INTERPRETATION

MIUR Acting Academies

The Academic Diploma Course Programs in Acting at the International Theatre Academy are structured in predominantly practical lessons complemented by theoretical teachings to support academic training.

From Commedia dell'Improvviso to Molière

COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE

The masks of Commedia dell'Arte are defined as "fixed types" because they represent the "human archetype". Indeed, at play are the most basic instincts of human nature: survival, food, love; as well as deceptions: making believe, flattering, taking advantage, double-dealing.
From the birth of impromptu comedy, to commedia dell'arte, to author's comedy, we will study the evolution of this unscrupulous and vital genre that from the freedom of scripts will transform its mocking charge under the reins of a fixed text.

Analysis of fixed types

The starting point is always observation: this time of animals, their peculiar characteristics, and movements. This observation frees the interpretative approach from the psychological weight and allows for the analysis of the comedy characters for what they are, namely fixed types of social and character typologies. The scripts, the only literary form at the base of the great tradition of impromptu comedy, unravel their plots starting from basic human passions: hunger, love intrigue, deception, war, which alternate with a counterpoint of recurring comic mechanisms such as the misunderstanding, disguise, role swapping, the "quid pro quo", the catchphrase and the "avalanche", the instinctive tricks characteristic of this genre known precisely as "commedia dell'improvviso".
The exercises will start from the historical scripts of the tradition to experiment, through these improvisations, how challenging it is to make what is the result of a complex, sensitive, and long-practiced actor's work seem instinctive and natural.

Characters and scripts

Captain Spaventa (F. Andreini); Rodomontades and Spanish Zanni (L. Franciosini); Zan Panza de Pegora (alias Simon Jealous Comedian); Doctor Graziano and Pgnaton (G. C. Croce); Neapolitan Doctor (A. Soldano); the Lover (I. Andreini), the Beloved (D. Bruni) and moreover: from The Theatre of Representative Fables by Flaminio Scala: The two old twins; Flavio's fortune; The fortunate Isabella; Isabella's tricks; Flavio betrayed; The tragic events; The jealous Isabella; Isabella astrologer; The comic, pastoral and tragic events.

Approach to masks: postures, walks, stylizations

Harlequin, Columbina, Pantalone, Captain, Doctor, Pulcinella, Infarinato, Pedrolino, etc.

The satire in Molière's works

MOLIÈRE

Molière picks up the themes of the scripts of Commedia dell'Arte but fixes them in a written text and adapts them to his contemporaneity, thus transforming tricks into social satire. But his immense ability was to know how to insinuate laughter and mockery not only in the agitated action of a comic mechanism but also in the most subtle folds of humanity, in its pettiness, in its manias. Initially, he uses for his characters the psychological naivety of the masks borrowed from the traditional Commedia dell'Arte, but from "The Precious Ridiculous" onwards, he begins to outline the comic characters more, determined by an inner contradiction, by a pretense of vanity, by an initial mistake, and with a clear and detached gaze manages to show the audience the internal contradictions as much to the bourgeois class as to the ecclesiastical and medical one. Once again, the students will practice on monologues, dialogues, and soliloquies, taken from the chosen works.
Over the years, various works have been performed in the theatre: "The Imaginary Invalid", "The Miser", "The Precious Ridiculous", "Tartuffe", "Monsieur de Pourceaugnac", "The School for Wives", "Don Giovanni"; as well as a staging of an interesting fictional biography by M. Bulgakov: "The Life of Monsieur de Molière".

• Molière and the "commedia dell'arte"
• The construction of comic characters
• Analysis of monologues, dialogues, and soliloquies
• From "The Precious Ridiculous" to "The Imaginary Invalid"
• The satire of the bourgeois, ecclesiastical, and medical classes

THE FARCE

The farce is a cross-genre that originated within medieval secular theater, blending the popular tradition of the "fair theater" and commedia dell'arte, to become a recognizable form of script in many authors' comedies. We indeed find it in Shakespeare (The Comedy of Errors, Measure for Measure, etc.) and naturally in Molière. It is a genre that has remained active and vital to our days, particularly in the English tradition, as demonstrated by Michael Frayn's hilarious farcical comedy "Noises Off".
The farce is a complete work tied to situational comedy rather than punchlines; the plot, full of misunderstandings, constantly opens up to slapstick parentheses and recurring comic mechanisms, concluding with the revelation of the misunderstanding and the consequent reversal of the initial situation. In the succession of scenes, characters are always in search of a balance, often an indirect cause of the imbalance in the following scene. The farcical text is a complex musical score that, tied to the rhythm of the walks and the "entrances" and "exits" on stage, composes a finely articulated structure of scenic frames. The students will work on various farcical pieces, practicing managing tight text scores, maintaining the lightness of improvisation within a fixed text, and nurturing a sensitivity to the scene by seizing new slapstick ideas that arise with each performance.

