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Lauded as one of the most important poets and playwrights of the twentieth century, Federico García Lorca was also an accomplished theatre director with a clear process and philosophy of how drama should be staged. Directing both his own work and that of others, Lorca was also closely involved in the rehearsals for productions of many of his plays, and from his own writings and those of his collaborators, a determined agenda to stimulate audiences and renovate theatre can be seen.
This is the first book in English to fully consider Lorca as a director and his rehearsal methodology. The book combines:
- A biographical account of Lorca's work as a director and rehearsal leader, revealing his techniques and methods of approach texts;
- An exploration of his key writings on and around theatre, drawing on his talks, play introductions, and some of the dramatic works themselves;
- The first translation into English of his fragment Dragón;
- A detailed discussion of Lorca's key productions, Lope de Vega's Fuente Ovejuna (1933) for La Barraca, and his own Yerma (1934).
- Specific focus on the practical applications that we can draw from Lorca's methods, both from what survives of his own work and from the accounts of his close collaborators.
As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performance Practitioners offer unbeatable value for today's student.
List of contents
Contents
List of figures
Acknowledgements
A note on translations
Prologue
1. LORCA'S LIFE IN THE THEATRE
Formative experiences
La Barraca
Anfistora
Mainstream success
2. KEY WRITINGS AND IDEAS
A Talk About Theatre
The modern director
Lorca's ideas on theatre
Social commitment and theatre
Rhythm and harmony
Imagination and inspiration
Multidisciplinarity
Prologues, Dragón
El público, Comedia sin título
3. KEY PRODUCTIONS
Fuente Ovejuna
Lorca and the Spanish Golden Age
Rehearsing Fuente Ovejuna
Casting
Co-directing: Ugarte and Maortua de Ucelay
Rehearsals and actor training
Working on verse
Co-directing: Rivas Cherif
Acting work
4. PRACTICAL EXERCISES: LORCA AND RIVAS CHERIF
Observations of Lorca's rehearsals
Casting
The rehearsal period
Verse work
Breathing
Verse form
Punctuation and thought
Annotating the text
Improvisation
Character work
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Simon Breden is currently Doctor Encargado at the University of Deusto in Bilbao, Spain. His published work focuses on rehearsal practice, contemporary and Golden Age Spanish theatre, and issues of translating for the stage. He is also a published translator and former stage director.
Summary
Lauded as one of the most important poets and playwrights of the 20th Century, Federico Garcia Lorca was also an accomplished theatre director with a clear process and philosophy of how drama should be staged.
