Alessandra
Fagioli

Alessandra Fagioli graduated in Literature and Philosophy from La Sapienza University of Rome with a thesis on the theatre of William Shakespeare and completed a PhD in Cinema, Theatre and New Media at the DAMS Faculty of Roma Tre University with a thesis on the cinema of Pier Paolo Pasolini. She has published articles and essays on literary, theatrical and film criticism in the journals Le reti di Dedalus, La Scrittura, Lettera Internazionale, Philosophema, Antropologia culturale, Cinema Sessanta, Scenario and Diari di Cineclub, as well as in the Marsilio Essays series.
She has taught Photography and Other Multimedia Techniques and History and Theory of Scenography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, General History of Cinema at the ‘Gian Maria Volonté’ School of Cinematographic Art, and Screenwriting and Performance Design at LUMSA University in Rome.
She currently teaches Creative Writing (two-year and three-year courses) and Multimedia Dramaturgy at the School of Cinema, Photography and Audiovisual Arts of the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome.
She is the author of novels and short stories, including L’ultimo orizzonte (1998), Trame di follia (2005), L’utopia di Moebius (2007), Rapsodia in abisso (2014), Capriccio d’anima (2016), Trilogie imperfette (2017), Scacco all’isola (2020) and Mistero allo specchio (2022).

THREE-YEAR COURSE

The course aims to explore the foundations of multimedia dramaturgy in the performing arts and then the technological developments applied to cinema and audiovisual media. The course will analyse the various historical phases that have led to the cross-fertilisation of multiple expressive codes, giving rise to new digital languages. Particular focus will be placed on editing, the use of media on stage and on set, documentary filmmaking and animated films.
During the course, students will have the opportunity to practise by creating clips or sequences using the tools available to them, always starting from a basic theme or idea. For the final assessment, in addition to the course texts, students will be required to submit either an audiovisual essay comprising a technical dossier and a short video, or a historical-critical essay on a theoretical topic.

Reading list
Andrea Balzola, Una drammaturgia multimediale, Bonanno, 2022
A. Balzola, A. M. Monteverdi, Le arti multimediali digitali, Garzanti, 2019
Walter Murch, In the Blink of an Eye, Lindau 2000
Lorenzo Hendel, Drammaturgia del cinema documentario, Dino Audino, 2014

THREE-YEAR COURSE

The course aims to provide the foundations for developing an idea, writing a plot, creating a character, outlining a setting, constructing a scene, fleshing out an action and developing a storyline, in order to then be able to tackle a narrative adaptation or an audiovisual script. In particular, the course will explore in depth the functions and techniques of dialogue in relation to the scene, the character, the words, the conflict and the action.
Throughout the course, students will be given various exercises to complete at home, which will then be assessed in class. For the final examination, in addition to the texts on the syllabus, students will be required to submit an original treatment, if they have developed one, an adaptation of a section of a novel or other work, or a screenplay for a short film or a section of a longer story.

Reading list
Syd Field, Screenplay Writing, Lupetti, 1994
Alessio Billi, Scrivere un film, Gremese, 2012
Leonardo Staglianò, L’arte del dialogo, Cesati 2019
Italo Calvino, Lezioni americane, Mondadori, 2016
P. Sorrentino, U. Contarello, The Great Beauty, Skira 2013

TWO-YEAR COURSE

The course aims to explore in depth the strategies and techniques of creative writing applied to specific expressive codes, such as playwriting, dramaturgy, screenwriting and metanarrative, with a particular focus on the transcoding of a text from a novel or play to a film or TV series. Depending on the year, an in-depth monographic study will be conducted on a writer, screenwriter or director.
During the course, students will be given several exercises to complete at home, which will then be assessed in class. For the final exam, in addition to the texts on the syllabus, students will be required to develop a story based on a given subject (Manganelli’s Centuria or another work), or to provide a critical analysis of a film (personal interpretation), or to analyse a key point in a screenplay (turning point, climax or ending).

Reading list
Raymond Carver, The Business of Writing, Einaudi 1997
Vincenzo Cerami, Consigli a un giovane scrittore, Einaudi, 1996
Giorgio Manganelli, Centuria, Adelphi, 1995
José Saramago, Lezioni italiane, La Nuova Frontiera, 2022
Fratelli D’Innocenzo, Trilogia, La nave di Teseo, 2022