• Stereotyped characters: unfaithful or hindered couples, corrupt, naive, double-dealers, swindlers
• Plot intrigue, misunderstandings, disguises
• The text as a score that marks the musicality of the scenic design
• Slapstick and recurring comic mechanisms
• Action comedy, situational comedy, catchphrases
• Rapid acceleration of "entrances" and "exits" on stage
• Hilarious reversal of the final situation

Shakespeare in theater and cinema

Through the works of Shakespeare begins an in-depth work on acting the text: from the study of elements of prose theater, to allegorical interpretations, or to stark cinematic readings. Monologues, dialogues, and “scenes,” will be used in turn to experiment with different interpretative and metaphorical paths that do not renounce the irony or humor of the situations.

TEXT ANALYSIS

The "cause-effect"
The starting point for the study of acting "at the first degree," or naturalistic, starts from the text analysis aimed at searching for the path of feelings of different characters. The actions of the protagonists are indeed always moved by a mechanism of cause – effect and by the rapid transition from one feeling to another which usually coincides with the dramatic climax of the scene.

Scene and counter-scene
Then, we will analyze from one side the action of the active character: “the scene,” which involves the prosodic and timbral choice of the text, pauses, and the rhythm of the word, the physical dynamics, the gaze, impulses, breathing. And from the other, the silent reaction (gaze, movement, impulse, breath) of the passive character: “the counter-scene,” which gives different meanings to the “scene” and is the deepest indicator of the relationship between the characters.

The interpretative style
We will experiment how dry and nuanced reactions of the characters lead to an interpretative realism, while the exaggerated ones, to a more metaphorical and evocative representation of the drama. Facing the audience brings the characters back to universal feelings, while the scenic action directed towards the other actor pushes them into a more intimate relationship.

THE TRAGEDIES

Only after analyzing the text, one is able to choose an interpretative key: from the naturalistic, given by a realistic acting of dialogues and monologues to the delicate and musical of verse acting; from the dramatic, characterized by the tragic monologue and a choral counter-scene to the caricatural with grotesque and ironic tones. Once the representational form is experimented, our interest shifts to the universal themes of the author's works: the relationship between man and power; betrayal and deceit; naivety and hypocrisy; the relationship with the supernatural; wisdom in madness; the obstacle to passion or to sincere love.

THE ROMANTIC COMEDIES AND FARCES

The analysis of romantic comedies provides the opportunity for the study of poetic interpretation; the actor is called upon to interpret characters with fragile and tormented souls who, through the use of metaphor, search for truth: truth of emotions, truth of situations, interpretative truth. We will then tackle the other side of the romantic comedy, the farcical comedy, which introduces comic elements that serve to exalt and ridicule the romantic aspects at the same time: the comedy in Shakespeare always arises from the overturning of a credible situation. The clever plots alternate between tragic and comic, straightforward characters to grotesque characters, playing on the double level of meaning.

THE FOOL

A key character in Shakespearean works, the “Fool” is the madman, the jester, the court fool, the king's alter ego, the visionary revealer of miseries and virtues and wise connoisseur of the human soul. It’s a character who lives in an eternal metaphor and who requires an interpretation focused on the ironic play made of rapid excursions and breaks of feelings alternated with emblematic enunciations and poetic paradoxes.

STAGING

We will finally create revisitations, where the eternal relevance of the themes is underscored by the contamination with modern settings. Many works have been staged over the years: “As You Like It”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “The Merchant of Venice”, “The Taming of the Shrew”, “Hamlet”, “The Comedy of Errors”, “Twelfth Night”, “The Tempest”, “The Merry Wives of Windsor”, “Othello”, “Macbeth”, “Measure for Measure”, “Much Ado About Nothing”, “King Lear”, “Richard III”, “Love's Labour's Lost”, “A Midsummer Night's Dream”, “Titus Andronicus”, “Julius Caesar”, "Antony and Cleopatra".

• Text analysis
• Character's emotional journey
• Motivations and circumstances: cause-effect
• Action: scene/reaction: counter-scene
• Monologues and dialogues
• Interpretation in verse, realistic, evocative, allegorical, intimate
• Interpretation in English
• The "fool"
• Revisiting the works

SHAKESPEARE AND CINEMA

Shakespeare's ability to evoke the most archetypal and changeable human emotions has made his characters protagonists of countless film adaptations. Moreover, his symbolic and metaphorical power creates a balance between word and vision, elements indispensable to cinematic narrative.
Through the study and analysis of the most significant cinematic and theatrical versions of Shakespearean works, the expressive means are compared in terms of camera movements, narrative cuts, settings, and consequently the interpretative technique.

