course, students will be offered the analysis of directorial events.

Module I (first 30 hours)

Victor Hugo: directing and theorising.

Module II (next 30 hours)

A number of major directorial events will be analysed in order to lead students to the ability to critically decode a staging.

In the event that students cannot always be present in class in Module II, it is essential to fall back on the examination for non-attending students.

The first module corresponds to the 6 cfu course; the 2 modules together correspond to the 12 cfu course.

Readings/Bibliography

6 cfu course (I module)

Attendants:

• Lecture notes.
• Elena Randi, I primordi della regia. Nei cantieri teatrali di Hugo, Vigny, Dumas, Bari, edizioni di Pagina, 2009.
• Elena Randi, Per un'analisi della Lucrezia Borgia di Victor Hugo attraverso la prima messinscena, in "Schifanoia", 1/2, 2021, pp. 167-175.
• Elena Randi, Di ruoli, di intenzioni, di sdoppiamenti e di regia, ovvero purtroppo non si parla del Talismano ma di Marion de Lorme, in "Vi metto fra le mani il testo affinché ne possiate diventare voi gli autori". Scritti per Franco Perrelli, Bari, Pagina, 2022, pp. 181-193.
• Elena Randi, Percorsi della drammaturgia romantica, Torino, UTET, 2012 (only the chapter on Hugo's Il re si diverte).
• Elena Randi, Il teatro romantico, Bari, Laterza, 2016.
• Victor Hugo, Ernani, any edition.
• Victor Hugo, Angelo, tyrant of Padua, any edition.

We also highly recommend reading:

• Victor Hugo, Lucrezia Borgia, any edition.
• Victor Hugo, Marion de Lorme, any edition.

Non-attending students:

In addition to the texts for frequent attendees, they must study:

• Victor Hugo, Il re si diverte, any edition.
• Victor Hugo, Lucrezia Borgia, any edition.
• Victor Hugo, Marion de Lorme, any edition.
• Victor Hugo, Ruy Blas, any edition.

12 cfu course (I + II module)

Attendants:

In addition to the materials provided for Module I, students will be required to study:

• Victor Hugo, Prefazione a Cromwell, any edition.
• Victor Hugo, Sul grottesco, Milano, Guerini & Associati, 1990.

 

For those lacking an adequate knowledge of the history of directing, we recommend reading at least one of the following volumes:

• Umberto Artioli (a cura di), Il teatro di regia: genesi ed evoluzione (1870-1950), Roma, Carocci, 2004.
• Giovanna Zanlonghi, La regia teatrale nel secondo Novecento. Utopie, forme e pratiche, Roma, Carocci, 2023.
• Roberto Alonge, Il teatro dei registi. Scopritori di enigmi e poeti della scena, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2006.
• Lorenzo Mango, Il Novecento del teatro. Una storia, Roma, Carocci, 2019.

Teaching methods

Teaching includes lectures and discussions with students.

Assessment methods

I module (6 cfu)

The final assessment of learning will consist of an oral interview focusing on the topics covered in the lectures and the volumes indicated in the bibliography.

I + II module (12 cfu)

The final examination consists of an oral interview on the topics dealt with in the lectures and the books listed in the bibliography.

The oral interview serves to assess the knowledge and critical skills acquired by the student.

Teaching tools

Watching videos and iconographic material, reading textual sources; if possible, watching rehearsals of performances and listening to oral histories of directors/dramatists/actors.

Office hours

See the website of Elena Randi