Individual actors Books

Book SynopsisThis book engages with the relationship between ruins, dilapidation, and abandonment and cultural events performed within such spaces. Following the author’s fieldwork in the UK, Bosnia Herzegovina, Poland, Germany, Greece, and Sicily, chapters describe, investigate, and reflect upon live performance events which have taken place in sites of decay and abandonment. The book’s main focus is upon modern economic ruins and ruins of warfare. Each chapter provides several case studies based upon the author’s own site visits and interviews with actors, directors, producers, curators, writers, and other artists. The book contextualises these events within the wider framework of Ruin Studies and provides brief summaries of how we might understand the ruin in terms of time, politics, culture, and atmospheres. The book is particularly preoccupied with artists’ reasons and motivations for placing performance events in ruined spaces and how these work dramaturgically.Table of Contents1. Introduction: Ruining the Project, Subjectivities, Fields and Methods.- 2. Ruins in Context - Context in Ruins.- 3. Performing the Antiquary: Classical Ruins in the Greek Imaginary.- 4. Nature’s Ruins.- 5. Dissonance and Contestation: Ruining Heritage and its Alternatives.- 6. Legacies of War: Performing Balkan Ruins.- 7. Ruins of Capital.- 8. After Communism and the Cold War: a Ruined Inheritance.- 9. Conclusion: Ruining the Ruin or Pausing at a Partial View.-

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA new book.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the fascinating story of Mary Maguire, a 1930s Australian ingenue who sailed for Hollywood and a fabulous life, only to have her career cut short by scandal and tragedy. Packed with celebrity, history and gossip, AUSTRALIA''S SWEETHEART is perfect for readers of SHEILA and THE RIVIERA SET.Mary Maguire was Australia''s first teenage movie star and she captivated Hollywood in the mid 1930s. Mary lived on three continents and was celebrated in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Los Angeles and London. Her life was lived in parallel with seminal incidents of the twentieth century: the Spanish Flu; the Great Depression; the Bodyline series; Australia''s early radio, talkies and aviation; Hollywood''s Golden Era; the British aristocracy''s embrace of European fascism; London''s Blitz; and post-war American culture and politics. Mary knew everyone, from Douglas Jardine, Don Bradman, Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan, to William Randolph Hearst, Maureen O''Sullivan and Judy GarTrade ReviewMichael Adams' book is great fun!fun and informativefast-paced and gripping - BOOKS+PUBLISHING on Michael Adams' SKYFIREtreat yourself to a copy - AUSTRALIAN BOOK REVIEW on Michael Adams' THE LAST GIRL

Read more less

Book SynopsisFiona O''Loughlin was raised in the generation of children who were to be seen, but not heard ... unless there were guests in the house. Then she''d watch everyone, telling stories, making each other laugh. This was where she discovered the rhythm of stories and the lubrication that alcohol leant the telling. Years later, as a mum of five, Fiona would become one of Australia''s most-loved comedians, performing gigs in New York, Montreal, Singapore, London, Toronto and Edinburgh. Fiona looked like she was living her dream - but she was hiding a secret in open sight, using alcoholism as material for her comedy and using comedy as an excuse for her alcoholism.Truths from an Unreliable Witness is a fiercely honest and wryly funny memoir of melancholy, love, marriage, the loss of love and marriage, homelessness, of hotel rooms strewn with empty mini-bar bottles of vodka, of waking from a two-week coma, of putrid drug dens and using a jungle to confront yourself. It is a

Read more less

Book SynopsisFor years Pia Miranda has been stopped in the street by calls of, ''Found you!'', forever linked to that character we all loved: Josie from Looking for Alibrandi. But playing Josie is only one small part of everything that has shaped the woman Pia has become.As a child, her Nonna would tell her stories of the small volcanic island off Sicily she called home. Cannoli, curses and lighting a candle at church were as much a part of Pia''s childhood as mouse plagues, her Aussie Nanna''s lemon slice and cheering on South Melbourne at the footy with her Grandfather.After chasing a childhood dream to become a ballet dancer (with a back-up plan of becoming a nun) she was cruelly shamed out of her leotard and into a new dream: acting. The rollercoaster ride of fame would see her travel the world and narrowly avoid a sky-high #MeToo moment. But after fame comes real life - work stress, career questions, money worries, relationships and heartbreak, love and marriage, illness and grief. Having grown up pinballing between her very Italian side and her very Australian side while trying to carve out a space all her own, Pia didn''t realise how the push and pull of tradition had made her world all the richer.Finally, setting foot on Vulcano to reconnect with her roots, Pia understands how all the parts of herself have made her the true survivor she is. Like her Nonna told her, every day on top of the earth is a good day. Finding My Bella Vitais a charming, honest and uplifting memoir full of heart and humour that reminds us all of the two things that matter most - love and family. (A good cannoli and some Vegemite toast also rate pretty highly!)''Like a long phone call with a friend . . . an intimate monologue from a talented storyteller with a self-deprecating and light touch'' BOOKS+PUBLISHING''Partly a grappling with the legacy of Alibrandi . . . it is also a contemplation of what it means to live a good life . . . rich with fond recollections of her upbringing'' THE GUARDIAN