• Text analysis
• Character building
• Practical exercises of empathy
• Construction of dramatic action
• Time - Rhythm - Dramatic score
• Narrative arc
• Reproductions of significant scenes (attempting to avoid imitative mechanisms)
• Camera shooting
• Directing and editing of the footage

Filmography

• “Macbeth”, Orson Welles, 1948, with Orson Welles, Jeanette Nolan
• “Macbeth”, R. Polanski, 1971, with Jon Finch
• “Othello”, Orson Welles, 1952, with Orson Welles, Suzanne Cloutier
• “Filming Othello”, Orson Welles, 1978
• “Romeo and Juliet”, F. Zeffirelli, 1969, with L. Whiting and O. Hussey
• “Romeo + Juliet”, Baz Luhrmann, 1996, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes
• “Hamlet”, F. Zeffirelli, 1990, with Mel Gibson, Glenn Close
• “Hamlet”, Kenneth Branagh, 1996, with Kenneth Branagh
• “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead”, T. Stoppard, 1990, with G. Oldman, T. Roth
• “Richard III”, Laurence Olivier, 1955, with Laurence Olivier, Pamela Brown
• “Richard III (Looking for Richard)”, Al Pacino, 1996, with Al Pacino, K. Spacey, W. Ryder
• “Richard III”, R. Loncraine, 1995, with I. McKellen, M. Smith, J. Wood, A. Bening
• “Twelfth Night”, Trevor Nunn, 1996, with Ben Kingsley, Nigel Hawthorne

Acting and New Media

The interpretative techniques are expanded through a specific application of acting in the context of new media, which is modulated to adapt to the language of radio, or that of film-television, dubbing, and voice-over; in addition to the possibilities offered by online formats.

• Film Acting
• Television Acting
• Radio Acting
• Cine-Television Audition Techniques
• Dubbing Techniques
• Voice-Over Techniques
• Acting in Web Series

Verse Acting

In theater, to express a character's intentions as naturally as possible, it is necessary to produce a musicality. Even in life, when we speak, we produce a musicality. Saying a line means verosimilantly recounting the musicality of thought, its operation, its timings, its stumbles. The verse, presenting itself with a very firm grid of rules, offers a different opportunity to refine technique. The same truthfulness of feelings is conveyed with similar techniques in prose and verse. The more archaic and obsolete the language of the verses, the more stimulating it is to grasp its essence through rhythm and melody. Work is done on texts by Dante, Cecco Angiolieri, Petrarch, William Shakespeare, Torquato Tasso, Vittorio Alfieri, Ludovico Ariosto up to Petrolini and the "gnosis of fanfole" by Fosco Maraini.

• Verse Acting Techniques
• Metric Forms of Lyric Poetry: the sonnet, the hendecasyllable
• Metric Forms of Narrative Poetry: the chant, the stanzas
• The Origin of the Sonnet in Europe
• Metasemantic Poetry

Improvisation Techniques

The study path in the second year delves into the dynamic laws of theater, focusing mainly on writing, in the sense of staging a structure of the game. Three series of questions guide our geodramatic exploration. The first concerns the "challenges". What part of human nature is put into play when encountering different theatrical styles? The second refers to the "languages". What are the most appropriate languages to express these challenges? Finally, the third addresses the "texts". Which dramatic texts can enrich the discovery of each territory? In summary, the task for students is: "Tell us a story".

• Storytelling Techniques
• Fable Telling

The Grotesque Theater, the Medieval and Modern Buffoon

THE BUFFOONS

The composed linearity of the tragic stride suddenly breaks on the deformed and intertwined bodies of the buffoonish herd, also a single body, even more so than the ancient chorus, but here, instead of the mythical tragic hero, a mocking and disquieting character appears: the buffoon, a powerful and lucid dislocator of reality. The buffoon, who believes in nothing and laughs at everything, thus becomes indispensable to that same society that shuns him, showing us how evil and good coexist in our nature, in the gestures of our daily living. With a gaze that transcends ages and cultures, the buffoon becomes a mirror of our intemperances, denouncing the often rampant absurdity of human hypocrisy.

