This course provides students with elementary knowledge about academic treatment of theatrical texts, both from the perspective of literature and drama, in a practical form, and further familiarizes students with Viennese theater life. The students’ understanding of theater texts in German, both classical and modern, and of modern performance practice is enhanced. Part of the class is organized in form of a workshop. In varying functions (acting, directing), students study, prepare, and then perform one or two short theatrical scenes towards the end of the semester. A positive side effect of the course is an improvement of the students’ German language skills.
Prerequisites:
4 semesters (5 recommended) of college-level German, or proficiency in German acquired in other ways (bilingual family, etc).
Additional student cost:
Approx. € 25-40 for tickets and textbooks.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course, student are able to:
Discuss one of the most lively and sometimes also controversial segments of culture in Vienna from having visited theaters in Vienna
Analyze concepts of the theater usually lesser known in the U.S., such as “Regietheater”
Analyze the differences between theater in the U.S. and Europe
Speak more fluently in German by reading the texts and hearing actors perform the plays
Method of presentation:
Lectures, Discussions, Theater Performances, Films of Historic Performances. Reports.
Field study:
Optional, the German performance of a play by Shakespeare may be visited, e.g. Richard II or King Lear.
Required work and form of assessment:
Students are expected to bring both physical and intellectual presence to the course. Grades are computed considering the following components: regular participation, including extra times such as performance visits (20%), two to three written performance critiques, totaling at least 2000 words (20%), two oral reading reports of approx 15 min. each, and one written reading report of at least 500 words (25%), active engagement in the course’s workshop- component (25%), and a written course resumé of at least 500 words (10%).
content:
The actual plays discussed in any given semester depend on the repertoire and playing schedule of theaters in Vienna and are introduced in the first week of classes. The following is a pattern that ideally will be used, but may vary due to performance dates in Viennese theaters.
Week 1
Introduction to terms and methods.
Introduction, reading and selection of performance workshop scene. Text reading and discussion: Ilse Aichinger: Fenster-Theater
Text discussion: play 1.
Week 2
Text discussion: play 1. Theater evening: play 1.
Week 3
Performance critique and discussion: play 1.
Workshop session 1. Text discussion: play 2.
Week 4
Text discussion: play 2. Theater evening: play 2.
5th week
Performance critique and discussion: play 2. Workshop session 2.
Text discussion: play 3.
6th week
Text discussion: play 3. Theater evening: play 3.
7th week
Performance critique and discussion: play 3. Workshop session 3.
Text discussion: play 4.
8th week
Text discussion: play 4. Theater evening: play 4.
9th week:
Performance critique and discussion: play 4. Workshop session 4.
Text discussion: play 5.
10th week
Text discussion: play 5. Theater evening: play 5.
11th week:
Performance critique and discussion: play 5. Workshop performance.
Required readings:
(i.e., texts of plays to be studied): 5 dramas will be read and seen every semester, which ones entirely depends on plays showing and performance dates in Viennese theaters. Ideally, the texts will include: 2-3 plays from the Germans classics and Viennese Volkstheater and 2-3 20th century and contemporary texts. Also, the range of theaters should ideally reflect the vast variety of theatrical stages in Vienna, from the famous Burgtheater to a typical “Kellertheater”.
It is guaranteed that the selection of plays will not be repeated in Theater in Vienna 1 and 2. Therefore, this course is available to full year students in both semesters.
Reading for the Workshop Component:
Arthur Schnitzler: Reigen (Excerpts) or Anatol (Excerpts)
Example of Reading List (for Fall, 2010, in order of author’s age)
Johann Wolfgang Goethe: Faust I (Burgtheater)
Johann Nepomuk Nestroy: Umsonst (Volkstheater)
Ödön von Horváth: Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald (Akademietheater)
Peter Turrini: Aus Liebe (Theater in der Josefstadt)
Inge Lausund: Zuhause (Theater in der Drachengasse)
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Mag. phil. Günter Haika (Germanistik, University of Vienna) has been teaching at IES since 1978. He is currently on the Faculty of Wake Forest University, Vienna Study Center, which he manages and where he teaches German, Literature, and Photography. Research areas focus on contemporary Austrian Literature and Film, and on Wilhelm Friedrich Meyern, whose works he will edit in a commented edition. Among his more recent publications: “„Es gibt keine Kunst“. Wilhelm Friedrich Meyern (1759-1829)” (2009). “brutal real. Der neue Realismus in der Österreichischen Literatur der Gegenwart” (2009). “Madness on a Grand Scale: Portrayal of Terrorism in Austrian Literature after
9/11” (2008). ““there is no catharsis.” Ein fiktiver Dialog über einige Vorbilder der gegenwärtigen Österreichischen Literatur” (2008). Mag. Haika has also worked as a translator, recently for: Zenon Neumark: “Im Freien verborgen. Ein jüdischer Flüchtling überlebt die Nazizeit in Warschau und Wien” (2009).