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe first book to tell the glamorous story of Hollywood in Rome and the women who made it legendary

Read more less

Book SynopsisA unique insight into life with Sir Roger Moore - written by his PA, his co-author, his onstage co-star, and his confidant

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisHe adored me. I''d never had it before, and I''ll never have it again. I was lucky to have it at all. - LAUREN BACALL Ever since nineteen-year-old Lauren Bacall seductively taught Humphrey Bogart how to whistle in the most famous scene from 1941''s To Have and Have Not , fans have been fascinated by the palpable heat between these two movie legends. Their onscreen passion blossomed into a full-blown off-screen love affair, and culminated in a blissful marriage that lasted twelve years, until Bogart''s untimely death in 1957. Bogie & Bacall celebrates their love, with rare photos of the couple, along with tips and anecdotes that will inspire you to ignite your own legendary romance.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAs screen icon Kirk Douglas approaches his 100th birthday, he and his wife of 62 years, Anne Buydens, share secrets to longevity in life and love told through candid commentary and priceless correspondence between each other and famous friends from celebrities to world leaders, spanning almost a century.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom Scarlett O''Hara to Thelma and Louise to Wonder Woman, a wide range of strong female leads have not only lit up the screen -- they''ve fired our inspiration with their courage, their independence, and their refusal to follow the rules. Some dynamic women are naughty and some are nice, but all of them buck the narrow confines of their expected gender role -- whether by taking small steps or revolutionary strides.Through engaging profiles and dozens of photographs, Dynamic Dames looks at fifty of the most empowered and inspiring female roles in film from the 1920s to today. The characters are discussed along with the exciting off-screen personalities and achievements of the actresses and, on occasion, female writers and directors, who brought them to vibrant life.Among the stars profiled in their most revolutionary roles are Bette Davis, Mae West, Barbara Stanwyck, Josephine Baker, Greta Garbo, Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Wood, Barbra Streisand, Julia Roberts,

Read more less

Book Synopsis#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A panoramic experience that tells the story of Beastie Boys, a book as unique as the band itself—by band members ADROCK and Mike D, with contributions from Amy Poehler, Colson Whitehead, Wes Anderson, Luc Sante, and more.The inspiration for the Emmy-nominated Apple TV+ “live documentary” Beastie Boys Story, directed by Spike Jonze NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Rolling Stone • The Guardian • Paste  Formed as a New York City hardcore band in 1981, Beastie Boys struck an unlikely path to global hip hop superstardom. Here is their story, told for the first time in the words of the band. Adam “ADROCK” Horovitz and Michael “Mike D” Diamond offer revealing and very funny accounts of their transition from teenage punks to budding rappers; their early collaboration with Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin; the debut album that became the first hip hop record ever to hit #1, Licensed to Ill—and the album’s messy fallout as the band broke with Def Jam; their move to Los Angeles and rebirth with the genre-defying masterpiece Paul’s Boutique; their evolution as musicians and social activists over the course of the classic albums Check Your Head, Ill Communication, and Hello Nasty and the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits conceived by the late Adam “MCA” Yauch; and more. For more than thirty years, this band has had an inescapable and indelible influence on popular culture. With a style as distinctive and eclectic as a Beastie Boys album, Beastie Boys Book upends the typical music memoir. Alongside the band narrative you will find rare photos, original illustrations, a cookbook by chef Roy Choi, a graphic novel, a map of Beastie Boys’ New York, mixtape playlists, pieces by guest contributors, and many more surprises.Praise for Beastie Boys Book “A fascinating, generous book with portraits and detail that float by in bursts of color . . . As with [the band’s] records, the book’s structure is a lyrical three-man weave. . . . Diamond’s voice is lapidary, droll. Horovitz comes on like a borscht belt comedian, but beneath that he is urgent, incredulous, kind of vulnerable. . . . Friendship is the book’s subject as much as music, fame and New York.”—The New York Times Book Review “Wild, moving . . . resembles a Beastie Boys LP in its wild variety of styles.”—Rolling Stone