Settings and references
Historically going back to the buffoon of medieval courts, it is in Shakespeare that the “fool” finds its dramatic and metaphorical connotation that allows us to place this character within the ironic and grotesque dramaturgical panorama. A precise analysis of the figurative art of Bosch, Bruegel, and Goya (The Original Sin – The Great Exodus - The Last Judgement - The Fall of the Rebel Angels - The Apocalypse – The Universal Flood) will allow the student to better grasp the “imagery” of reference, while Dante's inferno and ancient biblical settings will be some of the epic and narrative referents.
From biblical and Dantean settings, we move to medieval and Celtic ones. Life and its parodic farce will now be danced by knowledgeable jesters, sly monks, and smiling traitors. A harsh accusation emerges against a society governed by buffoon kings and an art of cruelty and mockery, the black but sincere soul of humanity: the new literary reference is M. De Ghelderode with “The School of Buffoons” and “The Ballad of the Great Macabre” where Flemish spirit and Celtic tales mix with magic and mysticism. Students will move within the different dramatic settings elaborated in class, seeking, day after day, quality of presence and interpretative depth.

Herd, deformations, characters, costume research
The buffoons, deformed beings with huge bellies, large buttocks, and twisted humps, move in a herd, a tangle of bodies and a symbol of visceral complicity. Its formation requires a long period of collective exercises to grasp the disturbing rhythmic movement together, its space control, the sudden appearances, and the amused escapes. Choosing one's own deformation, which influences gait and psychology, is the first step the student takes towards building their own character. This is followed by the creation of the stage costume, through the search for fabrics and old cloths treated in such a way as to appear ancient and worn. Once assembled, the costumes, of great scenic suggestion, expand and modify the bodies of the actors, immersing them in a temporal dimension that recalls the gloomy charm of the gothic and its decadent luxury.

THE PARODY

Study of Parodies
The exercise of keen observation and subtle wit is the preparatory ground for constructing individual parodies: the actor initially imitates characters and situations credibly; then goes beyond benign caricature to reveal hidden thoughts and desires, clichés, and frustrations of the "parodied" characters. Hypocrites, the ambitious and fanatics, the "do-gooders" and moralists, become the targets of the biting parodic comedy in which apparent buffoonish naivety quickly turns into a clear denunciation. Interpretatively, a play on rapid and sudden changes of looks and attitudes, of stillness and escapes, driven by a surprising "syncopated rhythm" is experimented with.

The Modern Fool
Starting from the medieval fool, the study moves to the modern fool. His derisive spirit remains unchanged, as does his excessive taste for accusing humanity's vices. The fool now wears the civilian clothes of the modern man, transforming his physical deformation into a psychological deformation. This results in contemporary key parodies that, starting from everyday life, soon take on the sharp edge of buffoonish satire.

The Show
The creation of buffoonish shows is a formative and cultural operation with multiple aspects: students are stimulated not only from an interpretative point of view but also from a directing, dramaturgical, and social perspective. The works staged are deep and original, very contemporary and at the same time of universal readability, capable of engaging the students and surprising the audience.

Comedy and Humor

THE COMIC PHENOMENON

"Making people laugh is a serious matter". The theme of comedy is explored at the end of the second year of the course with a highly technical initial preparatory study that will open the doors to the style that is at the same time the most poetic and the most complex: the Clown. The mechanism that triggers laughter is a phenomenon far from sudden but manifests only if very precise timing and reactions are respected.
Comedy and humor, their nature and their causes, have always been the subject of philosophical reflection, both practical and theoretical on the art. One day a group of actors, directors, and authors, discussing this matter, drafted a document: "the 20 universal rules of comedy":

1. Black & White / It's either black or white
2. R.C.A. Repeating Comic Action / Repeat the comic action
3. Balance / Balance the scenic space
4. P.O.A. Point of Attention / Focus attention on one point at a time
5. Why? / Why do you do this?
6. Motivation / Motivate every action of yours
7. Intention / Clarify every intention of yours
8. Resolution - Conclusion / Find a good ending
9. Frame / Stay within the structure you've set for yourself
10. Line from A to B / Go from A to B
11. Peripheral Vision / Maintain the overall vision
12. Look the audience let them register the gags / Look at the audience and give them time to register the gags
13. Less is more / Less is more
14. Sliding Dynamics - Climax / Create the crescendo
15. Comic Mentality / Think Clown
16. Not what you do, but how you do it / It's not what you do, but how you do it
17. Nothing is new / Nothing is new
18. Timing and variable / Timing and variation
19. The A word: Attitude / Believe in it
20. The law of three: 3 gags / The rule of three

If up to this point the students have observed the world and let it reflect in them, in this phase of study the actor searches the deepest part of themselves and observes the effect this produces on the world, i.e., the audience.
We are faced with a very particular theme of the academy's study path: the clown.
The search for one's own clown requires a great personal human experience, because the clown does not exist outside of the actor who performs it; fundamentally, it involves the discovery of one's own ridiculous side and the transformation of personal fragility into a liberating theatrical strength.

