Stage and Screen: Performance and Film Interrelated

Timetable

1. The course begins on 7 March 2025
2. Classes: Fridays, 9:45–11:15 am
3. Office hours: Fridays, 8:30–9:30 am
4. Place: The Theatre Studio in Collegium Maius, 10 Fredry str. (entrance from the library hall, Kowalczyka lane)

 

Module aim (aims)

The course aims to teach how to:

1. employ practice-as-research approach at the intersection of page, stage, and screen
2. conduct analyses of dramas and films
3. interpret contemporary dramas and films
4. share the results of analytic and interpretative efforts in essay form.

The course employs practice-based research approach, including: discussions, essays written individually and in pairs, lectures with Q&A, performative readings, presentation of theatre scenes, seminars, and workshops.

Assessment

Students are assessed on the base of their:

1. active participation in the classes (40% of the grade)
2. a 1,000-word essay written individually (10% of the grade)
3. a pair theatre scene (20% of the grade)
4. a 2,000-word essay written with a partner (30% of the grade).

Grades

1. 90–100% = 5 / A
2. 85–89% = 4,5 / B
3. 75–84% = 4 / C
4. 70–74% = 3,5 / D
5. 60–69% = 3 / E
6. 0–59% = 2 / F (Failed)

Assessment criteria

1. meeting deadlines
2. level of preparation for the classes
3. quality of pair theatre scenes, including distribution of workload and collaboration between partners
4. quality of essays written individually and in pairs, including approach to the subject matter, academic references, language precision, editorial high-standard, distribution of workload and collaboration between partners.

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

1. English at B2 level (upper intermediate)
2. genuine interest in drama, film, and theatre.

Syllabus

Class 1 Introduction and guidelines. The course’s aims, work plan, work materials, assessment and its criteria. Guidelines for students’ individual and pair interpretative essays. Presentation

Class 2 Interrelations of contemporary stage and screen. Problematics overview with audiovisual examples. Lecture with Q&A

Class 3 Acting work session. Acting work session focused on partner work and group collaboration. Workshop

Classes 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 From page and stage to screen (1). Contemporary medicalization of life and the art of dying in Margaret Edson’s drama W;t (1993) and Mike Nichols’ television movie Wit (2001): (a) W;t and Wit: Introduction and the drama analysis; (b) Performative reading of the play; (c) The film analysis and identification of differences between the drama and the film; (d) Performative reading of selected group or pair scenes from the drama and their analyses in relation to the film; (e) The drama/film interpretation in an essay written individually. Lecture with Q&A, performative readings, seminars, and workshops

Classes 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 From page and stage to screen (2). The destructive impact of war on individual human lives in Wajdi Mouawad’s play Scorched (2003, Eng. trans. by Linda Gaboriau 2009) and Denis Villeneuve’s film Incendies (2010): (a) Scorched and Incendies: Introduction and the drama analysis; (b) Performative reading of the play; (c) The film analysis and identification of differences between the drama and the film; (d) Performative reading of selected pair scenes from the drama and their analyses in relation to the film; (e) The drama/film interpretation. Lecture with Q&A, performative readings, seminars, and workshops

Class 14 Theatre scenes. Presentations of pair scenes from Scorched.

Class 15 Essays and conclusion. Discussion on the students’ pair essays on Scorched / Incendies. Summary, feedback, and grades.

Reading list

Texts

1. Edson, Margaret. W;t. Faber and Faber, 1999, pp. 85.
2. Rimmon-Kenan, Shlomith. “Margaret Edson’s ‘Wit’ and the Art of Analogy.” Style, vol. 40, no. 4, 2006, pp. 346–356.
3. Ziółkowski, Grzegorz. “Cultivating the Art of Dying: Margaret Edson’s ‘W;t’ Between Page and Screen.” Przestrzenie Teorii, vol. 36, 2021, pp. 175–195.
4. Dahab, Elizabeth. “Of Broken Promises and Mended Lives: The War-Ravaged World of Wajdi Mouawad.” Dahab, Elizabeth. Voices of Exile in Contemporary Canadian Francophone Literature, Lexington Books, 2011, pp. 135–139, 143–153, 166–169.
5. Mouawad, Wajdi. Scorched. Translated by Linda Gaboriau. Playwrights Canada Press, 2009, pp. 135.
6. Ziółkowski, Grzegorz. “About ‘Scorched’.” Ziółkowski, Grzegorz. Texts From the Heart. [Private publishing], 2021, pp. 59–63.

All texts are available in the Files/Pliki section of the relevant MS TEAMS group.

Films

1. Wit. Directed by Mike Nichols, performances by Eileen Atkins, Christopher Lloyd, Audra McDonald, Emma Thompson, and Jonathan M. Woodward, produced by Simon Bosanquet, 2001 [98’].
2. Incendies. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, performances by Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, and Rémy Girard, produced by Luc Déry and Kim McCraw, 2010 [130’].

Both films are available in the “Stage and Screen” file in OneDrive. Relevant links are provided by the lecturer.