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis exquisite book, edited by Robin Bronk and designed by typographer and award-winning art director Nancy Rouemy, features renowned photographer Jeff Vespa's intimate portraits and key inspirational moments and stories from Hollywood luminaries including Zach Braff, Jessica Chastain, Tim Daly, Adam Driver, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ashley Greene, Jonathan Groff, Michael C. Hall, Ethan Hawke, Amber Heard, Cheryl Hines, Kate Hudson, Anna Kendrick, Nicole Kidman, Jared Leto, John Leguizamo, Jeremy Renner, Seth Rogen, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Gabourey Sidibe, Kristen Stewart, Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts, Forest Whitaker, Shailene Woodley, and other icons of the entertainment industry. A portion of the proceeds from the sales of The Art of Discovery will go to support the arts advocacy programs of The Creative Coalition (thecreativecoalition.org), the premier nonprofit, nonpartisan social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community.Trade Review“We hope that The Art of Discovery is savored, and provides inspiration. Everyday life is full of challenges and information overload, and the concept of time has become a most precious gift. The Art of Discovery captures that singular "moment" in time that acts as your own personal muse. The Art of Discovery is meant to encourage the all of us to ignite our own curiosity through music, film, art, photography and literature while at home and on the road. Wake up America! It's time to go buy the book in order to preserve the arts.” –Huffington Post“In a lavish new coffee-table book, The Art of Discovery, glamorous photographs of glittering stars are matched with beautiful typography by spelling out a moment of discovery or inspiration. It’s an easy book to get lost in; you can flip to any page and find something interesting, like Jason Alexander with a dove on his head, accompanied by a story about wanting to be a magician.” –Vanity Fair“Immerse yourself in one hundred intimate portraits of celebrities relating personal stories about their inspirations…” –Society Diaries

Read more less

Book SynopsisA magical concoction of the mischievous, tender, whimsical, and debauched real-life adventures of Alan Cumming, told in his own words and pictures. Described by the New York Times as “a bawdy countercultural sprite” and named one of the most fun people in show business by Time magazine, Alan Cumming is a genuine quadruple threat—an internationally acclaimed, award-winning star of stage, television, and film, as well as a New York Times best-selling author whose real-life vivacity, wit, and charm shine through every page of his third book, You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams. In these forty-five picture essays, Cumming recounts his real-life adventures (and often, misadventures), illustrated by his own equally entertaining photographs. From an awkward bonding session with Elizabeth Taylor to poignant stories about his family and friends to some harsh words of wisdom imparted by Oprah that make up the title of this collection, You Gotta Get BiggerTrade Review"There’s a lot of joy in this book and a lot of laughs. You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams is the best part of experiencing New York nightlife: all the gossip without the hangover."—New York Journal of Books“The pictures—and stories—are intimate, mischievous, funny, and poignant. It's a rare self-portrait by an actor in an era when most are wary of revealing too much.” —Town & Country Magazine"...a fun, heartfelt, adorably catty collection of anecdotes and accompanying photographs from the entertainer's personal and professional life." —Edge Media Network"A passion for photography has stayed with Cumming, all his life, and stage, film and television actor, has just released a book of 45 short essays accompanied by his photos." —San Francisco Chronicle"Cumming’s delight in life’s unexpectedly joyful experiences — of which he’s had plenty in his fortunate career — runs throughout the 45 essays in “You’ve Gotta Get Bigger Dreams,” his third book. . . . Cumming’s new book is rife with entertaining anecdotes, as well as personal reflections and at times shrewdly insightful commentary on his adopted country."—SF Gate"Cumming’s witty and incisive essays cover everything from a cross-country road trip with his beloved dog Honey to an unforgettable encounter with Oprah, whose one-line response to one of Cumming’s friends became the title of his book."—Daily Front Row"Alan Cumming is just plain old delightful. Instead of just writing another memoir book, he peppers his crazy life stories with his photographs to give them an extra visual punch most people don't have in their writing."—Ain't It Cool News "Must Read" selection:. . . 45 vignettes, with photos, name-checking Oprah, Seam Combs, and Elizabeth Taylor."—Harper's Bazaar"Cummings says that as a photographer, hes just a "snapper," capturing moments."—Pittsburgh City Paper". . . a brisk, entertaining read that makes the reader feel like Cumming is in your head relating each mischievous adventure."—Metrosource NY". . . 45 charming, naughty, thoughtful, and wickedly hilarious stories, all illustrated by Cumming’s own memorable photographs."—Good Morning Washington / WJLA-TV "If you’re a fan of Cumming, You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams is fun and lively enough to sustain interest. For those less familiar, it is a teasing glimpse into an impressive achiever’s high life and downtime."—StageBuddy.com "...a charming mosaic of anecdotes and photos..."—Out Magazine"Flipping through feels like passing a couple hours with the scrapbook of your most fabulous older cousin."—Passport Magazine

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe world''s most beloved funnyman is back with I DIDN''T ASK TO BE BORN, his first humor book since the best selling Cosbyology.Sample chapters include: Missing Pages: Bill Cosby owns eight Bibles, all written in English. They were published at different times. One of them was printed in 1709. Another came over on the Santa Maria. They''re all very old but none are autographed. One thing these Bibles have in common is the fact that he''s convinced there are missing pages. The Morphamization of Peanut Armhouse: When Peanut''s mother calls him to dinner and he refuses to leave the softball field, a young Bill Cosby witnesses a sight that haunts him to this day. If (But not by Rudyard Kipling): If Native Americans knew then what they know now, America would be quite a different place. Too Late For Me But Perhaps Not For You: How Bill Cosby handles a teenage daughter who refuses to clean her room.Cosby''s millions of fans will be excited and delighted to pick up t

Read more less

Book SynopsisBy the time Eunice Gayson played James Bond''s girlfriend Sylvia Trench in Dr No and From Russia With Love she had already become one of the first reality TV stars. Her leading men included Sean Connery and Roger Moore, and at the height of her fame she co-starred in a record-breaking run of The Sound of Music. But when her second marriage fell apart and the roles dried up she was arrested for shoplifting. This is the inside story on some of the best-loved films ever made, and how the original Bond girl came back from the depths of despair.

