A survey of twentieth century Spanish theater. Representative authors and works of the period are studied from a social, historical, and cultural perspective, with a double emphasis on text and performance.
Method of presentation:
Introductory lectures on major themes and relevant background information; discussion of the works and commentaries by students, and attendance at performances related to the material covered in class. Active class participation.
Required work and form of assessment:
Class participation: Active participation in class discussions and activities is expected, as is attendance to all classes and performances. (15%).
Theatre performances: Attendance to six plays in Granada is mandatory. Students must turn in a 2-page critical reaction to each performance during the following class session. (15%)
Scene direction: All students must direct a short scene from one of the plays studied in class. The director is responsible for a general dramatic concept, including the choice of actors, acting styles, use of space, and all visual and aural signs. The director will explain those choices to the class in an open discussion after the scene, and to the instructor in writing. (15%)
Examinations: A mid-term and a final examination (35% total)
Essay or projecto: A 7-10 page paper, or a theatre design project, previously approved by the instructor. (20%)
content:
Introduction: Origins of theatre and historical and social context. Tools for script analysis. Theories of drama and performance.
Early 20th century Spanish theatre (1898-1936).
TOPICS: Jacinto Benavente and the bourgeois comedy. Early 20th century poetic theatre and its evolution. Valle Inclán and the esperpento. Avant-garde and surrealist theatre.
READINGS: García Lorca, Federico. El amor de don Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín.
García Lorca, Federico. Bodas de sangre.
Mihura, Miguel. Tres sombreros de copa.
Theatre in Spain during the Franco dictatorship (1936-1975)
TOPICS: Lauro Olmo and social populism. Antonio Buero Vallejo and the use of history as pretext. Alfonso Sastre and theatre of denunciation.
READINGS: Buero Vallejo, Antonio. En la ardiente oscuridad.
Spanish theatre in exile during the Franco dictatorship (1936-1975)
TOPICS: The poetic theatre of Alejandro Casona. Fernando Arrabal, Francisco Nieva and the new experimental theatre.
READINGS: Arrabal, Fernando. Pic Nic.
Theatre in Spain since 1975.
TOPICS: Theatre under the new democracy. Feminist theatre. Theatrical movements in Catalonia and other regions. Collective creation and performance-based theatre.
READINGS: Pedrero, Paloma. La noche dividida
Pedrero, Paloma. Solos esta noche Belbel, Sergi. Ramón
VIEWINGS: Els Joglars. Bye Bye Beethoven.
Required readings:
Arrabal, Fernando. Pic Nic.
Belbel, Sergi. Ramón.
Gambaro, Griselda. Decir sí.
García Lorca, Federico. El amor de don Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín.
García Lorca, Federico. Bodas de sangre.
Morales, Gracia. NN 12 (Nomen nescio)
Pedrero, Paloma. La noche dividida.
Pedrero, Paloma. Solos esta noche.
Recommended readings:
Aristóteles. Poética. Madrid: Alianza, 2004.
Artaud, Antonin. El teatro y su doble. Barcelona: Edhasa, 1997.
Berenguer, Angel. Teatro en el siglo XX: hasta 1936. Madrid: Taurus, 1988.
Boal, Augusto. El teatro del oprimido. Urizen, 1979.
Boal, Augusto: El arco iris del deseo: Del teatro experimental a la terapia. Barcelona: Alba, 2004.
Doménech, Fernando, y Emilio Peral Vega, ed. Historia del teatro español. Del siglo XVIII a la época actual. Madrid: Gredos, 2003.
Elizalde, Ignacio. Temas y tendencias del teatro actual. Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, 1984.
Ferreras, Juan Ignacio. El teatro en el siglo XX (desde 1939). Madrid: Taurus, 1988.
García Pavón, Francisco. Teatro social en España. Madrid: Taurus, 1962.
García Ruiz, Víctor, y G Torres Nebrera. Historia y antología del teatro español de posguerra. Madrid: Fundamentos, 2004.
