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WESTERN UNIVERSITY
LONDON
CANADA
Department of English and Writing Studies

Theatre Studies 3202F: Space, Location and Scenography


Students will study advanced knowledge of types of theatrical space and buildings ranging from
festival, outdoor, national, and destination theatres to theatrical architecture, embodied space,
and innovative theatrical practices over time. Students will also visit performance spaces in
Toronto, Stratford and local venues and engage in hands-on spatial analysis.
Instructor:
Dr. Jo Devereux
Office: Business School 2G28J
jdevereu@uwo.ca
Phone: 519-661-2111 extension 82761

REQUIRED TEXT:
Theatre and Performance Design: A Reader in Scenography. Ed. Jane Collins and Andrew
Nisbet. London: Routledge, 2010. Print.
ASSIGNMENTS AND EXAMS:
Seminar: on a Set Designer (20%) (see dates below)
Essay 1: on one aspect of Scenography (1000 words) (10%) Due Oct. 23
Essay 2: Research Essay (2500 words) (30%) Due Dec. 2
Attendance and Participation (5%) (whole course)
Final Examination (35%) (Dec. exam period, date TBA)
Seminar on Set Designer (20%) see dates below:
In the first two weeks of class, we will divide up the seminar topics. Once you have your topic, you will
be responsible for researching and developing a 20-minute presentation/seminar on your designer. In
your research, use as much archival material as possible, and consult library books, scholarly journal
articles, newspapers, and other media. In your presentation, include as much media as you can: power
point slides, set models or maquettes, practical demonstrations, and short film clips. The goal is to
engage the class and to present a clear and focused argument about this designer in terms of his or
her impact on scenography. You must hand in a paper copy of your seminar: use standard MLA format
for style and documentation. All sources must be meticulously and correctly cited.

Set Designers (see schedule for seminar dates):


Inigo Jones (1573-1652)
Adophe Appia (1862-1928)
Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966)
Robert Edmond Jones (1887-1954)
Jo Mielziner (1901-1976)
Tania Moiseiwitsch (1914-2003)
Josef Svoboda (1920-2002)
Essay 1: on one aspect of Scenography (1000 words) (10%) Due Oct. 23:
For this short essay, focus on one aspect of scenography, such as space; light; sound; motion; relationship
to actors, text, or artists; history or politics; perception; architecture; audience; and so on. Choose one of
the theorists on our syllabus and analyse his or her approach in terms of this element and your argument
about that element. Consult other theorists and works on the topic, using Western libraries databases and
catalogue, and incorporate your experience in touring actual performance spaces. Use MLA format for
style and documentation, and cite all sources correctly.
Essay 2: Research Essay (2500 words) (30%) Due Dec. 2:
For this longer essay, combine what you have learned in your seminar and Essay 1 into a 10-page
research paper that presents a specific and persuasive argument about some aspect of scenography and the
designer you have closely studied. Treat this essay as a potential conference paper (20 minutes long),
which incorporates audio-visual material in order to convey all your ideas and your argument to the
audience. Use MLA format for style and documentation, and cite all sources correctly.
Attendance and Participation (5%):
In a theatre course more than any other, there must be a committed, responsive, and present audience!
Attendance in this course is mandatory and will be taken at every class. Any absence without approved
accommodation will cost 1 mark out of 5, so make every effort to attend every class. Participation means
actively engaging in class discussions, especially in responses to seminars.
Attendance on tours of theatres is strongly recommended.

Schedule:
Week

Topics and Readings

Sept. 9-11

Introduction: Intro to Part I: Looking: The Experience of Seeing (510); Herbert Blau, The Most Concealed Object (51-55)

Sept. 16-19

Theatre space: Gay McAuley, A Taxonomy of Spatial Function (89-94);


Richard Schechner, 6 Axioms for Environmental Theatre: Axiom Three
(95-101)

Sept. 23-25

Space: Scott Palmer and Sita Popat, Dancing in the Streets: The
Sensuous Manifold as a Concept for Designing Experience (107-116);
Andrew Todd, Grounding (117-122); Thurs Sept. 25: possible tour of
Stratford Archives (10:45 am) ($6 + bus fare)

Sept. 30-Oct. 2

Design: Intro to Part III: The Designer: The Scenographic (139-44);


Arnold Aronson, Postmodern Design (145-153); Friday Oct.
3: Changeover Tour at Stratford Festival (5:15 pm) ($6 + HST and
bus fare)

Oct.

7-9

Seminar 1: Inigo Jones (1573-1652); Michel Foucault, Of Other Spaces


(73-80); Nicholas Till, Oh, to Make the Boardes to Speak! (154-161)

Oct.

14

Seminar 2: Adophe Appia (1862-1928); Adolphe Appia, For a Hierarchy


of Means of Expression on the Stage (85-88); Jerzy Grotowski, Towards
a Poor Theatre (279-284); Saturday Oct. 16: Tour of Elgin and
Wintergarden Theatre, Toronto (11 am)($10 + bus fare)

Oct.

21-23

Seminar 3: Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966); Edward Gordon Craig,


The Actor and the ber-Marionette (257-263); Oskar Schlemmer, Man
and Art Figure (264-278): Essay 1 Due Oct. 23

Oct.

28

Seminar 4: Robert Edmond Jones (1887-1954); Arthur B. Fiensod, Stage


Designs of a Single Gesture: The Early Work of Robert Edmond Jones
(162-170); Lee Simonson, Foreword to The Stage Is Set (171-177)

Nov.

4-6

Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Eye and Mind (243-245); Gabrielle Cody,


Woman, Man, Dog, Tree (285-294): tour of Grand Theatre, London:
date/time TBA

Nov.

11-13

Seminar 5: Jo Mielziner (1901-1976); Liam Doona, Hope,


Hopelessness/Presence, Absence: Scenographic Innovation and the Poetic
Spaces of Jo Mielziner, Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller (178187); Christopher Baugh, Brecht and Stage Design (188-203)

Nov.

18-20

Seminar 6 Tania Moiseiwitsch (1914-2003); Lois Tyson, Semiotics


(326-329); Patrice Pavis, Limits of Analysis, Limits of Theory and
Paviss Questionnaire (330-339)

Nov.

25-27

Seminar 7 Josef Svoboda (1920-2002); Josef Svoboda, From The Secret


of Theatrical Space (390-394); Walter Benjamin, The Work of Art in
the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility: second version (315-320)

Dec.

Essay 2 Due Dec. 2

Dec. exam period

Final examination

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