Read more less

Book SynopsisCheryl Black is Curators Distinguished Professor Emerita of theatre at the University of Missouri, Columbia, USA.Table of ContentsList of Figures Series Introductions, James Peck (Muhlenberg College, USA) Acknowledgments Introduction. Forerunners and Groundbreakers in the Art of Theatrical Directing, Cheryl Black (University of Missouri, USA) David Belasco 1. The Belasco Brand: Directing the Modern Theatrical Experience, Christin Essin (Vanderbilt University, USA) 2. The Cultural Imaginings of a Theatrical Impresario: David Belasco in Context, Cheryl Black (University of Missouri, USA) Arthur Hopkins 3. Arthur Hopkins’s First Act: Before the Crash (1913–29), Arthur Feinsod (Indiana State University, USA) 4. Arthur Hopkins’s Second Act: After the Crash (1928–48), Ronald Wainscott (Indiana University, USA) Margaret Webster 5. “She Must Be Fierce”: Margaret Webster’s Groundbreaking Broadway Career, Wendy Vierow (New York University, USA) 6. Not the Moor, but the Figure of the Moor: A Case Study of the Racial, Political, and Personal Stakes of Margaret Webster’s Othello (1943) and The Tempest (1945), Lisa Jackson-Schebetta (Skidmore College, USA) Notes Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisJonathan Chambers is Professor of Theatre and Film at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA.Table of ContentsList of Figures Series Introduction, James Peck (Muhlenberg College, USA) Introduction. The Director in the Company and the Value of Crisis, Jonathan Chambers (Bowling Green State University, USA) Harold Clurman 1. Harold Clurman, the Group, and the Legacy of a Director, Richard Jones (Stephen F. Austin State University, USA) 2. Cultural Messiah: Harold Clurman and the Early Years of the Group Theatre, Fonzie D. Geary II (Lyon College, USA) 3. Something More Than the "Naked Facts": Clurman and Odets's Messy Idealism, Christopher Herr (Missouri State University, USA) Orson Welles 4. Orson Welles, Project 891, and the Mercury Theatre: A Consideration of Welles as the Director of a Company, Matthew Gretzinger (Independent Scholar, USA) 5. Recovering History and Supernatural Politics: Orson Welles's Creative Collaborations in the Federal Theatre Project's "Voodoo Macbeth", Elizabeth A. Osborne (Florida State University, USA) 6. Caesar: A Production for Its Time and Beyond, Anne Fletcher (Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA) Margo Jones 7. Margo Jones and the Rhetoric of Company-Making, Boone J. Hopkins (Converse College, USA) 8. Margo Jones and Alma Winemiller: A Director and Her Doppelgänger, Chrystyna Dail (Ithaca College, USA) 9. On a Double-Dog Dare: Margo Jones’s Production of Inherit the Wind, Jennifer Jones Cavenaugh (Rollins College, USA) Bibliography Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisHarvey Young is Professor of Theatre at Boston University, USA. His research on the performance and experience of race has been widely published in academic journals, profiled in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal and The Chronicle of Higher Education. He has published seven books, including Embodying Black Experience, winner of Book of the Year awards from the National Communication Association and the American Society for Theatre Research and, most recently, Black Theater is Black Life: An Oral History of Chicago Theater (coauthored with Mecca Zabriskie). He is the current editor of Theatre Survey.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Series Introduction, James Peck (Muhlenberg College, USA) Acknowledgments Introduction. Living the American Dream, Harvey Young (Boston University, USA) Elia Kazan 1 Gadget Makes American Theatre, Harvey Young (Boston University, USA) Jerome Robbins 2 Choreography as Directing: On Jerome Robbins, Julia Foulkes (New School, USA) 3 Jerome Robbins: A Hide-and-Seek Directorial Life, Stuart J. Hecht (Boston College, USA) Lloyd Richards 4 Lloyd Richards in the Classroom, cfrancis blackchild (University of Miami, USA) 5 The Performative Tradition of Lloyd Richards, Everett C. Dixon (Universidad del Valle, Colombia) 6 Mentoring August: Lloyd Richards and August Wilson, Sandra G. Shannon (Howard University, USA) Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisHenry Bial is Professor and Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Kansas, USA.Chase Bringardner is Professor and Chair of the Department of Theatre at Auburn University, USA.Table of ContentsList of Figures Series introduction, James Peck (Muhlenberg College, USA) Acknowledgments Introduction. Henry Bial (University of Kansas, USA) & Chase Bringardner (Auburn University, USA) George Abbott 1. Speedy Entertainment: How the Abbott Touch Shaped the Mid-Century Musical, Alisa Roost (Hostos Community College, USA) 2. The Abbott Legacy, Bud Coleman (University of Colorado at Boulder, USA) 3. The Critic’s Darling, Henry Bial (University of Kansas, USA) Vinnette Carroll 4. The Remaining One-Third: Vinnette Carroll and the Urban Arts Corps, La Donna L. Forsgren (University of Notre Dame, USA) 5. An Architect of Feeling: Vinnette Carroll and Her Broadway Gospel Musicals, Brian Granger (Mary Baldwin University, USA) 6. Vinnette Carroll, Langston Hughes, and the Creation of the Gospel Song-Play, Hillary Miller (Queens College, City University of New York, USA) Harold Prince 7. Hal Prince Assumes Direction of a Genre, Paul R. Laird (University of Kansas, USA) 8. “A Show Every Year Like Clockwork”: Harold Prince’s Illustrious Career as a Revolutionary Musical Theatre Director and Creative Producer, Barbara Wallace Grossman (Tufts University, USA) 9. Producing Phantoms: Hal Prince and the Mega in the Mega-Musical, Chase Bringardner (Auburn University, USA) Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisJoan Herrington is the Director of the School of