The Poetics of the Solitary Clown
The clown is and must be authentic, sincere, transparent. He reacts to everything that happens, always living in a state of hypersensitivity, curiosity, surprise. His intentions are always readable even when he tries to deceive.
He is idealistic and pragmatic, dreamer and realist, strong and weak at the same time. He is never stereotypical, does not seek the commonplace nor laughter, which arises spontaneously from the eternal conflict between his spirit and his logic.

• Searching for one's own clown: the costume, the walk, the speech
• Solitary entrances
• Relationship with the audience
• "The performance"
• The relationship with objects
• Falls, accidents, dysfunctions
• Anomaly, detachment, innocence

The Comic Duo
The clownish play is based on the definition and the relationship of the comic duo: Monsieur Loyal or White Clown and Auguste or Red Clown. The first is the "villain", the authority, beautiful and elegant, living off the Auguste, his double, the one who does not understand the rules of the game. Together they form the constant contradiction that is the very essence of being human.
Sometimes there's contamination, exchange of roles. The comic duo moves following a rigid, almost mathematical rhythm, which demands a decomposition of the action-reaction and a great knowledge of verbal and gestural techniques.

• Monsieur Loyal and the Auguste: the "boss-subordinate" power relationship
• The "pretentious" failure - the "accidental" failure
• Announcement of the act - execution - unveiling of the trick - punishment of the Auguste
• M. Loyal's joke - success - Auguste's joke - failure - punishment of the Auguste
• Fights and duels
• Analysis, study, and timing of the "gag" breakdown

THE THEATRICAL CLOWN

Once one's own "center" has been found and the strength of the "comic duo" experienced, we will relate an ever-increasing number of characters, starting with the "trio" with its rigid hierarchies, giving life to multiple nuances and unpredictable and original situations. Even the themes of improvisations and the construction of sketches will change, from circus themes of the performance, we will move to those of auditions, musical bands, metatheatre, to everyday life or to more dreamlike and surreal contexts. The play will always be centered on naivety and failure.
The spectator then, placed in a state of superiority, is moved and laughs, but unconsciously he laughs and is moved by himself. The school improvisations will subsequently be defined and resonated with the audience. The clown's work is global: the actor must invent his entrances, direct them, create the music, the costume, living in a state of constant creativity: without a great imagination, there are no clowns!

• Characteristics and play of one's own clown
• Learning, thinking, acting as a clown
• Stimulation of the sense of freedom
• "The comic trio" and hierarchies
• The act: the number, the song, the contest, the audition, the exam, the interview
• The imitation, the story, the news, the announcement
• The music: the choir, the band, the orchestra
• The dance, the choreography, the sport
• The Metatheatre: the theatre company, the technician, the opera, the tragedy, Shakespeare
• God, love, sex, death
• The dinner, the courtship, the betrayal, the marriage, the funeral
• Everyday life situations
• Surreal, absurd situations
• Construction of the "clownish sketch"

Acting in English

Linguistic knowledge built through physicality, collaboration with others, and the emotional involvement of those who need to credibly interpret a role, remains deeply rooted and vivid in the actor's memory. Through theatrical "play" guided by a native speaker instructor, confidence with the English language is stimulated with the development of gestural and musical communication, the expressive and communicative potential of verbal and non-verbal languages, auditory memory, the ability to grasp the meaning of intonation (tone of voice, accents, pauses), to develop expressive reading, to express oneself using different strategies depending on the purpose, to respect turns of speech, to memorize the topics discussed, and to perform dramatized texts by heart. Students practice preparing scenes and/or monologues in English in order to be prepared for international auditions and with the perspective of an ever-increasing exchange between European professionals and artists.

• Linguistic knowledge through physicality
• Gestural communication
• Intonation in English: tone of voice, accents, pauses
• Expressive reading in English
• Dramatization
• Acting for set and stage

USE OF VOICE / EMISSION TECHNIQUES

2nd Year

Everyone has a voice capable of expressing an infinite variety of emotions, complexity of moods but often our voice is distorted by tension, laziness, shyness, and personal emotions that do not make it free and available to express the emotions and thoughts of the text or character. Through breathing techniques, students learn to return to the relaxation of involuntary (diaphragmatic) breathing and to control, modulate, and develop their vocal potential to serve the scenic interpretation and express the different nuances of the emotional journey of the character to be represented.

