HISTORY OF STAGE DIRECTION

This course is part of the master degree [EM3] ECONOMIA E GESTIONE DELLE ARTI E DELLE ATTIVITÀ CULTURALI - Economia e gestione delle arti e della cultura.
The course gives the students suitable specialist knowledge in the field of theatrical and musical productions along with the basis of the history of the performing arts required for the development of a professional role with organizational and managerial skills.
The teaching enables students to recognize and understand the notion of artistic autonomy in the art system and cultural sector they have chosen, providing them conceptual and argumentative instruments to evaluate the situation of the art in different historic contexts.

The specific aim of the course is to provide the students with a basic knowledge, an introduction to the historic elements and a reference vocabulary in the field of theatre studies, focusing on different models of representation and of public response. By reaching these objectives students will be able to expand their knowledge in the field of theatrical studies and to develop a critical approach, learning in particular to consider the history of theatre in the wider context of the visual and performing arts.
The student will have to prove to have acquired specialist knowledge of cultural theatrical and musical productions in general.
It is hoped that the student acquires the competence to follow the planning and production of a show, having the historic and theoretical knowledge to analyze a theatrical and musical production in its whole and a particular attention to the relation between the economic aspects and the scenic realization, the visual component and the actors interpretation along with the lighting and stagecraft.
1. Knowledge and understanding
Reaching of a series of elements useful to define the disciplines related to the performing arts and their theoretical and historic characterization. Acquisition of bibliographical tools for approaching the texts, interpreting their forms and contents, their historical and cultural motifs.
2. Capacity to apply knowledge and understanding
To be able to trace back the dramatic texts to specific cultural domains on the basis of the related critical literature
3. Judgement
To be aware that the interpretation cannot be detached from a deep critical and historiographic knowledge and from a comparison with the most updated bibliography.

The present course does not require prerequisites, if not a basic knowledge of the performing art sector and its analysis methodologies.

The topic of the course, in accordance with what was carried out in the first module, will be ‘The Theatre of theatre’.
The distinction is made thinking of the popular category of ‘The Theater in theater’: in this instance the interest is not toward the relation between the comedy (or tragedy) and the comedy (or tragedy) in which the first is integrated, but toward a dramaturgy displaying the phases of organization and work division to make the show: from the text writing to the practice of directing, the craft of the actor, the performing art jobs, up to the producing vision, the relationship with the audience, the sales and distribution systems.
The course will consider first a series of dramatic texts offering a starting point; these will be seen along with literary and iconographic documents and theoretical texts (mostly dedicated to the actorial and representational practices). The theatrical performance will be considered in all its different creative, productive and organizational aspects with examples taken from the creations of contemporary directors and from historical examples showing aspects of innovative production.
It will be considered the relation between artistic creativity, organization capacity and mechanisms of exchange guaranteeing an happy outcome and satisfaction on the organizational and productive levels.
The directorial language will be explored so to elaborate a sensible and original critical reflection on the art of staging, developing communication and relational skills. The analysis will be extended to the forms of spoken and musical theatre.
It will be set up a research methodology which could use different sources, documental and not, to face and resolve the main problems related to the practice of staging a live performance.
The main methodological aspects of the directorial thought will be taken into consideration in their relation with the artistic context of the sector and with the wider system of the human sciences in general.
Furthermore the main process of directorial creation will be explored in relation to the structural limitations that have to be faced during the production process.
Lessons will be carried on with the aid of multimedia.