Theatre and Dance at Western Michigan University, USA.Table of ContentsList of Figures Series Introduction, James Peck (Muhlenberg College, USA) Acknowledgments Facing the Impossible: An Introduction, Joan Herrington (Western Michigan University, USA) Richard Schechner 1. Richard Schechner: Broadening the Spectrum, 1957-1976, Mike Sell (Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA) 2 Onwards! Richard Schechner's Global Theatre, Performance Training and Ensemble-Building 1981-2011, Cindy Rosenthal (Hofstra University, USA) Lee Breuer 3. The Drama in the Dialectic: Lee Breuer's Theatrical Life and Collaborations, Jessica Silsby Brater (Montclair State University, USA) 4. Lee Breuer: Writing, Directing, Illusion Making and Theatre, Arthur J. Sabatini (Arizona State University, USA) Anne Bogart 5. Undefining the World: Anne Bogart, Erin B. Mee (Independent Scholar, USA) 6. What are we Waiting for? Bogart in Collaboration, Joan Herrington (Western Michigan University, USA) Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAnn M. Shanahan is Chair of the Department of Theatre at Purdue University, USA. Her research interests and teaching specialties include directing, gender and theatrical space, and theatre and social change. Professor Shanahan served as dramaturg for the national touring production of Angels in America, Parts I and II (dir. Michael Meyer), Third (dir. Sarah Gabel) and The Mistress Cycle (dir. Kurt Johns) at Appletree Theatre, among others.Table of ContentsList of Figures Series Introduction, James Peck (Muhlenberg College, USA) Acknowledgments Introduction: Theatres of Perception, Ann M. Shanahan (Purdue University, USA) Meredith Monk 1. Meredith Monk: Five Decades of Embodied Innovation, Nancy Putnam Smithner (New York University, USA) 2. The Theatre of Meredith Monk: Embodying Wholeness by Working Between the Cracks, Ann M. Shanahan (Purdue University, USA) Richard Foreman 3. Make 'em dance: The Directorial Strategy of Richard Foreman, Neal Swettenham (Independent Scholar, UK) 4. "What a Time It Was": Richard Foreman and the Heyday of the East Village Avant-Garde, David Callaghan (University of Montevallo, USA) Robert Wilson 5. Robert Wilson's Sonosphere, Maria Shevtsova (Goldsmiths, University of London, UK) 6. Standing at the Threshold: Robert Wilson as a Designer-Director, Ewa Kara (Independent Scholar, USA) Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisClaudia Orenstein is Professor of Theatre at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY, USA.James Peck is Professor of Theatre at Muhlenberg College, USA.Table of ContentsList of Figures Series Introduction, James Peck (Muhlenberg College, USA) Introduction, Claudia Orenstein (CUNY, USA) Elizabeth LeCompte 1. The Forty Year Rehearsal: The Wooster Group’s Endless Work in Progress, David Gordon (Author, USA) 2. Tele-Performatively Yours: Deformation, Distraction, and Meaning-Making in Three Recorded Works of Elizabeth LeCompte and The Wooster Group, Thomas Cartelli (Muhlenberg College, USA) Ping Chong 3. Ping Chong: An Artist, Storyteller, and Activist, Yuko Kurahashi (Kent State University, USA) 4. Animated Objects in the Work of Ping Chong, Claudia Orenstein (CUNY, USA) Robert Lepage 5. The Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Theatre of Robert Lepage, Aleksandar S. Dundjerovic (Birmingham City University, UK) 6. Intermediality in the Theatre of Robert Lepage, Christopher B. Balme (LMU Munich, Germany) Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisJames Peck is Professor of Theatre at Muhlenberg College, USA. He is the co-editor of Performing Magic on the Western Stage (2008) and has published in many academic journals, including Theatre Journal, Theatre Topics, Theatre Survey, and TDR. He serves on the editorial board of Theatre Topics and on the senior advisory board to the peer reviewed section of the SDC Journal.Table of ContentsList of Figures Series Introduction, James Peck (Muhlenberg College, USA) Acknowledgements Introduction. Jesusa Rodríguez, Peter Sellars, Reza Abdoh, James Peck (Muhlenberg College, USA) Jesusa Rodríguez 1. From El Hábito to Resistencia Creativa: Reimagining Mexico through Jesusa Rodríguez’s Artivism, Leticia Robles-Moreno (Muhlenberg College, USA) 2. Directing the Public: On Jesusa Rodríguez’s Lesbian Feminist Interventions, Iván A. Ramos (University of Maryland, USA) Peter Sellars 3. Peter Sellars: Politics and Spirituality in Opera, James Peck (Muhlenberg College, USA) 4. Peter Sellars’ Work in Theatre Directing, Peter Lichtenfels (University of California Davis, USA) Reza Abdoh 5. Hypervalent Elegies: Death and Loss in the Late Works of Reza Abdoh, Daniel Mufson (Author, Germany) 6. Tough Love: Offstage and Affect in the Late Plays of Reza Abdoh, Guy Zimmerman (Padua Playwrights, USA) Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Great North American Stage Directors: Set 1 offers an authoritative account of the work, lineage and legacy of the major theatre directors prior to 1970, where the role of the director is seen primarily as interpreter. Across the four volumes it provides a uniquely rich study of the genealogy and development of a practice through focus on individual directors and the wider context and artform in which they worked. For professional practitioners and those developing their skills, as well as those engaged in the analysis of theatre practices, forms and history, it will prove an essential resource.Each volume provides substantial treatment of three major directors, with each director considered by two specialists, combining analysis of the director's practical craft with accounts of the historical, cultural and theoretical context of their practice. Links between the featured directors and other artists and directors from the period are traced to round out the picture of