• Breathing Techniques: at the origins of sound
• The rhythm of involuntary breathing
• Respiratory capacity: diaphragm, intercostals, pelvic floor
• Control of exhalation: the air reserve
• The choral text, moving text, text in fire, water, earth, air elements
• Techniques for the actor and vocal interpretation
• Understanding and communication of a text
• Interpretation: intention and subtext
• Narration - Monologue - Dialogue
• Rhetoric
• Dramatic, humorous, and ironic soliloquy
• Laughing - crying - whispering

 

PHYSICAL TRAINING / ELEMENTS OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY DANCE

2nd Year

The fundamental reference point in modern dance technique is the act of breathing. Martha Graham, a pioneer of the evolution of dance from classical ballet to contemporary techniques, considers it possible to achieve an immediacy of expressive gesture only by identifying breathing as the central motor impulse. The basic exercise of the Graham technique for dance training is the contraction-release, a movement of opposition of two contrary and complementary forces that marks the flow of breathing. In both movements, a constant tension of the body's muscles is maintained; they are indeed loaded with energy that moves between them in opposite directions but directed by the force of the same impulse.
The study path for the second year is aimed at the discovery and awareness of planes and movement factors inspired by the choreutic study of Von Laban and concludes with a study on movement that involves a collective kinetic proposal, based on the elements explored during previous work sessions.
Elements of modern and contemporary dance:
· spatial orientation and possible combinations
· mobility within spatial planes
· movement factors: energy – time - space
· movement scores

ACROBATICS

2nd Year

Among the physical disciplines applied to the performing arts, martial arts and acrobatic techniques hold a specific relevance. Both serve the dual purpose of physical training aimed at concentration and stage presence on one hand, and as a spectacular and choreographic element in service of the scenic action.

• Elements of Tai Chi Chuan
• Elements of Karate
• The katas
• Elements of Capoeira
• Grabs and falls
• Somersaults, wheels, handstands, forward and backward flips
• Leverages, lifts, and human pyramids
• Acrobatic accidents
• Acrobatic attire
• Acrobatic fights
• Acrobatic falls with objects
• Everyday actions made acrobatic
• Elements and techniques of nouveau cirque

MUSIC AND SINGING DISCIPLINES

2nd Year

The "recitative" develops in baroque music to create narrative and dialogic elements with a simple accompaniment, performed with a few instruments, while the "arias" conveyed the characters' emotions. This juxtaposition forms the basis of all Italian opera production, both comic and serious. The same juxtaposition is found, many years later, in the scores of the most famous theatrical and film musicals. A particular use of acting on musical scores is that developed by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill starting from the recitatives in Wagner's works and from the tradition of German lieder.

• Syllabic declamation
• Melodic course corresponding to the cadence of spoken language
• The "legato"
• Techniques of phonation and acting on musical scores
• Recitatives in the operatic repertoire
• The Musical
• Songs in Bertolt Brecht's Epic Theatre

 

HISTORY OF THEATRE, MIME, AND DANCE

2nd Year

During the 2nd Year, the study of theatre history continues in parallel with the interpretative journey starting from medieval theatre. The topics covered will thus be: the deprivation of the theatre building and the widespread theatricality: jesters, farce, and the religious drama of sacred representations; the splendor of Renaissance court theatre and the rediscovery of ancient classics; the birth of fraternal companies leading to commedia dell'arte, to improvisation, and its subsequent development into authored comedy with Molière and Goldoni; the '600: a golden century of theatre between Italy, France, Spain, and England; the theoretical development of acting and the function of theatrical art for society in the '700; bourgeois theatre and the theatre of the 1800s: Romanticism, Symbolism, Naturalism, and Verism; the Northern European theatre that gives life to modern theatre: fourth wall, social drama. At the turn of the '800 and '900, then, innovations in the field of visual art technique (photography, cinema) and the new centrality of the self emerged with psychoanalytic research challenge the social role of theatre and give rise to a new artistic figure that will become central in the 20th century: the Director.

• Medieval Theatre: mysteries, sacred representations, and jesters. Chrétien de Troyes
• Commedia dell'Arte: Flaminio Scala, G.B. Andreini
• Theatre of the '600: Shakespeare and Elizabethan theatre, Molière, Calderon de la Barca, Racine
• The Theatre of the '700: De Beaumarchais, Goldoni
• Romanticism: Goethe, Hugo
• Symbolism: Maeterlinck, Mallarmé, Paul Fort
• 19th Century Naturalism and Verismo: Antoine, Brahm, Verga
• Modern Theater - Social Theater: Chekhov, Ibsen, Strindberg
• The Birth of Theatrical Directing: George II of Meiningen
• "Total Theater": Wagner
• Influence and mixing of different arts between the 19th and 20th centuries
• Evolution of a Role: Lead Actor - Star Performer - Director - Educator
• The Art Theater

