https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/71577 2026-04-11T11:25:34Z 2026-04-11T11:25:34Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/122919 2024-05-30T08:09:56Z 1968-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Enter a spectator : a dialogue on the theatre and its opposite Abstract: It is true that in the theatre there is a tendency for spectacle and spectator to fuse. But the spectacle remains on the stage and the spectator remains on his seat. No natter how close the seat is to the stage, the spectator is always far away from the spectacle. It is true, there is an attraction between then but it always stops short of fusion. It is also interesting to note that spectacle and spectator come closest in the case of cinema and television and not in the case of theatre. But this closeness is illusion. The spectator is tricked into feeling close to the spectacle, a part of it alrnost, he illudes himself that he is somehow participating in a real event. I am not for this kind of closeness. I am not for the illusion of participation in a spectacle disguised as a real event. I am for the fusion and destruction of spectacle and spectator. In short I am not for theatre; neither pure nor impure. Description: B.A.GEN.

1968-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/90031 2022-03-02T06:55:23Z 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Towards a cybernetic understanding of the performer's 'work upon himself' Abstract: Eugenio Barba, in The Paper Canoe, refers to Theatre Anthropology as a pragmatic science 'of the performer and for the performer.' With this pragmatic science, Barba and his collaborators at ISTA, the International School of Theatre Anthropology, want to investigate the actor at a pre-expressive level. Barba gained awareness of this pre-expressive level when he began to observe certain working principles common to both his Odin Teatret actors and actors belonging to Oriental performance traditions. Barba's observations on the pre-expressive level lay the grounds for a discussion of the actor as a particular 'being'. This form of being is governed by principles that are different to the ones that govern the everyday organisation of the self It is an artificial being, in that it is the creation of the craft of the actor-it is the creation of the work of the actor upon himself This allows one to see the actor not simply as a human being who represents another human being, but as an artificial organic being, an organic system whose creative faculty is, specifically, that of 'informing' its being knowingly. In Never on a Sunday, John Schranz stresses that the contemporary actor is narrating 'the story of matter elevated to the plane where it can knowingly work upon itself'. From this perspective the actor is no longer he who plays another - acting is no longer simply a matter of playing a game of psychological make-believe. Rather, the actor works with all his psychosomatic faculties in order to consciously transform them and to be transformed by them in return. As the creature of his own creation, the actor incorporates an immediate (in the sense of it not occurring via any medium) exchange of information between creator and creation. This exchange of information can link what Eugenio Barba says about the scenic bios or second nature of the actor in Theatre Anthropology to the discourse of cybernetics. This dissertation aims to make this link, with particular reference to Gregory Bateson's cybernetic matrix in Angels Fear Towards an Epistemology of the Sacred. In so doing, the dissertation hopes to show that the observations made in the field of Theatre Anthropology could perhaps earn further clarity when juxtaposed to the discourse of cybernetics. Description: B.(HONS)THEATRE

2004-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/90015 2022-03-02T06:48:19Z 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Implementing theatre techniques within the curriculum : a possible approach in integrated science Abstract: The dissertation consists of three parts. In order to understand better how science can be taught through theatre, it is important to understand how people learn. Consequently the scientific aspect of learning processes will be reviewed. Part 1 will therefore focus on the learning processes and different types of memories that children have, since memory is the storage of any information acquired. This review does not include children with mental deficiencies. Brain activities and patterns will be discussed to see how they affect children and their reactions when faced with a new experience or with a similar one experienced before. The learning processes will be compared to those of the actor in training as there is much in common between the two. In addition certain exercises practised by the actor can be either used in class or modified for a classroom situation. The second chapter tackles theatrical techniques and their effectiveness when applied in science classes. It is important to point out that since these techniques are so versatile, they can easily be modified and integrated with other subjects as well. As Boal says, "It is not the place of the theatre to show the correct path, but only to offer the means by which all possible paths may be examined." Therefore, in this dissertation theatrical media will be used in order to operate knowledge in a different context, which in my case shall be applied to Integrated Science. The theatrical media tackled in this chapter are Puppetry, Storytelling, Mime, Games and Simulations. Their educational qualities will be discussed, as well as possibilities for their use in science education. Other pedagogies that are applied in school will be also examined in order to determine those that limit or on the contrary develop learning skills. The third part describes actual case-studies that occurred in Malta and Great Britain offering concrete examples for educators to understand better how theatre can be applied in science education. The studies consist of various role-plays, interactive puppet shows, different games and exercises. Description: B.(HONS)THEATRE

2004-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/89984 2022-03-02T06:46:20Z 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Tools for transformation : Dario Fo's processes towards the creation of a social and political theatre Abstract: The majority of twentieth-century practitioners were confronted with important re-visitations and reforms of accepted norms and approaches to theatre-making. These developments led many artists, mostly performers, to the study of the past and of other cultures, in order to develop new techniques for innovative behaviours in performance. In trying to discover more about past and erstwhile cultures, these practitioners were also seeking to learn about new forms of theatrical language and a new identity for the theatre. This dissertation will investigate Dario Fo's quest for the discovery of distantly historic and geographic heritages in order to produce a unique theatrical style which would enable him to move closer to the working class. In my analysis of Dario Fo's passion for the return, I acknowledge Nicola Savarese's treatment of 'Nostalgia'. The word 'Nostalgia' comes from Greek, with 'nostos' meaning return and 'algos' meaning pain. Although initially this word was only used for medical purposes, eventually with the start of the study of the performers of other cultures and earlier periods, artists started using this term to explain the birth of the myths of commedia dell 'arte, the Greek Theatre and Asian Theatre. Through this discovery, one of the first historical results of 'Nostalgia' was discovered; for most twentieth-century actors, the point of departure for the construction of performance is their own body and their physical presence on stage. 'Nostalgia for integrity led the "individual" actor to become known etymologically as the "indivisible" actor' (Barba, Savarese 2006: 185). This made it easier for actors to explain the surprising similarities between the position and gestures of actors who are distant in time and space. 'It was natural that these extremely diverse origins, far distance in time and space (whence their mythical and legendary character) inspired nostalgia in the artists' imaginations. In a time of change, they saw these distance sources as 'golden ages' of the theatre. Description: B.(HONS)THEATRE

2010-01-01T00:00:00Z