Read more less

Book SynopsisAcross the four volumes this set provides a uniquely rich study of the genealogy and development of a practice through focus on individual directors and the wider context and art form in which they worked. For professional practitioners and those developing their skills, as well as those engaged in the analysis of theatre practices, forms and history, it will prove an essential resource.Each volume provides substantial treatment of three major directors, with each director considered by two specialists, combining analysis of the director's practical craft with accounts of the historical, cultural and theoretical context of their practice. Links between the featured directors and other artists and directors from the period are traced to round out the picture of influences and artistic development.Volume 5: Richard Schechner, Lee Breuer, Anne Bogart: Company Experiments (edited by Joan Herrington, Western Michigan University, USA)Volume 6: Meredith Monk, Richard Foreman, Robert Wilson:

Read more less

Book SynopsisDick McCaw is Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. He has edited two books, With an Eye for Movement (2006) and The Laban Sourcebook (2011) and is the author of Bakhtin and Theatre (2015) and Training the Actor's Body (Methuen Drama, 2017). He is a qualified Feldenkrais practitioner.Trade ReviewRethinking the Actor’s Body confronts us with the perspective to undertake the first steps towards something that in the long run could affect our understanding of not only the actor’s, but also the ‘ordinary’, everyday body. * Skenè: Journal of Theatre and Drama Studies *This is an excellent book. ... with such excellent, succinct confirmations and revelations entirely backed up by his dialogues with science. It is indispensable in this regard. * National Drama *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Part I – The Actor’s Bodies Chapter 1 – The Presence of the Actor’s Body Chapter 2 – The Energetic Body Chapter 3 – The Vital Body and the Bodily Instrument Chapter 4 – Body Topologies Chapter 5 – The Sense of a Body Chapter 6 – The Body Which Learns Chapter 7 – The Emotional Body Chapter 8 – The Biomechanical Body Chapter 9 – The Anatomical Body Part II – The Actor’s Brain Chapter 10 - Front Brain/Back Brain Chapter Chapter 11 - Learning and Memory Chapter 12 - Imagining the Body Chapter 13 – The Relation between Sensory and Motor Nerves Chapter 14 – Stage Fright and Keeping Your Head Conclusion

