Other performing arts Books
Design Studio Press Framed Ink: Drawing and Composition for Visual
Book Synopsis
£20.39
HarperCollins Publishers The House of Hidden Meanings
Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERFrom international drag superstar and pop culture icon RuPaul, comes his most revealing to datea brutally honest and deeply intimate memoir of growing up Black, poor, and queer in a broken home to discovering the power of performance and self-acceptance.A profound introspection of his life, relationships, and identity, The House of Hidden Meanings is a self-portrait of the legendary icon on the road to global fame and changing the way the world thinks about drag.Central to RuPaul's success has been his chameleonic adaptability. From drag icon to powerhouse producer of one of the world's largest television franchises, RuPaul's ever-shifting nature has always been part of his brand as both supermodel and super mogul.Yet that adaptability has made him enigmatic to the public. In this memoir, his most intimate and detailed book yet, RuPaul makes himself truly known.Stripping away all artifice, RuPaul recounts the story of his life with breath taking clarity and tenderness, bringing his signature wisdom and wit to his own biography. From his early years growing up as a queer Black kid in San Diego navigating complex relationships with his absent father and temperamental mother, to forging an identity in the punk and drag scenes of Atlanta and New York, to finding enduring love with his husband Georges LeBar and self-acceptance in sobriety, RuPaul excavates his own biography, uncovering new truths and insights in his personal history.Here in RuPaul's singular and extraordinary story is a manual for livinga personal philosophy that testifies to the value of chosen family, the importance of harnessing what makes you different, and the transformational power of facing yourself fearlessly.If we're all born naked and the rest is drag, then this is RuPaul totally out of drag. This is RuPaul stripped bare.
£19.80
New World Library Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change
Book Synopsis
£15.29
Gill Boatclub B Gospel According to Blindboy
Book SynopsisThe Gospel According to Blindboy is a surreal and genre-defying collection of short stories exploring the myths, complacencies and contradictions at the heart of modern Ireland. It is one of the most original collections of short stories to emerge in recent years.
£10.44
Columbia University Press Storythinking
Book SynopsisThis book explains how and why our brains think in stories. Angus Fletcher, an expert in neuroscientific approaches to narrative, identifies this capacity as “storythinking.”Trade ReviewFletcher’s done it again. His polymathic erudition and word-wizardry elegance pull off the equivalent of a Copernican revolution in our understanding of storytelling—in all its resplendent iterations. With Storythinking he invites us on an extraordinary odyssey that enriches understanding of our deep, instinctive impulse to create stories as makers and transformers of our world. Storythinking is nothing less than a cosmological paradigm shift that puts story making and thinking at the center of all that we do. -- Frederick Luis Aldama, award-winning author and Jacob & Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities, UT AustinAngus Fletcher explains why effective narrative prioritizes the unique, shifts viewpoints, and encourages conflict. Not for their own sake. It makes a writer create and clarify more thoughtful ideas and leads readers to intuit and retain the message. Both revelatory and pragmatic, and so gracefully explained. -- Shane Greenstein, author of How the Internet Became Commercial: Innovation, Privatization, and the Birth of a New NetworkStorythinking is absolutely excellent: a much-needed reminder of and expansion on the transformative power of story, story as an enriched form of learning and as a valid epistemology. The book is a lovely, readable addition to academic and public life. I am eager to see the use of story resurrected! -- Lisa Miller, Ph.D., Professor & Founder, Spirituality Mind Body Institute, Teachers College, Columbia UniversityStory is a basic mental operation. Most of our experience, knowledge, and thinking is formed and organized by story: prediction, evaluation, planning, explanation, agents and actors, processes, goals. Story is an indispensable element of creativity. Human beings project from story to story and blend stories to create new concepts, new proposals, new science. How can we push the cognitive science of story forward? Fletcher, in this captivating and inspiring new book, leads the way. -- Mark Turner, author of The Literary Mind: The Origins of Thought and LanguageThe quickest way to elicit a scoff from 'serious thinkers' is to mention 'story'. But as someone who has built a career as a science communicator, who consistently straddles the line between art and science, and whose work is grounded in neuroscience, I know intuitively that storytelling is fundamental to how we think. Finally, Angus Fletcher brings his deep understanding of narrative together with his keen scientific mind to explain why we think in stories, why embracing story structure is the way forward, and how stories provide an architecture to thought as powerful and important as logic. Read this book. -- Indre Viskontas, Cognitive Neuroscientist, University of San Francisco[Storythinking] is a most unusual book, plumbing the depths of history to find where philosophy went off the rails, examining neurobiology for insight into creativity, and festooned with stories about great characters all the way through. I can honestly report I’ve never read anything like it. And that’s a good thing. * The Straight Dope *Table of Contents1. Story2. Story and Thinking3. The Origin of Story4. Why Our Schools Teach Logic, Not Story5. The Limits of Logic—or Why We Still Need Storythinking6. The Brain Machinery of Storythinking7. Improving Storythinking8. Storythinking for Personal Growth9. Storythinking for Social Growth10. Story’s Answer to the Meaning of LifeCoda: Conversations with a StorythinkerNotesIndex
£18.00
Random House USA Inc The Greek Plays Sixteen Plays by Aeschylus
Book Synopsis
£17.85
Hawthorn Press Therapeutic Storytelling: 101 Healing Stories for
Book SynopsisWorking with imaginative journeys and the mystery and magic of metaphor, the author has developed the art of therapeutic storytelling for children''s challenging behaviour.
