Formación teatral y universidadhistoria del teatro universitario de Murcia (1935-1984)

Résumé

This doctoral thesis addresses the history of the universitary theatre of Murcia (Spain), first "TEU" ("Teatro Español Universitario", Spanish Universitary Theatre) and then "TU" ("Teatro Universitario", Universitary Theatre), from its origins in 1935 to its transformation into Hall Theatre ("Aula de Teatro") in 1984. The general aim of this work is the systematic study of the track record of the university theatre group of Murcia, analysing the significance of its works and initiatives concerning the binomial theatre education-university. The epistemological level is the contemporary theatre theory. The mentioned issue of education is approached from two different perspectives: mainly, the learning and development of staging and acting techniques by the group members, especially through the theatrical practice; and the group facet as organizer of different meetings and forums in the university context focused on theatre history, theory and practice. Concerning methodology, firstly, we have made a compilation of bibliographical studies, written documentation (news and reviews from the press) and image documentation (photographs, handbills and posters), as well as oral testimonies (interviews). For doing an extensive research, the data from the different sources have been contrasted and interpreted from the perspective of the university and theatre context in Spain and in the city of Murcia. Every chapter has been delimited according to the different periods of the history of the universitary theatre group from Murcia. Each chapter sets out the theatrical context, the activities and productions of the universitary group, and it includes the data sheets of the productions of that period, in chronological order. Finally, the analysis and interpretation of the data has been done, with the aim of explaining issues as: text elections, how the theatrical productions contributed to create the theatre group identity in relation with its context, or the university vocation of the collective -rigour and study, and feedback with the socio-cultural environment-, among others. For five decades, the universitary theatre of Murcia meant a space for theatre practice and education to hundreds of students with a vocation or concerns for theatre. The theatrical activity of the group left its mark in hundreds of young actors, directors, technicians, scenographers and numerous artistic and management collaborators. Also, in different periods, the universitary theatre of Murcia gathered up the heritage from the theatre groups "La Barraca" (Federico García Lorca) and the "Misiones Pedagógicas" ("Pedagogic Missions", Alejandro Casona); had a deep relation with the so-called "teatro de cámara y ensayo" (chamber theater in the post-war period), and was adscribed to the Spanish Independent Theater movement. The group labor focused on theatre education is inseparable from the performances produced by the collective.