M. SCHINO, 'La nascita della regia teatrale', Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2003.
R. ALONGE, 'Il teatro dei registi', Roma-Bari, 2006, pp. 48-65.
M. GALLINA, 'Ri-Organizzare teatro. Produzione, distribuzione, gestione', Milano, F. Angeli, 2014
W. OSTHOFF, 'L’opera d’arte e la sua riproduzione: un problema d’attualità per il teatro d’opera', in 'La drammaturgia musicale', a cura di L. BIANCONI, Bologna, 1986, pp. 383-409.
P. FABBRI, '«Di vedere e non vedere»: lo spettatore all’opera' , «Il Saggiatore musicale», xiv/2, 2007, pp. 359-367: rist. «Musica Docta», I, 2011.
F. MAZZOCCHI, Le regie teatrali di Luchino Visconti : dagli esordi a Morte di un commesso viaggiatore, Roma, Bulzoni 2010.
'Giorgio Strehler e il suo teatro', a cura di F. MAZZOCCHI e A. BENTOGLIOGLIO, Parte 1 e 2, Roma, Bulzoni 1997-1998.
P. BROOK, 'La porta aperta', Torino, Einaudi 2005
C. LONGHI, 'La regia in Italia, oggi : per Luca Ronconi' in "Culture teatrali": studi, interventi e scritture sullo spettacolo : fra Cinema e Teatro , 25, (2016), n. 25G.
M. GALLINA e O. PONTE DI PINO, 'Le buone pratiche del teatro: una banca delle idee per il teatro italiano', Milano, F. Angeli, 2014

The assessment includes an oral examination.
If a student wants to submit an essay he is asked to agree beforehand with the Professor the subject which has to be an in-depht personal analysis of the topics examined during the course.
The essay should be a written composition of no more than ten pages. (II modulo)

If possible the course will be structured in frontal lessons with the aid of multimedia materials.
Otherwise with the online teaching methods as specified by the University.

Italian

This is a series of useful texts or scrpts – other could be added and suggested over the course – which will be analyzed during the two modules and offer elements for an historical overview: William Shakespeare ('Hamlet', 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream', ‘The tempest’), Giovan Battista Andreini ('Le due commedie in commedia'), Gian Lorenzo Bernini ('L’impresario'), Molière ('L’impromptu de Versailles'), Pierre Corneille "L'illusion comique", Benedetto Marcello ('Il teatro alla moda'), Carlo Goldoni ('Il teatro comico', 'L’impresario delle Smirne', 'La bella verità'), Domeico Gilardoni-Gaetano Donizetti (‘Le convenienze e le inconvenieneze teatrali’), Luigi Pirandello (Trilogia del teatro nel teatro), etc.
Another possible object of analysis during the second module will be 'Don Giovanni' of W.A. Mozart to which it is possible to connect the texts of 'Don Giovanni' for the spoken theatre, useful examples for the students as there are editions and theatrical productions very well documented.

Letture di approfondimento:
G. GUCCINI, 'Direzione scenica e Regia' in 'Storia dell'Opera Italiana' a cura L. BIANCONI, G. PESTELLI, vol. V, La Spettacolarità, Torino, EDT 1988, pp. 123-174.
M. SCHINO, 'L'età dei maestri : Appia, Craig, Stanislavskij, Mejerchol'd, Copeau, Artaud e gli altri, Roma-Bari, Laterza 2017.
M. FAZIO, 'Regie teatrali. Dalle origini a Brecht', Roma-Bari, Laterza 2006.
J. MAEHDER, 'La regia operistica come forma d’arte autonoma. Sull’ intellettualizzazione del teatro musicale nell’ Europa del dopoguerra', Musica/Realtà», XI/1990, pp. 65-84.
'Luchino Visconti e il melodramma verdiano', a cura di C. D'AMICO DE CARVALHO, Milano, Mazzotta 2001.
'Visconti scritti, film, star e immagini', a cura di M. SCHNEIDER e L. SCHIRMER, Milano, Electa 2008, pp.11 - 74.
L. RONCONI, 'Prove di autobiografia', a cura di G. AGOSTI, Milano, Feltrinelli 2019.
'La realizzazione scenica dello spettacolo verdiano', a cura di P. PETROBELLI e F. DELLA SETA, ISV, Parma1996.
'Verdi in Performance', a cura di A. LATHAM e R. PARKER, Oxford, Oxford University Press 2001.
P. CHEREAU, 'Opéra et mise en scène', «Avant-scène Opéra», n. 281, juin 2014.
P. SELLARS, 'Opéra et mise en scène', «Avant-scène Opéra», n. 287, juin 2015.

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "International cooperation" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development