The course aims to introduce analytical tools for understanding how ancient drama has been reinterpreted in modern and contemporary theatre, through the examination of selected case studies.

The primary objective of the first phase of the workshop is to explore twentieth-century theatrical languages, with particular attention to the multimedia dimension of the stage, in order to understand the dramaturgical role of media in the reworking of tragic myths within postdramatic theatre, intermedial performance, and forms of mediatized liveness.

ntroduction to the Workshop: Ancient Drama, Rewritings, and New Stage Languages

• Introduction to ancient drama as a scenic and political device.

• The legacy of the tragic in modernity and contemporaneity.

• Myth as an open structure: Antigone, The Bacchae, and The Trojan Women as living archives.

• Introduction to the concepts of postdramatic theatre, intermedial performance, and mediatized liveness.

The Bacchae: Dionysus in 69 by Richard Schechner

• Historical and theoretical context: avant-garde theatre and performance studies.

• Schechner and the “ritualization” of tragedy.

• Dionysus in 69 (1968): deconstruction, nudity, and co-creation with the audience.

• Analysis of direction, scenic space, and the performer–spectator relationship.

The Bacchae in the Electronic Scene: Scanning Baccae by Giardini Pensili

• The group Giardini Pensili and the Italian technological stage scene of the 1990s.

• Scanning Baccae: sound, video, text, and body in the intermedial performance.

The Figure of Antigone from Brecht to the Living Theatre to Motus

• Bertolt Brecht, Antigone (1948): post-war rewriting, ideological conflict, and the dialectic between stage and History.

• Living Theatre, Antigone (1967): the body as a battleground, choral work, horizontality.

• Motus, Syrma Antigones (2009–2011): an itinerant project that intersects the languages of the real and of media.

Workshop on Rewriting and New Stage Languages: Who Is Antigone Today?

• In-class work starting from the figure of Antigone, to be traced in contemporary figures (real, literary, fictional).

• Designing a dramaturgical concept and staging proposal — offline or online — to be discussed in class.

• In-class presentation of the dramaturgical concept.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

• Lectures

• In-depth seminars

• Design workshop and group work in class

Innovative teaching methods

The course adopts teaching methods that go beyond a purely lecture-based approach, integrating active and participatory strategies to promote applied and critical learning. Specifically, the following methodologies will be used:

• Brainstorming: students are actively encouraged to share their ideas, knowledge, thoughts, and proposals, facilitating the learning process and enhancing collaboration.

• Learning by doing: knowledge and skills are acquired through their application in classroom exercises, the presentation and discussion of work with peers, and the comparison of outcomes.

Attendance

• Participation in the workshop activities

• Study of the assigned texts

Course books

Lehmann H-T. (2017), Il teatro postdrammatico, Cue Press, Ravenna.

Marinai E. (2014), Antigone di Sofocle-Brecht per il Living Theatre, ETS, Pisa (read-only text).

Assessment

Student learning will be assessed through: the evaluation of class participation in lectures, seminars, workshop activities, and the presentation of a dramaturgical project focused on the rewriting of ancient myth for the contemporary stage; the student’s ability to apply the concepts discussed during the course, engage in critical reflection, and work with the languages of postdramatic theatre and mediatized performance; excellent grades will be awarded to students who: develop an original and coherent project aligned with the course themes; demonstrate strong critical thinking and in-depth understanding; successfully connect the main topics addressed throughout the course; use appropriate language specific to the discipline; good grades will be awarded to students who: develop a reasonably coherent project in relation to the course themes; show a predominantly mnemonic knowledge of the content; demonstrate some critical ability and make partial thematic connections; use generally appropriate language; passing grades will be awarded to students who: produce a project that is sufficiently aligned with the proposed theme; show a basic level of understanding of the course content, despite some learning gaps; use language that may not be fully appropriate; failing grades will be given to students who: submit a project that is not suitable for the course theme; show difficulty in understanding and contextualizing the course material and required readings; display significant learning gaps; use inappropriate or inadequate language.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.