Embodying the Text: 20th Century Spanish Theatre from a Performance Perspective

Unlike other forms of writing, theatre is not fully alive until it is performed. In this course the student will literally embody the text in order to illuminate, deepen and expand his or her understanding of the theatrical form. We will be working with a cross-section of comedies, tragedies, social and political dramas of the 20th century Spanish canon. After contextualizing these plays in terms of history, genre, and themes, scenes will then be selected to be rehearsed and performed in class. In order to unleash “the actor within” we will be exploring performance techniques (script and character analysis, actions, objectives, staging, etc) from two seminal, contrasting works: Uta Hagen’s Stanislavski-based Respect for Acting and Anne Bogart’s movement-based Viewpoints. (1 unit)

Required texts : 1) Federico Garcia Lorca, Yerma (Coleccion Austral); 2) Miguel Mihura, tres sombreros de copa (Madrid: Catedra); 3) Antonio Buero Vallejo, En la ardiente oscuridad (Stockcero); 4) Antonio Buero Vallejo, Historia de una escalera (Edición 1989); 5) José Luis Alonso de Santos, Bajarse al moro (Letras Hispánicas). This class will also view films and utilize books on reserve, and electronic material will be available for students upon arrival.