Anno Teatri: the History Game of Technical Theatre
Aims
Anno Teatri is a game that introduces players to events, inventions, people and places related to technical theatre history they may not be familiar with. It also helps players understand the chronology of the history of theatre and technology.
The game is fun to play, and can act as an ‘ice breaker’ for a new group coming together for the first time. It can also be used as a diagnostic exercise to see what people already know and what they don’t.
Key Information
| Number of learners | 2-10 in a group. Each group needs a set of cards. |
| Number of staff | Anno Teatri can be played by 2-10 people independently, following the published rules. The optimum group size is 3-6. If you are using the game as part of a course on technical theatre history, you might want to introduce the game and its purpose, and observe how students respond to it – what they know and what they don’t. |
| ECTS Credits (if applicable) | Not applicable |
Learning process
| Lecture/seminar | Lecture, presentation, discussion (face-to-face or online) | |
| Making project | Making a model, mock-up, plan or design (physical or digital) | |
| Performance project | Making a performance or demonstration (live or mediated) | |
| Records and Archives | Interviews, photographs and videos of artefacts, annotating archives, creating learning materials (physical or digital) | |
| X | Independent study | Reading, researching, analysing and evaluating learning materials (physical or digital) in groups or alone |
Type of learner
| X | Student of technical theatre |
| X | Student of theatre design, architecture |
| X | Student of theatre arts |
| X | Professional |
| X | Researcher |
| X | General public |
What You Will Need
Duration and schedule
The game can be learnt and played in about an hour. You can then go on playing the game for as long as you like.
Room or type of space
Anywhere where the group playing can sit around a table, and lay out the cards.
Equipment
A set of Anno Teatri cards. The artwork for you to make your own or have them printed is available online, as part of the Canon Tools.
Materials (consumables)
None.
Learning resources (books, websites)
The Anno Teatri game is one of the Canon Tools. Follow the link to read and download the rules, and to download PDF files for the card artwork to print at home, or at a commercial print shop.
Process
Preparation
If you are using Anno Teatri as part of a class, familiarise yourself with the game first.
The learning activity
Follow the rules of play, and enjoy the game!
Assessment and feedback
Anno Teatri can be useful as a diagnostic tool, to find out students’ current knowledge of technical theatre history, by observing the game play.
Our Experience
Tips
Players may be concerned that they don’t know enough. You can select just the easier cards from the set (each card has a difficulty rating), but it is best to encourage players to guess if they don’t know. It is part of the learning process and the fun of the game – the winner may just be the luckiest or boldest player, not the most knowledgeable!
The game cards are also marked with a theme (lighting, architecture, and so on), so you can select cards to suit a particular topic you want to focus on.
Additional information and resources
Anno Teatri is a ‘work in progress,’ So please don't hesitate to contact us with corrections or new facts/events/ideas: franziska.ritter@tu-berlin.de
The cards
Playing the game
Playing the game
Play anywhere...
Credits
| This learning method was made by: | Franziska Ritter |
| Institution: | Berliner Hochschule für Technik (BHT) |
| Thanks to: | The Anno Teatri game is based on the original game Anno Domini by Urs Hostettler, Fata Morgana and Abacus Spiele. The game is part of the Erasmus+ project 'CANON', researched and tested by its teachers and students from 8 universities in 9 European countries. |