HTEK03222U Directing: History, Theory, Practice

Volume 2013/2014
Education
Teatervidenskab
Content

Directors have become the dominating force in contemporary theatre; and the focus of this course is to define the function of the director in the theatre. We will be exploring different styles of directing that range from dominating auteur to directors who work with ensembles through improvisation, and will be analysing some of the major figures in twentieth and twenty-first century theatre.  The aim will be to examine the role of the director, the extent playscripts can be interpreted, the ways in which a director’s vision can be evaluated.

(1)   Using the key early twentieth-century figures – Adolph Appia, Gordon Craig and André Antoine – as core examples, we will explore how the director emerged as the dominant figure in the theatre.

(2)   Starting by examining the theories and stage practice of Konstantin Stanislavsky, we will look at how these have been continued and adapted by Lev Dodin, Anatoli Vassiliev and Katie Mitchell.  We will also glance at some of the treatments of naturalist drama in the Wegard Vinge/Ida Müller stagings of Ibsen.

(3)   The dominant role of the director in contemporary theatre is epitomized in the work of Robert Wilson and Robert Lepage, and we will focus on their directing principles, using specific productions as examples. (Excerpts selected from Einstein on the Beach, Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights, Aida and The Black RiderNeedles and Opium, Elsinore, and The Damnation of Faust will be analysed.

(4)   The concepts of Jerzy Grotowski and the way these have been adapted by Eugenio Barba will be compared with the physical theatre of Simon McBurney and Theatre de Complicite and the improvisational techniques developed by Elizabeth LeCompte and the Wooster Group.

This class will be based on my recent book with Maria Shevtsova: The Cambridge Introduction to Theatre Directing (CUP 2013).  It is available in paperback and as an ebook (Kindle Edition) from Amazon, and students interested in the course will find it useful to read this study in preparation. 

  • Category
  • Hours
  • Exam
  • 140
  • Lectures
  • 12
  • Preparation
  • 40
  • Total
  • 192
Credit
15 ECTS
Type of assessment
Other
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