DANCE, MIME, AND PHYSICAL THEATRE

The study of Mime theory starts from the origins of Greek mime which evolved into Roman and medieval pantomime, the mimed interludes of the 17th century, Noverre's Ballet d'Action, up to the innovations of the modern era: the Symbolism of E. Decroux and the Contemporary Mime of M. Marceau and J. Lecoq; it then explores the most recent applications of this ancient technique in its intersections with dance and physical theatre. Concurrently, the history of dance begins with its ritualistic origins, which still resonate in oriental dances. The Western evolution of dance moves from the social role of court and folk dances to the pivotal role that classical-academic ballet claimed in the 19th century; distancing itself from this, modern and contemporary dance then codified their own styles: initially with the free dance theorized and applied by F. Delsarte, L. Fuller, R. St. Denis; then with the birth of modern dance by I. Duncan and M. Graham. E. J. Dalcroze and R. Von Laban are the proponents, in Europe, of expressionist dance; while in Russia, the visionary project of impresario Djagilev founded one of the most important experiments of the 20th century: the Ballets Russes, indeed, saw the collaboration between the high technicality of the dancers from the Bolshoi and Mariinsky (A. Pavlova, M. Fokine, V. Nijinsky) with the exponents of European artistic and musical avant-gardes, from Picasso to Matisse, from Debussy to Satie. Thanks to these experiments of contamination, the artistic experiences of Contemporary Dance in the 20th century were possible: M. Cunningham, collaborating with the composer J. Cage, conceptualizes an anti-psychological, anti-narrative dance idea; from the educational experiment of the Mudra School by M. Béjart and from the collective Ballet du XXème siècle he conceived, several innovators of dance and choreography emerged: C. Carlson, a student of Béjart, developed her choreographic composition method through "show-improvisations" born in collaboration with musicians (M. Portal, J. Surman, R. Aubry) and dancers like M. Airaudo, M. Abbondanza, and A. Bertoni; a chapter by itself deserves mentioning is the Tanztheater of Pina Bausch, which represents a milestone in the evolution of contemporary dance increasingly oriented towards merging with other artistic and acrobatic disciplines, as shown by the most recent Physical Theatre and Open Air Theatre. The theatrical representation is enriched with new languages: moving sets, video projections, and abstractions. The different techniques and expressive modes give life to a visual language of strong impact, capable of dialoguing with people of all ages, ethnicities, and cultures, reaching an international audience. The performances foresee the combined use of machinery, large moving objects, fireworks, water games, music (also live) and video projections.

• Greek and Latin Mime
• Roman and Medieval Pantomime
• Oriental Ritual Dances
• Court and Folk Dances
• The 19th Century: Classical - Academic Ballet
• Free Dance: François Delsarte, Loïe Fuller, Ruth St. Denis
• Modern Dance: Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham
• European Expressionist Dance: Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Rudolf von Laban
• The Ballets Russes: Anna Pavlova, Michel Fokine, Vaslav Nijinsky
• Symbolism in Mime: Étienne Decroux
• Contemporary Mime: Marcel Marceau, Jacques Lecoq
• Contemporary Dance: Merce Cunningham, Carolyn Carlson, Maurice Béjart, Abbondanza-Bertoni, Virgilio Sieni, Sosta Palmizi
• The Tanztheater: Pina Bausch
• Physical Theatre

HISTORY OF CINEMA

2nd Year

The study of the History of Cinema starts from the first experiments with moving images, the magic lantern, and the new world, and from the development of photographic technique; the true origin of Cinema, however, begins with the invention of the Kinetoscope by Thomas Edison and the Cinematograph by the Lumière Brothers: the image moves dynamically; the transition from a representational technique to an expressive medium occurs with the first editing experiments by Georges Méliès and, later, with the narrative cinema of David W. Griffith. A significant boost in the growth of cinematic art comes from European avant-gardes (A. G. Bragaglia, L. Buñuel, S. Dalí, S. Ejzenstejn, R. Clair, and F. Léger) who influenced German Expressionism. A landmark event in the history of Cinema is the transition from silent to sound film; Hollywood becomes the center of the “studio system” that promotes the creation of “genres.” Meanwhile, Europe responds with a less distribution-focused but extremely refined poetics: the Italian Neorealism of Luchino Visconti, Roberto Rossellini, and Vittorio De Sica; the introspective cinema of I. Bergman and M. Antonioni; the French Nouvelle Vague of F. Truffaut, A. Resnais, J. L. Godard.