Read more less

Book SynopsisIntroduction to the Alexander Technique, part of the brand-new Acting Essentials series, is the first textbook about the Alexander Technique written specially for undergraduates. This eight-week program can be taught over the course of half a semester, a full semester, or dipped into as needed to address students' issues with physicality, movement, breathing, voice and performance habits. The Alexander Technique has been a vital part of training for performers since the early 20th century. It is a core part of the curriculum at most acting conservatories and in many BFA programs. Sometimes considered purely a movement discipline, the Alexander Technique in fact takes into consideration the entire personmind, body, voice, emotions, and imagination. Introduction to the Alexander Technique addresses the student's self as a whole and is suitable for beginning acting students in any academic setting, including those who take performance classes as an elective. The book also inTable of ContentsIntroduction Week 1: Your Body Week 2: Your Breath Week 3: Your Voice Week 4: Your Movement Week 5: Mental-Physical Resistance Week 6: The Mind-Body Connection Week 7: Classes, Rehearsals, and Auditions Week 8: Performance Conclusion Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisIs there a fundamental connection between New York''s Elevator Repair Service''s 9-hour production of The Great Gatsby and a Kathakali performance?How can we come to appreciate the slowness of Kabuki theatre as much as the pace of the Whatsapp theatre of post-Arab Spring Turkey?Can we go beyond our own culture''s contemporary definition of a ''good play'' and think about the theatre in a deep and pluralistic manner?Drawing on his extensive experience working with theatre artists, students and thinkers across the globe - up to and including an hour-long audience with the Dalai Lama - playwright Abhishek Majumdar considers why we make theatre and how we see it in different parts of the world. His own work has taken him from theatre in Japan to dance companies in the Phillippines, writers in Lebanon and Palestine, theatre groups in Burkina Faso, war-torn areas like Kashmir and North Eastern India, and to China and Tibet, Argentina and Mexico.Via a far-reaching Trade ReviewMajumdar’s processes sound more like those of a detective or an investigative reporter than a writer observing the world from a garret. For his Kashmir plays, he spent time in police bunkers and the dens of militants. For Pah-La, he decided he had to go to Lhasa, whatever the cost. * Arifa Akbar, The Guardian *For 15 years, Abhishek Majumdar has created plays on the fragility of human lives trapped in war and other upheavals. * Indian Express *Majumdar has behind him a remarkable body of work. His plays sweep a wide arc – they have dealt with generational angst, the dark goings-on at a monastery in 8th century, the trauma of wasted childhood, the politics of food, and the heart of extremist violence. But at their core, they always talk of humanism and its fight against tyranny and greed. * Scroll Magazine *Abhishek Majumdar’s book is a thrilling read, crossing continents, entering conflicts, and always informed by a questing fusion of art and politics. It is an essential map to how playwriting and play-making might reflect the fractured world we share. * Steve Waters, playwright *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Table of Contents Introduction: Travels and Questions HOME The Quest for Tradition Language of Theatre The Enterprise AWAY Brecht in Kashmir The Kashmir Trilogy The Writing of Pah-la: A Theatre Journey across the Roof of the World Devising in the Tibetan Transit School Reading George C Wolfe’s The Coloured Museum In a New York Subway Hamidur Rehman: A Journey through Bangladesh and Germany. A Journey about a Journey OTHER GEOGRAPHIES Lessons in Pausing: From a theatre in West Africa to a Monastery in the Himalayas On Censorship The Pandemic and the Theatre Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisA spicy work of biographical conjecture ... It''s also a rousing reminder of the countless creative women who have been written out of history or have had to fight relentlessly to make themselves heard.' EVENING STANDARDThe great virtue of Lloyd Malcolm's speculative history lies in its passion and anger: it ends with a blazing address to the audience that is virtually a call to arms. It is throughout, however, a highly theatrical piece ... In rescuing Emilia from the shades, [the play] gives her dramatic life and polemical potency.' GUARDIANThe little we know of Emilia Bassano Lanier (1569 - 1645) is that she may have been the Dark Lady of Shakespeare''s Sonnets, mistress of Lord Chamberlain, one of the first English female poets to be published, a mother, teacher who founded a school for women, and radical feminist with North African ancestry. Living at a time when women had such limited opportunities, Emilia Lanier is therefore a fascinating subject for this speculativTrade ReviewIt is incredibly heartening to hear unabashed feminist rhetoric, spoken by a diverse all-female cast, in a commercial theatre space. [Emilia Bassano] provides a clear way in for discussing the centuries-long silencing of women, the oppression they have faced – and still face today. And you’re never far from a totally topical line, the mix of past and present underlined by Lloyd Malcolm’s use of cheerfully anachronistic slangy contemporary phrases. It can be really fun; this is a gently meta-theatrical and very jolly historical romp of a show, in the mould of ‘Nell Gwyn’ or ‘Shakespeare in Love’. The winkingly modern perspective on the nonsense men spouted and women were expected to put up with is frequently amusing. * Time Out *If Shakespeare's Globe had a roof, it would have been blasted off by the thunderous ovations and cheers ... greeting [this] extraordinarily rousing ... play ... In many honourable ways, this feels like a therapeutic blast in the #metoo era and it ends with an appropriately spine-tingling call to arms. “If they try to burn you, may your fire be stronger than theirs, so you can burn the whole f***ing house down”. In the weight of her anger, [Emilia] convinces you that she holds “a muscle memory of every woman who came before me". ... [This] is a landmark moment in the history of Shakespeare Globe. * Independent *History is written by the victor, and as Malcolm's ... piece shows, the victor in the sixteenth century (and indeed, most of the time now) was male, white, privileged and uncompromising. The elder Emilia notes at one point, "We read what is recorded and see what is missing". That's what Emilia, the play, does so brilliantly; it fills in the gaps ... Malcolm writes eloquently, at times beautifully, showing Emilia's suffering and brilliance in equal measure. She also uses the context of the Globe masterfully – shattering the fourth wall with direct address to bring the audience into the story. There are romantic squabbles, fun capers ... the piece has a near-constant humour ... An outright feminist triumph and a brilliant call-to-arms. * Whatsonstage *A spicy work of biographical conjecture ... It's also a rousing reminder of the countless creative women who have been written out of history or have had to fight relentlessly to make themselves heard. * Evening Standard *The great virtue of Lloyd Malcolm’s speculative history lies in its passion and anger: it ends with a blazing address to the audience that is virtually a call to arms. It is throughout, however, a highly theatrical piece ... In rescuing Emilia from the shades, [the play] gives her dramatic life and polemical potency. * Guardian *Table of ContentsChronology COMMENTARY CHARACTERS - Historical versus fictional / Emilia Lanier Bassano (1560-1645) NARRATIVE PUBLIC HISTORY - Comparative works as diverse as Upstart Crow, Horrible Histories, Downton Abbey, Hamilton and Six in terms of dramatically subverting traditional histories FEMINISM AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHIC DRAMATIC DEVICES - the 3 Emilias, Brecht, epic theatre, feminist theatre, Shakespeare's history plays, all-female cast SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE INTERVIEW WITH PLAYWRIGHT PLAY TEXT FURTHER READING

