ACTING COURSES
Corso di Alta Formazione Teatro antico in Scena
Medea between myth and stage: Euripides' tragedy
Advanced course in theatre technique and interpretation
14th Edition
The course explores the figure of Medea, one of the most complex and fascinating heroines of ancient Greek theatre. Through the study and staging of Euripides' tragedy, participants will be guided on a journey that goes beyond simple acting to address universal themes such as revenge, justice, gender conflict and the condition of the foreigner.
This is a professional training course, unique in its kind for its interdisciplinary method, which teaches participants to approach the interpretation and staging of one of the masterpieces of Greek and Latin theatre with theoretical knowledge and practical skills, while also strengthening transversal skills of expression and communication, which are important in all situations in working and personal life.
In the theoretical part, students will have the opportunity to develop critical skills to grasp the meaning of the work within the historical and cultural context that generated it, in order to bring out meanings that are still valid for the contemporary world and give them substance on stage.
The practical section will translate the meaning of the text into contemporary verbal and physical language through the acting and musical techniques necessary for a stage production.
SCIENTIFIC DIRECTION
Elisabetta Matelli
Full professor, lecturer in History of Greek and Latin Theatre
Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan
ARTISTIC DIRECTION
Christian Poggioni
Actor and director
TEACHERS
Ermelinda Çakalli
Actress and director
Lucia Amarilli Sala
Opera singer and vocal coach
The art of persuasion in a mock trial
Legal dispute over a suspected inheritance
(based on Seneca, Controversiae 2.7)
A proven method for dealing with disputes
Third edition
The course consists of lessons in rhetoric and oratory with specialist teachers who will guide participants through the method of composition and declamation before a “dispute” in general and then a dispute on a specific topic, communicating through practical exercises the technical means and tricks of the trade to make it effective from all points of view.
Students will be guided to work on defence or accusation speeches according to a precise rhetorical method that involves the use of “division”, “colours” and “sentences”, which is also useful for today's speakers to express themselves more effectively.
SCIENTIFIC DIRECTION
Elisabetta Matelli
Full professor, lecturer in History of Greek and Latin Theatre
Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan
TEACHERS
Christian Poggioni
Actor and director
Lauretta Maganzani
Full professor, lecturer in Roman Law
Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan
Maria Teresa Galli
Research fellow in Latin Language and Literature
Alma Mater University of Bologna
Study for a staging of Euripides' Medea
The course offers a first level of training through both theoretical and practical lessons in physical exercises and acting. An actor from the Piccolo Theatre School in Milan (Christian Poggioni) works alongside the professor of Greek and Latin Theatre History (Elisabetta Matelli), with the help of a musician, to guide students along a particular path of knowledge of a specific ancient text, allowing them to learn how its interpretation relates to the acting technique necessary to give body, voice, movements to the characters that construct the mythical story.
Course in Diction and Euphony
Well-spoken Italian, with attention to orthoepy and phonological rules, is achieved through a course of theoretical study combined with observation and practical experience of the characteristics of one's own vocal instrument. The exercises will range from reading texts with correct pronunciation and articulation to exercises aimed at developing attention to the complex of vocal signs we emit. From non-prosodic sounds to articulated speech, from breathing habits to pronunciation defects, everything that contributes to the formation of language is analysed on a practical level, in the physical act of meaning, where language is simultaneously the idiom, with its rules, and the muscle that these rules must chew, make their own, and make natural.
School Theater Programs
The Kerkís Association. Ancient Theatre on Stage offers secondary schools in Milan and its province workshops dedicated to ancient drama.
1. Acting Workshop I
Aimed at creating a study for an anthological staging of an ancient drama
2. Acting Workshop II
Aimed at creating a theatrical performance: a complete staging of a drama drawn from ancient tradition.
Both proposals offer a training programme consisting of two different but complementary parts: on the one hand, the theoretical study and exegesis of texts that represent the masterpieces and archetypes of Western drama, read with a view to their staging; on the other hand, an approach to acting technique aimed at the actual staging of these plays.
The aim is both educational and artistic, allowing students to develop not only their attention and creativity, but also a strong team spirit.
The workshops will be led by one or two actor-tutors who, having trained at the Association, have been working for several years as assistants to the scientific and artistic director.
The choice of text to be proposed to the working group will be decided in agreement with a Greek and/or Latin teacher who is responsible for the project at the school.