Meta theatre

6 ECTS credits
180 u studietijd

Aanbieding 1 met studiegidsnummer 4012322FNR voor alle studenten in het 1e semester met een gespecialiseerd master niveau.

Semester

1e semester

Inschrijving onder examencontract

Niet mogelijk

Beoordelingsvoet

Beoordeling (0 tot 20)

2e zittijd mogelijk

Onderwijstaal

Engels

Faculteit

Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte

Verantwoordelijke vakgroep

Taal- en Letterkunde

Onderwijsteam

Janine Hauthal (titularis)

Onderdelen en contacturen

12 contacturen Hoorcollege
12 contacturen Werkcolleges, practica en oefeningen
75 contacturen Zelfstudie en externe werkvormen

Inhoud

This course gives a critical introduction to the phenomenon of metatheatre as a theoretical and practical reflection on the dramatic genre and the medium of the theatre (text). Adopting a literary historical and theoretical perspective, it examines self-reflexivity in drama and theatre, focusing in particular on contemporary reflections of genre and medium in postdramatic theatre and postdramatic theatre texts.

Studiemateriaal

Handboek (Vereist) : Hamlet, Shakespeare, William, edited by Robert S. Miola, 2de, Norton, London/New York, 9780393640106, 2019
Handboek (Vereist) : The skin of Our Teeth, In Our Town and other plays 93-178, Wilder Thornton, Penguin, London, 9780141184586, 2000
Handboek (Vereist) : Theatremachine, Müller, Heiner, Faber & Faber, London, 9780571175284, 1998
Handboek (Vereist) : Sarah Kane 'Crave', Complete Plays, introduced by David Greig 153-201, Kane, Sarah, Methuen, London, 9780413742605, 2001
Handboek (Vereist) : A strange Loop, Jackson Michael, New York: Theater Communicatieons Group, 9781559369930, 2019
Digitaal cursusmateriaal (Vereist) : In addition, students will be asked to watch the recordings of two theatre performances (by Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Annie Dorsen and Milo Rau) in preparation for class. Access to the recordings will be made available through Canvas., 9781559369930, 2020
Handboek (Vereist) : Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Tom Stoppard, Faber&Faber, 9780571081820, 2000

Bijkomende info

The course starts with a survey of metatheatre’s development through the past two millennia. Students will then be introduced to different theoretical approaches to metadrama which they are subsequently invited to discuss and apply to plays and theatre productions ranging from Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1600) to Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop (2019). This course is taught in English. Assignments can be written in either English or Dutch.

Additional recommended reading:

Abel, Lionel. Tragedy and Metatheatre: Essays on Dramatic Form, edited and with an introduction by Martin Puchner. New York/London: Holmes & Meier, 2003 [1963]. [VUB library: 820 H 5 ABEL 2003]

Barnett, David. “When Is a Play Not a Drama? Two Examples of Postdramatic Theatre Texts.” New Theatre Quarterly 24.1 (2008): 14-23. [PDF on Canvas]

Hauthal, Janine. Metadrama und Theatralität: Gattungs- und Medienreflexion in zeitgenössischen englischen Theatertexten. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2009. [VUB library: 820 H 5 HAUT 2009]

Hornby, Richard. Drama, Metadrama, and Perception. Lewisburg: Bucknell UP, 1986. [VUB library: on order]

Jarcho, Julia. Writing and the Modern: Theater beyond Drama. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2017. [VUB library: 792 G JARC 2017]

Lehmann, Hans-Thies. Postdramatisches Theater: Ein Essay. Frankfurt/M.: Verlag der Autoren, 2001 [1999]. [VUB library: 830 H 5 LEHM 2001] (English translation: Postdramatic Theatre, translated and with an introduction by Karen Jürs-Munby. London/New York: Routledge. https://monoskop.org/images/2/2d/Lehmann_Hans-Thies_Postdramatic_Theatre.pdf)

Poschmann, Gerda. Der nicht mehr dramatische Theatertext: Aktuelle Bühnenstücke und ihre dramaturgische Analyse. Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1997. [VUB library: 830 H 5 POSC 97]

Puchner, Martin. Stage-Fright: Modernism, Anti-Theatricality, and Drama. Baltimore/London: The Johns Hopkins UP, 2002. [VUB library: 820 H 5 PUCH 2002]

Schmeling, Manfred. Métathéâtre et intertexte: Aspects du théâtre dans le théâtre. Paris: Lettres Modernes, 1982. [VUB library: 840 H 5 SCHM 82]

Swyzen, Claire, and Kurt Vanhoutte, editors. Het Statuut van de tekst in het postdramatische theater. UP Antwerp/ Academic and Scientific Publishers, 2011. [VUB library: 792 G SWYZ 2011]

Worthen, W. B. Print and the Poetics of Modern Drama. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2005. [VUB library: 820 H 5 WORT 2005]

Additional secondary sources will be provided via Canvas.

Leerresultaten

General competences

Students can understand and explain various forms of medium- and genre-related self-reflexivity (metadrama/metatheatre) in plays and theatre productions from 1600 to the present. In particular, they will gain a solid knowledge of how postdramatic theatre and postdramatic theatre texts reflect on the conventions of the dramatic genre. Students can critically assess both the primary material covered in this course and the scholarly work devoted to it. Students can formulate an original research project in which one (or several) dimension(s) of self-reflexivity are raised and illustrated, from a conceptual, historical and/or performance-oriented angle.

Beoordelingsinformatie

De beoordeling bestaat uit volgende opdrachtcategorieën:
Examen Mondeling bepaalt 20% van het eindcijfer

WPO Praktijkopdracht bepaalt 30% van het eindcijfer

ZELF Paper bepaalt 50% van het eindcijfer

Binnen de categorie Examen Mondeling dient men volgende opdrachten af te werken:

Oral exam met een wegingsfactor 20 en aldus 20% van het totale eindcijfer.

Toelichting: Oral Exam with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 20% of the final mark.
Note: Oral exam with short presentation, primarily defence of research paper

Binnen de categorie WPO Praktijkopdracht dient men volgende opdrachten af te werken:

Presentation met een wegingsfactor 30 en aldus 30% van het totale eindcijfer.

Toelichting: Oral presentation (in group) or written exercise(s) (in group) with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 20% of the final mark and Active participation in class with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 10% of the final mark.
Note: Permanent evaluation

Binnen de categorie ZELF Paper dient men volgende opdrachten af te werken:

Paper met een wegingsfactor 50 en aldus 50% van het totale eindcijfer.

Toelichting: Paper with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 50% of the final mark.
Note: Research paper

Aanvullende info mbt evaluatie

Students are encouraged to take advantage of the interactive tools at their disposal on the e-learning platform CANVAS. Together with their contributions to in-class discussions this will constitute the participatory grade (10%).

A second course requirement pertains to an oral presentation (in group) or written exercise(s) (in group) (20%), in which students will practice applying and critically assessing an aspect of the theoretical framework to the course material.

Thirdly, students will be asked to write a 3,000 to 5,000-word research paper (50%) that addresses one (or several) dimension(s) of self-reflexivity in a play or theatre production of their own choice (a list with recommendations will be provided in class) by critically engaging with the scholarly work devoted to it. Based on this paper, students will be asked to prepare a 5-minute individual presentation at the oral exam (20%), so as to orally defend their research paper.

Toegestane onvoldoende

Kijk in het aanvullend OER van je faculteit na of een toegestane onvoldoende mogelijk is voor dit opleidingsonderdeel.

Academische context