Gibson, Ian. El asesinato de Federico García Lorca. Madrid: Suma de Letras, 2005.
Huerta Calvo, Javier: El teatro en el siglo XX. Madrid: Playor, 1985.
Huerta Calvo, Javier. Historia del teatro español. Tomo I: De la Edad Media al Siglo de Oro. Tomo II: Del siglo XVIII hasta la época actual . Madrid: Gredos, 2003.
Huerta Calvo, Javier, y Andrés Peláez. El viaje entretenido. Una historia virtual del teatro español. Madrid: Gredos/Slabon, 2003. CD-ROM
Moreiro Prieto, Julián. El teatro español contemporáneo (1939-1989). Madrid: Akal, 1990.
Peral Vega, Emilio. Formas del teatro breve español en el siglo XX (1892-1939). Madrid: Fundación Universidad Empresa, 2001.
Ruiz Ramón, Francisco. Teatro español. Siglo XX. Madrid: Cátedra, 1975.
Estudios sobre teatro español clásico y contemporáneo. Madrid: Fundación Juan March, 1978.
Soria Olmedo, Andrés; Sánchez Montes, María; Varo Zafra, Juan (coordinadores). Federico García Lorca, clásico moderno (1898-1998). Granada: Diputación de Granada, 2000.
Toro, Alfonso de y Floeck, Wilfried (eds.), Teatro español contemporáneo: autores y tendencias. Kassel: Reichenberger, 1995.
VV.AA. Mujeres en seis actos: II Ciclo de las Marías Guerreras en Casa de América. Madrid: Castalia, 2005.
VV.AA. Teatro español de vanguardia. Madrid: Castalia, 2003.
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Javier Martínez de Velasco has a Bachelor´s degree in Comparative Literature and Linguistics from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, and a Master´s and a Ph.D. in Spanish and International Theatre from the University of Kansas, with a dissertation on myth recreation in Caribbean theatre. He was a Professor at Central Washington University, where he taught Spanish and Latin American theatre, as well as all levels of Spanish language. In addition, he was a Professor at the William O. Douglas Honors College in Washington, and a Visiting Professor at Pécsi Tudományegyetem in Hungary. He was the Director of IES Abroad Madrid for two years, and has been the Director of IES Abroad Granada since the Center opened in 2005. He has an extensive record as a theatre scholar, actor, and director.
A survey of twentieth century Spanish theater. Representative authors and works of the period are studied from a social, historical, and cultural perspective, with a double emphasis on text and performance.
Introductory lectures on major themes and relevant background information; discussion of the works and commentaries by students, and attendance at performances related to the material covered in class. Active class participation.
García Lorca, Federico. Bodas de sangre.
Mihura, Miguel. Tres sombreros de copa.
Pedrero, Paloma. Solos esta noche Belbel, Sergi. Ramón
Arrabal, Fernando. Pic Nic.
Belbel, Sergi. Ramón.
Gambaro, Griselda. Decir sí.
García Lorca, Federico. El amor de don Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín.
García Lorca, Federico. Bodas de sangre.
Morales, Gracia. NN 12 (Nomen nescio)
Pedrero, Paloma. La noche dividida.
Pedrero, Paloma. Solos esta noche.
Javier Martínez de Velasco has a Bachelor´s degree in Comparative Literature and Linguistics from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, and a Master´s and a Ph.D. in Spanish and International Theatre from the University of Kansas, with a dissertation on myth recreation in Caribbean theatre. He was a Professor at Central Washington University, where he taught Spanish and Latin American theatre, as well as all levels of Spanish language. In addition, he was a Professor at the William O. Douglas Honors College in Washington, and a Visiting Professor at Pécsi Tudományegyetem in Hungary. He was the Director of IES Abroad Madrid for two years, and has been the Director of IES Abroad Granada since the Center opened in 2005. He has an extensive record as a theatre scholar, actor, and director.