• The origins of Cinema: magic lantern, new world
• The birth of photography
• The Kinetoscope and the Cinematograph: Thomas Edison, Lumière Brothers
• First editing experiments: Georges Méliès
• Narrative cinema: David W. Griffith
• European avant-gardes: Anton Giulio Bragaglia, Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dalí, Ejzenstejn, René Clair, and Fernand Léger
• German Expressionism: Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, Fritz Lang
• The transition from silent cinema to sound
• Hollywood and the “studio system”: creation of “genres”
• Italian Neorealism: Luchino Visconti, Roberto Rossellini, and Vittorio De Sica
• Introspective cinema: Ingmar Bergman, Michelangelo Antonioni
• The French Nouvelle Vague: François Truffaut, Alain Resnais, Jean-Luc Godard
• Film Criticism

 

DRAMATURGY AND TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

2nd Year

Writing for the stage requires, to be effective, an understanding of the essence of dramatic art. Compared to literary writing, it does not only consider the relationship between the writer and the reader but rather the conveyance of meaning in the performance itself. A dramaturgical text is a story that expresses the personal vision of the playwright but at the same time develops the plot conflicts leading through a climax to the final resolution; it sketches the characters, their emotions, the needs motivating their actions; it is a text written to be performed and pronounced through dialogues and actions, but also through silences and non-actions. The functional level of the text, within narratological analysis, is addressed both from the point of view of the story and the plot: the former informs the spectator of the narrated events, while the latter conveys the information on which the narrator (writer or director) wants his attention to focus. Starting from the text and its plot, the analysis is then extended to the individual characters of which all aspects are covered:
- Characterization of the physical aspect
- Characterization of the socio-cultural background
- Psychological characterization
- Static definition: when it never changes within the plot
- Dynamic definition: when it changes ideas, attitudes, or situation
- Flat definition: when it is a stereotyped character
- Round definition: when both thoughts and actions are known
- Role of the character: protagonist, antagonist, object, helper
This type of analysis, initially theoretical and then applied to the scenic study of the character, is fundamental for understanding the emotional or role-related drivers that propel characters in the evolution of the plot and for constructing the scenic representation of the character (attitude, gestures, physical reactions), the dynamics of their actions, the prosody of the lines. Starting from the analysis of the text and literary styles, the application of dramaturgical techniques and writing techniques is experimented with in light of the multiplicity of scenic languages to tailor the adaptation of texts to the stylistic and prosodic needs of staging short excerpts from literary, theatrical, radio, and film works.

• Forms of dramaturgy: from antiquity to the 20th century
• Text composition techniques
• Functions of the dramatic structure
• Scene montage
• Analytical and interpretive tools of the dramaturgical text
• Structure of the monologue and dialogue
• Narratology
• Musicality of the line - Musicality of thought
• Prosody
• Dramaturgical and scenic writing techniques
• Elements of prosody
• Text analysis
• Elements of stylistics
• Relationship between dramaturgical writing and the performative situation
• Comparing languages: literary text - play - film
• Scenic writing

 

ELEMENTS OF DIRECTION AND SCREENWRITING

2nd Year

The approach to a true composition work occurs in the second year starting from the analysis and staging of the plots and canvases of the Commedia dell'Arte, up to the elaboration of a screenplay, where improvisation gives way to a fixed plot and text. In the second year, students start from writing sketches and free adaptations of "scenes," "acts," to the synthesis of entire works of the author under consideration.
Thus, they engage in short stagings that confront the students with the directorial aspects of the representation: from the selection to the cuts of the text, from the narrative style to the identification of the most suitable scenic languages to represent it, from the choice of a soundtrack to the scenic setup. This work is supported with the research and analysis of different stagings of the same work or works by the same author, both theatrical and television or cinematic, through the projection of archival footage, audio-visual contributions, and historical and documentary reconstructions.

• Original canvases
• Synthesis and reductions of a scene, an act, or an author's work
• Free adaptation of authors' works
• Parodic and grotesque sketches
• Comic and farcical sketches
• Writing short film screenplays, shooting and editing

TECHNIQUES OF WRITING FOR IMAGES

After analyzing the different applications of scenic dramaturgy, students confront with a type of narrative diegesis common to Puppet Theatre and to the screenplays of cinema and new media (web series): Scenic Frames. The narration is elaborated point by point in the form of a canvas, divided according to a set criterion (treated theme, setting, scenic elements, involved characters) and then dramaturgically assembled to create a particular effect (parallel vision, scenic juxtaposition, ascending climax, comic effect, dramatic effect).

 

ORGANIZATION OF THE SECTOR / COPYRIGHT AND IMAGE RIGHTS IN ENTERTAINMENT

2nd Year

A creative work (show, performance, choreography) is almost always the result of another creative work. The choice of a text to stage can reveal pitfalls or opportunities unveiled by the laws that regulate copyright. These laws protect not only the creative work of authors but also that of performers: knowing one's rights and duties is a fundamental first step towards professionalism.