Two years Course | Evening one year Course

Two years Course

The ‘Arsenale Academy of Drama’, directed by Marina Spreafico, and linked to the ‘Scuola Internazionale di Teatro’, directed by Kuniaki Ida, opened in 1978

The curriculum aims at developing the student’s imagination in order to lay the foundations for theatre creation and the specific training methods pursued at the Academy
Jacques Lecoq’s teaching stands central to our activities

The academy caters for people who have had a certain amount of training or previous experience, interested in finding out more about another approach
Independently of a student’s individual aspirations – to work as an actor, director, playwriter, singer, designer, choreographer, etc -- the curriculum offers everybody the same practical, creative track
The school's intend is that of directing the students through a search for the basic references and the rules of the theatrical game, in the hope of creating a dramatic art sensitive to present day needs, rather than something merely trendy or fleeting

We wish to develop the imagination so as to help students observe reality which in turn allows for poetic transformation
The study of movement stands fundamental to our method. It is through this that an individual may understand the deeper dynamics of human nature, human situations and words. Words, in fact, are treated as an integral part of the individual’s expressive body. The observation of everyday life, and life in general, stand central to our teaching. Masks lift the process from a psychological onto a stylised plane. Different theatre styles are explored for their referential value, purposely leaving out any reconstruction
The academy’s teaching method wishes to invite students to discover what is permanent in drama, a necessary step if they are to partake in the creative process
Courses are geared to develop students’ individual skills but also to train them to work effectively in small groups. In this way the individual learns how to make her\his contribution to the group and to come to a better understanding of what is necessarily a collective process. We do not impose a definite style, but guide students to make their own personal choice according to their particular talents

Classes run for 4 and half hours daily; 3 hours are taught by teachers while the remaining time is devoted to individual and group work
During the second year evening performances open to the general public help students to verify their work in progress
The course is structured in a single unit over a two year period. Students must therefore have attended the first year before moving to the second
Attendance is mandatory. The results obtained during the first year are decisive for the enrolment in the second year
Course leaders are Marina Spreafico, Kuniaki Ida and other tutors trained in our approach

A diploma is given at the end of the two years course