This course will provide students with elementary knowledge about academic treatment of theatrical texts, both from the perspective of Literature and from the perspective of Drama, in a practical form, and it will further familiarize students with Viennese theater life. The students’ understanding of theater texts in German, both classical and modern, and of modern performance practice will be enhanced. Part of the class will be organized in form of a workshop. In varying functions (acting, directing), students will study, prepare, and then perform one or two short theatrical scenes towards the end of the semester. A positive side effect of the course will be 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).
Learning outcomes:
Participants will be introduced to the theaters in Vienna and thus get an inside view of one of the most lively and sometimes also controversial segments of culture in Vienna. They will be introduced to concepts of the theater usually lesser known in the US, such as “Regietheater”, and get an understanding for the differences between theater in the USA vs. Europe. In addition, by reading the texts and hearing actors perform the plays, participants will become more fluent in German.
Method of presentation:
Lectures, Discussions, Theater Performances, Films of Historic Performances. Reports.
Required work and form of assessment:
I expect both physical and intellectual presence of participants. Grades will be computed considering the following components: regular participation, including extra times, such as performance visits (20%), two to three written performance critiques, totalling at least 10 pages (20%), two oral reading reports of approx 15 min. each, and one written reading report of 3-4 pages (25%), active engagement in the course’s workshop-component (25%), and a written course resumé of at least 3 pages (10%).
content:
(note: the actual plays discussed in any given semester depend on the repertoire and playing schedule of theaters in Vienna and will be 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.)
1st week
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.
2nd week
Text discussion: play 1. Theater evening: play 1.
3rd week
Performance critique and discussion: play 1. Workshop session 1.
Text discussion: play 2.
4th week
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; depending on the performance schedule, a translation of a play by Shakespeare can also be included. Also, the range of theaters should ideally reflect the vast variety of theatrical stages in Vienna, from the famous Burgtheater to smaller venues.
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/Seeing List (for Spring, 2011, in order of author’s age)
Johann Wolfgang Goethe: Faust II (Burgtheater)
Franz Grillparzer: Die Jüdin von Toledo (Burgtheater) Josef Roth (Bearb. Koen Tachelet): Hiob (Volkstheater)
Ödön von Horváth: Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald (Akademietheater)
Thomas Bernhard: Heldenplatz (Theater in der Joefstadt)
Silke Hassler u. Peter Turrini: Jedem das Seine (Theater in der Josefstadt)
Recommended readings:
Films of older performances of the plays discussed, depending on availability. A selection of DVDs is available in the IES library.
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 II
This course will provide students with elementary knowledge about academic treatment of theatrical texts, both from the perspective of Literature and from the perspective of Drama, in a practical form, and it will further familiarize students with Viennese theater life. The students’ understanding of theater texts in German, both classical and modern, and of modern performance practice will be enhanced. Part of the class will be organized in form of a workshop. In varying functions (acting, directing), students will study, prepare, and then perform one or two short theatrical scenes towards the end of the semester. A positive side effect of the course will be 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).
Participants will be introduced to the theaters in Vienna and thus get an inside view of one of the most lively and sometimes also controversial segments of culture in Vienna. They will be introduced to concepts of the theater usually lesser known in the US, such as “Regietheater”, and get an understanding for the differences between theater in the USA vs. Europe. In addition, by reading the texts and hearing actors perform the plays, participants will become more fluent in German.
Lectures, Discussions, Theater Performances, Films of Historic Performances. Reports.
I expect both physical and intellectual presence of participants. Grades will be computed considering the following components: regular participation, including extra times, such as performance visits (20%), two to three written performance critiques, totalling at least 10 pages (20%), two oral reading reports of approx 15 min. each, and one written reading report of 3-4 pages (25%), active engagement in the course’s workshop-component (25%), and a written course resumé of at least 3 pages (10%).
(note: the actual plays discussed in any given semester depend on the repertoire and playing schedule of theaters in Vienna and will be 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.)
1st week
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.
2nd week
Text discussion: play 1. Theater evening: play 1.
3rd week
Performance critique and discussion: play 1. Workshop session 1.
Text discussion: play 2.
4th week
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; depending on the performance schedule, a translation of a play by Shakespeare can also be included. Also, the range of theaters should ideally reflect the vast variety of theatrical stages in Vienna, from the famous Burgtheater to smaller venues.
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:
Example of Reading/Seeing List (for Spring, 2011, in order of author’s age)
Films of older performances of the plays discussed, depending on availability. A selection of DVDs is available in the IES library.
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).