aCademiC Catalog 2013-2014 - Lorenzo de Medici

skills, physical expressiveness, clarity of speech and vocal
projection, on their ability to emulate or generate emotional
and physical conditions, and on their ability to analyze and
understand dramatic texts. This course offers students an
opportunity to be involved in a theatre production, directly
on stage and under the guidance of a professional theatre
director and actor. They will perform minor roles in a play by
a contemporary playwright chosen by the artistic direction
committee of the “Quartieri dell’Arte” Festival. The production
will have its premiere in the Festival season.
Contemporary Italy through the Cinema
MCT 220 T
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This course investigates cultural and social topics in Italy’s
recent past and present with the aid of the medium of film.
Through images from some of the most important works of
Italian cinema, from the masters of Neorealism to new directors
such as Sorrentino and Garrone, students will investigate
themes such as fascism, the Italian south, the family, the role
of women, organized crime, and the consequences of the
economic boom.
Italian Theatre from Arena to Opera
MCT 278 T; Dual listed: LIT 278 T
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This course is an introduction to the history of theatre and
performing arts in Italy from antiquity to the 20th Century.
Students will study Greek and Roman tragedies and comedies
and the sports and the games so popular in antiquity. They
will then explore the development of medieval sacred
representations; the Commedia dell’Arte; the total performances
of the Renaissance and Baroque periods and their ultimate
culmination in Italian opera; works by Goldoni; Pirandello and
Italian Futurism. Translated texts of all authors studied will be
required reading in class or as homework, and original versions
of some of the above-mentioned texts will be read in class.
Discussions will be based on the students’ readings.
Italian Society through the Cinema
MCT 282 T; Dual listed: SOC 275 T
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This course presents the development and changes of the Italian
society in the last decades as seen through Italian cinematic
vision. The films discussed during the lectures will be shown
in chronological order, and cover some of the most significant
periods of Italian society: Fascism, the war and post-war time,
the economic boom of the early sixties, the anger and protest
of the young generation. “Genre” movies will be discussed
with special attention given to the “Comedy Italian Style”.
Information about the most important periods of Italian history,
from Fascism to the present time, will be followed throughout
the course. Films are in Italian with English subtitles.
Film Studies
MCT 295 T
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This course is an introduction to the study of film as an art
form. Rather than take the Hollywood model as the “natural”
form for a film, students will be encouraged to regard it as
only one, albeit predominant, form of filmmaking among many
others. Students will analyze the different elements and formal
principles that make up a film and explore how these have
evolved historically in a variety of movements. Students will
view a number of landmark films and study how they combine
different elements, such as sound, editing and mise-enscène,
to construct different narratives. Although the primary
emphasis will be on aesthetics, films will also be placed in
their historical, political, technological, and economic contexts
within Tuscania as a location. The basic goal of this class is to
develop an understanding of the art and history of film, and to
think critically about filmmaking.
History of Italian Cinema
MCT 298 T
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This is an intermediate level course dealing with the
development of Italian cinema from Neorealism to the present
time. Renowned directors such as Rossellini, De Sica, Visconti,
Fellini, Antonioni, Pasolini, and the most significant works of
both neorealist and post-neorealist times (Rome Open City,
The Bicycle Thief, Riso amaro, La strada, etc.), will be analyzed.
The infuence of Fascism, post-war crisis, the economic miracle,
and the protests of 1968 will be taken into consideration,
along with the most common themes in Italian cinema such as
social injustice, psychological and existential analysis, neurotic
alienation, crisis and decadence of the bourgeoisie and the
overall ironic portrayal of Italian society. Genre, techniques,
style, language and symbolism will be discussed.
Theatre Management
MCT 345 T
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
The course consists of both a theoretical and a practical
approach to marketing in the entertainment industry, and
aims at giving theatre students a hands-on approach to the
fundamental rules of communications and organization. The
main goals are to gain experience in stage management,
public relations, organization and publicity of events in the
entertainment industry at an international level. Students
will be required to actively participate in the organization,
marketing and publicity of the QdA («Quartieri dell’Arte»), an
international new writing festival. They will have the opportunity
to work under the guidance of experienced production staff
members, such as the managing & communications directors,
allowing students to be trained in the organization of theatrical
events in general. Students will be specifically required to
work alongside the press officer and publicity manager long
before the opening event. The publicity manager must obtain
all relevant information from the producers and directors and
find a graphic designer for posters and flyers, as well as handle
public announcements and mailings. The press officer acts as
the official media contact handling all media interest. Work
as a press officer in the non-profit sector is likely to include
a broader range of activities with employers ranging from
charities to event organizers. In addition to handling media
inquiries, writing press releases, arranging interviews and press
conferences, duties may also include determining who has press
passes. A press officer may also accompany individuals, such as
authors, directors and/or artists, on interviews. Through a series
of workshops and seminars with major European organizational
entities, students will obtain a clearer picture of the hands-on
organization and publicity within the entertainment industry.
Set and Costume Design
MCT 380 T
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 90
This course consists of both practical and theoretical sections,
and will be taught by the costume and set designers of the
chosen play production and their assistants. During the first
half of the course the students will experiment with designs
for works of drama. In the second half they will take part in
the realization of the play production design project: Theatre
in Process II. The course will include lectures in art history
and aesthetics. The students will be able to watch theater
productions designed by some of the best set and costume
artists in Italy and Europe.
Playwriting
MCT 400 T
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 90
This course consists of both theoretical and practical parts
and aims at encouraging playwriting. Both classical and
contemporary plays will be read and analyzed in detail from
a playwriting point of view. Wrights method will be studied
in detail and compared with other playwriting textbooks.
Through a series of etudes, games and exercises on technique,
plot, character, structure, collaboration and writer’s block, the
students will be able to find what works for them, and devise
their own writing style. The guiding principle of the course is
working and thinking theatrically. Students start by considering
the components of the theatrical and end by trying to access
and use these components in their writing. The course studies
the internal organization of international new writing theaters
and centers and includes interviews with playwrights who
have taken part in “Intertext”, a new writing project created
School of Arts & Sciences TUSCANIA
LdM Academic Catalog 2013-2014
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