Stage and Screen: Peformance and Film Interrelated

Timetable

1. The course begins on 9 Oct 2026
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 careful reading of dramas and films
3. share the results of the analytic and interpretative work.

The course employs: discussions, lectures with Q&A, performative readings, presentations, and workshops.

Assessment

Students are assessed on the base of their:

1. active participation in the classes (60% of the grade)
2. a 500-word essay written individually (15% of the grade)
3. a 1,000-word essay written with a partner (25% of the grade).

Grades

90–100% = 5 or A

85–89% = 4,5 or B

75–84% = 4 or C

70–74% = 3,5 or D

60–69% = 3 or E

0–59% = 2 or F (Failed)

Assessment criteria

1. meeting deadlines
2. level of preparation for the classes
3. 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 to the course: its aims, work plan, work materials, assessment and its criteria. Presentation

Class 2 Interrelations of contemporary stage and screen. The overview of the problematics with audio-visual examples. Lecture with Q&A

Class 3 Group collaboration. Workshop

Classes 4–10 From page (and stage) to screen. Contemporary medicalization of life and the art of dying in Margaret Edson’s drama W;t (1993–99) 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) The drama/film interpretation. Lecture with Q&A, performative readings, discussions, and workshops

Class 11 Guidelines for students’ individual and pair essays. Presentation

Class 12 Feedback on the students’ individual essays. Discussion

Class 13 Confronting academic texts. Discussion

Class 14 Students’ work on pair essays. Workshop

Class 15 Feedback on the students’ pair essays, summary.  Discussion

 

Reading list

Texts

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

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. Wriglesworth, Chad. “Theological Humanism as Living Praxis: Reading Surfaces and Depth in Margaret Edson’s Wit.” Literature and Theology, vol. 22, no. 2, Jun 2008, pp. 210–222. DOI: 10.1093/litthe/frm052.
4. Ziółkowski, Grzegorz. “Cultivating the Art of Dying: Margaret Edson’s ‘W;t’ Between Page and Screen.” Przestrzenie Teorii, vol. 36, 2021, pp. 175–195. https://doi.org/10.14746/pt.2021.36.11 https://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/pt/article/view/30691.

 

Film

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’]. The link to the film is provided by the lecturer.