Vienna Theater I
This course provides students with elementary knowledge about academic treatment of theatrical texts, both from the perspective of literature and drama, in a practical form, and further familiarizes students with Viennese theater life. The students’ understanding of theater texts in German, both classical and modern, and of modern performance practice is enhanced. Part of the class is organized in form of a workshop. In varying functions (acting, directing), students study, prepare, and then perform one or two short theatrical scenes towards the end of the semester. A positive side effect of the course is an improvement of the students’ German language skills.
4 semesters (5 recommended) of college-level German, or proficiency in German acquired in other ways (bilingual family, etc).
Approx. € 25-40 for tickets and textbooks.
By the end of the course, student are able to:
Lectures, Discussions, Theater Performances, Films of Historic Performances. Reports.
Optional, the German performance of a play by Shakespeare may be visited, e.g. Richard II or King Lear.
Students are expected to bring both physical and intellectual presence to the course. Grades are computed considering the following components: regular participation, including extra times such as performance visits (20%), two to three written performance critiques, totaling at least 2000 words (20%), two oral reading reports of approx 15 min. each, and one written reading report of at least 500 words (25%), active engagement in the course’s workshop- component (25%), and a written course resumé of at least 500 words (10%).
The actual plays discussed in any given semester depend on the repertoire and playing schedule of theaters in Vienna and are introduced in the first week of classes. The following is a pattern that ideally will be used, but may vary due to performance dates in Viennese theaters.
Week 1
Introduction to terms and methods.
Introduction, reading and selection of performance workshop scene. Text reading and discussion: Ilse Aichinger: Fenster-Theater
Text discussion: play 1.
Week 2
Text discussion: play 1. Theater evening: play 1.
Week 3
Performance critique and discussion: play 1.
Workshop session 1. Text discussion: play 2.
Week 4
Text discussion: play 2. Theater evening: play 2.
5th week
Performance critique and discussion: play 2. Workshop session 2.
Text discussion: play 3.
6th week
Text discussion: play 3. Theater evening: play 3.
7th week
Performance critique and discussion: play 3. Workshop session 3.
Text discussion: play 4.
8th week
Text discussion: play 4. Theater evening: play 4.
9th week:
Performance critique and discussion: play 4. Workshop session 4.
Text discussion: play 5.
10th week
Text discussion: play 5. Theater evening: play 5.
11th week:
Performance critique and discussion: play 5. Workshop performance.
(i.e., texts of plays to be studied): 5 dramas will be read and seen every semester, which ones entirely depends on plays showing and performance dates in Viennese theaters. Ideally, the texts will include: 2-3 plays from the Germans classics and Viennese Volkstheater and 2-3 20th century and contemporary texts. Also, the range of theaters should ideally reflect the vast variety of theatrical stages in Vienna, from the famous Burgtheater to a typical “Kellertheater”.
It is guaranteed that the selection of plays will not be repeated in Theater in Vienna 1 and 2. Therefore, this course is available to full year students in both semesters.
Reading for the Workshop Component:
Arthur Schnitzler: Reigen (Excerpts) or Anatol (Excerpts)
Example of Reading List (for Fall, 2010, in order of author’s age)
Johann Wolfgang Goethe: Faust I (Burgtheater)
Johann Nepomuk Nestroy: Umsonst (Volkstheater)
Ödön von Horváth: Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald (Akademietheater)
Peter Turrini: Aus Liebe (Theater in der Josefstadt)
Inge Lausund: Zuhause (Theater in der Drachengasse)
Mag. phil. Günter Haika (Germanistik, University of Vienna) has been teaching at IES since 1978. He is currently on the Faculty of Wake Forest University, Vienna Study Center, which he manages and where he teaches German, Literature, and Photography. Research areas focus on contemporary Austrian Literature and Film, and on Wilhelm Friedrich Meyern, whose works he will edit in a commented edition. Among his more recent publications: “„Es gibt keine Kunst“. Wilhelm Friedrich Meyern (1759-1829)” (2009). “brutal real. Der neue Realismus in der Österreichischen Literatur der Gegenwart” (2009). “Madness on a Grand Scale: Portrayal of Terrorism in Austrian Literature after
9/11” (2008). ““there is no catharsis.” Ein fiktiver Dialog über einige Vorbilder der gegenwärtigen Österreichischen Literatur” (2008). Mag. Haika has also worked as a translator, recently for: Zenon Neumark: “Im Freien verborgen. Ein jüdischer Flüchtling überlebt die Nazizeit in Warschau und Wien” (2009).