The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, by Bertold Brecht

Within the A2 level course, it is useful to look pragmatically at the production process and discover how very basic artistic decisions regarding productions are shaped by administrative and budgetary considerations. Theatre studies is, in part, about asking students to make decisions about texts.

Enabling the students to understand the reality of artistic choices and sacrifices that have to be made in order to make production ideas reality is key to giving students a sensible production concept when they enter the examination room. I will be outlining a scheme of five lessons based on The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (to be referred to henceforth as Arturo Ui).

The lessons aim to take the students through key areas of decision making:

• The audience and the venue
• Publicity decisions
• Budgeting
• Creating a production schedule
• Running a production meeting

Making ‘virtual’ production decisions enables students to focus on key elements of their set texts, as well as developing their ability to answer examination questions ‘as a director…’ or ‘as a designer…’ with authority and confidence. Before working on the suggested lessons, students are required to be familiar with the text itself and to perform rudimentary research into the administration of a production.

Four very useful websites are described in the appendix on page 57. Students should be given the opportunity to browse these sites before the first lesson. This could be set for homework. The sites give essential information about the process of a production as well as details of cost and resources.

Lesson topics:

• The audience and the venue
• The poster
• The budgeting
• The production schedule

Number of lessons: n/a