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 Werkvormen en Praktische Oef.
75 contacturen Zelfwerk en -studie

Inhoud

This course gives a critical introduction to the phenomenon of metatheatre as a theoretical and practical reflection on the literary genre of drama and the medium of the theatre (text). Adopting a literary and intermedial perspective, we will examine self-reflexivity in 21st-century plays and performances, focusing in particular on the cultural, aesthetic and political functions of self-reflexivity in contemporary Anglophone stage works.

Studiemateriaal

Handboek (Vereist) : Hamlet, Shakespeare, William, edited by Robert S. Miola, 2de, Norton, London/New York, 9781848426412, 2019
Handboek (Vereist) : A Strange Loop, Michael R. Jackson, Theatre Communications Group, 2020, 9781559369930
Handboek (Vereist) : seven methods of killing kylie jenner, Jasmine Lee-Jones, Methuen Drama, 2021, 9781350277489
Handboek (Vereist) : The skin of Our Teeth, In Our Town and other plays 93-178, Wilder Thornton, Penguin, London, 0810128136, 2000
Handboek (Vereist) : Theatremachine, Müller, Heiner, Faber & Faber, London, 9781559369527, 1998
Handboek (Vereist) : Sarah Kane 'Crave', Complete Plays, introduced by David Greig 153-201, Kane, Sarah, Methuen, London, 9781350146402, 2001
Handboek (Vereist) : A strange Loop, Jackson Michael, New York: Theater Communicatieons Group, 9780822237228, 2019
Handboek (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., Dave Harris, Nick Hern Books, 2023, 9781839042331, 2020
Digitaal cursusmateriaal (Vereist) : Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Tom Stoppard, Faber&Faber, 9780571081820, 2000

Bijkomende info

The course starts with an overview on the historical conventions of Aristotelian drama and 20th-century dramatic theatre before participants are familiarized with the specifics of African American cultural and theatrical contexts (from which the majority of texts are taken). Students will then be introduced to the main theoretical approaches to metadrama which they are subsequently invited to discuss and apply to plays by 21st-century African American authors including Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Dave Harris, and Michael R. Jackson. 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]

Willis, Emma. Metatheatrical Dramaturgies of Violence: Staging the Role of Theatre. Palgrave Macmillan, 2021.[VUB library: ebook]

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 genre- and medium-related self-reflexivity (metadrama/metatheatre) in 21st-century plays and theatre productions. In particular, they will gain a solid knowledge of how African American theatre (texts) make use of self-reflexive forms to reflect on and engage with historical legacies of presenting black bodies on stage. 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 that addresses aesthetic, cultural and/or political functions of metatheatre by applying one or several aspect(s) from the theoretical framework in a close reading of a play or performance.

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 a written exam (quiz) after the theoretical-methodological introduction (10%) as well as an oral presentation (in group) (10%), in which students will practice applying and critically assessing an aspect of the theoretical-methodological framework to the course material (close reading of one scene).

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.

No submission or late submission will result in 0/20 for the each component of the evaluation.

For the paper, it is permitted to use generative AI only for brainstorming. Any use of generative AI should be properly referenced.

Toegestane onvoldoende

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

Academische context