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisRenowned theatre and film director Nancy Meckler delves into her hugely varied experiences in the rehearsal room and shares examples of tried-and-tested tools to bring a play to life. Meckler encourages you to interrogate, play, experiment and to use her methods as a starting point to begin creating your own unique directing toolkit and finding your own style. The examples are drawn from her experience directing a range of work from classic plays, including work by Chekhov, Brecht and Shakespeare, to new writing, including work by Pam Gems and Sam Shepard, and in a wide range of renowned theatres, including the RSC, National Theatre, Royal Court and a number of the UK's regional theatres. The author's approachable and relatable writing style enables an in-depth look into how she works with actors and the many ways in which she may approach a new project while also providing with a unique insight into her own wealth of experience over a remarkable career as an award-winning and internTrade ReviewThe book is a delightful meander through the director's career, is anecdotal and informative, and truly captures the heart of her rehearsal rooms. For aspirant directors, there's a wealth of wisdom in its pages. * Broadway World *Ever wondered what happens on the other side of that door with the sign warning, “Rehearsals in process. Do Not Enter.” Well, master director Nancy Meckler graciously opens this door and invites you into her remarkable process. She brings this often mysterious endeavor refreshingly back down to earth while still inspiring all of us to shoot for the moon. A must-read for anyone who loves theatre and how we go about making it. * Brian H. Kulick, Chair of the Theatre Program, Columbia University School of the Arts, USA *A fascinating read, in which the link between writer, director and the performer(s) is explored through a mix of memoir and workshop exercises ... this book is not just an essential read on this particular director’s career experiences, but also a primer on teamwork and how everyone works to make a show a success. * Loureviews *There’s a lot that a director or adaptor (or potential one) could learn from this. * Ink Pellet *Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Preparation Chapter 2: The Concept Chapter 3: Keystones Chapter 4: Improvisation Chapter 5: Rehearsal Process Chapter 6: The Mystery of Comedy Chapter 7: Collaboration Chapter 8: Discovering Physical Theatre and Working in Different Mediums Epilogue Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume assesses the accomplishments of three mid-20th-century, North American stage directors: Harold Clurman, Orson Welles, and Margo Jones. Though their theatre-making endeavours were distinct, each produced work that challenged preconceived notions of theatre-making, all while working within the structure of a company. As directors drawn to the potential rewards of collaboration, all also were keenly adept at understanding how the relationship with a company of collaborators is often marked by struggle and crisis. The essays in this volume explore how these accomplished directors not only created bold work, but also drew on the complex energies of the theatre companies with which they worked to reimagine the shape and scope of theatre directing.The Great North American Stage Directors series provides an authoritative account of the art of directing in North America by examining the work of twenty-four major practitioners from the late 19th century to the present. Each of

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume focuses on three artists who embrace media and technology as essential elements of their theatrical expression: Elizabeth LeCompte, Ping Chong, and Robert Lepage. Diverse in their aesthetic interests, they nevertheless share an approach to directing that includes technological media on stage as central to a rigorously crafted production concept. Technological elements live alongside and negotiate with the theatre's human players, disclosing, shaping, and even intruding on the dramas they enact. The essays in this volume explore how all three directors have provided decisive responses to a question that has dogged the theatre for at least the last century: what relationship can theatre, an art form grounded in live, ephemeral, expression, have to technology? The Great North American Stage Directors series provides an authoritative account of the art of directing in North America by examining the work of twenty-four major practitioners from the late 19th centur

Read more less

Book SynopsisThirteen original chapters on movie magazines analysing their visual aspects

Read more less