£17.00
Yale University Press Humour
Book Synopsis
£10.99
Nick Hern Books The Improviser's Way: A Longform Workbook
Book SynopsisAn inspiring and interactive workbook to help you develop skills for longform improvisation, by one of the UK’s top improv performers and teachers. Structured as a twelve-week course, this book provides techniques, advice and exercises that can be done on your own or in groups – with activities to complete as you go – for learning faster and becoming (more) amazing at improvisation. It draws on the author’s own experience of performing and teaching improv around the world, with added gems of wisdom from key experts. Starting with the basics of improvisation, it moves on to explore areas of the craft such as rehearsals, character, editing, form and style; plus career advice including how to cope with bad gigs, jealousy, fear of missing out and your Inner Critic. The Improviser’s Way is ideal for improvisers at any level – from those new to improv entirely, through those familiar with shortform who are looking to extend their reach, to experienced longform performers and teachers looking to refresh their approach and embrace new ideas. It is also invaluable to anyone looking to discover more about this popular, thrillingly creative and empowering form of performance. By the end, you won’t just be a better improviser – you’ll be a better person!Trade Review'Concise and easy to follow… highly recommended for both budding artists and old-hats alike, as it really does have something for everyone' * Drama Magazine *'An interactive tool that will challenge the reader's perceptions... witty and concise' * Drama & Theatre magazine *
£13.49
Washington Square Press Inc.,N.Y. Julius Ceasers
Book SynopsisThe authoritative edition of Julius Caesar from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers.Shakespeare may have written Julius Caesar as the first of his plays to be performed at the Globe, in 1599. For it, he turned to a key event in Roman history: Caesar’s death at the hands of friends and fellow politicians. Renaissance writers disagreed over the assassination, seeing Brutus, a leading conspirator, as either hero or villain. Shakespeare’s play keeps this debate alive. This edition includes: -Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play -Newly revised explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play -Scene-by-scene plot summaries -A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases -An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language -An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a m
£6.64
Penguin Books Ltd Life and Laughing
Book SynopsisDiscover the real Michael McIntyre through his remarkable and hilarious journey to comedy stardom in his first official autobiography''This book showed me the REAL Michael McIntyre'' 5***** READER REVIEW''It made me laugh, cry, laugh, laugh and laugh some more'' 5***** READER REVIEW''Simply is a must read . . . His story is fascinating'' 5***** READER REVIEW''To anyone who loves Michael McIntyre - you will not be disappointed!'' 5***** READER REVIEWTHE NO. 1 BESTSELLER_______Michael McIntyre is Britain''s biggest comedy star. But how did he get there? Michael reveals all in his remarkably honest and hilarious autobiography, Life and Laughing.From his showbiz roots to his appalling attempts to attract the opposite sex, his fish-out-of-water move from public to state school, and his astonishing journey from selling just one ticket at the Edinburgh Festival to selling half a million tickets on tour.Filled with riveting anecdotes and poignant lessons, Life and Laughing is the unmissable story of Britain''s biggest comedian''s rise to stardom.Above all, it''s very, very funny.
£11.69
Piccadilly Books,U.S. Balloon Sculpting A Fun and Easy Guide to Making
Book Synopsis
£9.89
Random House USA Inc Making Movies
Book SynopsisONE OF THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER'S 100 GREATEST FILM BOOKS OF ALL TIME â? â??Invaluable.... I am sometimes asked if there is one book a filmgoer could read to learn more about how movies are made and what to look for while watching them. This is the book.â? â??Roger Ebert, The New York Times Book ReviewWhy does a director choose a particular script? What must they do in order to keep actors fresh and truthful through take after take of a single scene? How do you stage a shootoutâ??involving more than one hundred extras and three colliding taxisâ??in the heart of New Yorkâ??s diamond district? What does it take to keep the studio honchos happy? From the first rehearsal to the final screening, Making Movies is a masterâ??s take, delivered with clarity, candor, and a wealth of anecdote. For in this book, Sidney Lumet, one of our most consistently acclaimed directors, gives us both a professional memoir and a definitive guide t
£14.40
Hawthorn Press The Storytellers Way: A Sourcebook for Inspired
Book SynopsisLearn how to tell stories for entertainment, teaching, coaching, healing or making meaning. It contains a wealth of stories, exercises, questions, tips and insights to guide your storytelling path, offering time-tested and trusted ways to improve your skills, overcome blocks and become a confident and inspirational storyteller.
£17.00
Taschen GmbH The Magic Book
Book SynopsisMagic has enchanted humankind for millennia, evoking terror, laughter, shock, and amazement. Once persecuted as heretics and sorcerers, magicians have always been conduits to a parallel universe of limitless possibility—whether invoking spirits, reading minds, or inverting the laws of nature by sleight of hand. Long before science fiction, virtual realities, video games, and the Internet, the craft of magic was the most powerful fantasy world man had ever known. As the pioneers of special effects throughout history, magicians have never ceased to mystify us by making the impossible possible. This book celebrates more than 500 years of the stunning visual culture of the world’s greatest magicians. Featuring more than 750 rarely seen vintage posters, photographs, handbills, and engravings as well as paintings by Hieronymus Bosch and Bruegel among others, The Magic Book traces the history of magic as a performing art from the 1400s to the 1950s. Combining sensational images with incisive text, the book explores the evolution of the magicians’ craft, from medieval street performers to the brilliant stage magicians who gave rise to cinematic special effects; from the 19th century’s golden age of magic to groundbreaking daredevils like Houdini and the early 20th century’s vaudevillians.Trade Review“An irresistible tour through centuries of wonder.” * The Globe and Mail *
£30.00
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Methuen Book of Comic Monologues for Women
Book SynopsisKaty Wix is a highly gifted and versatile actress and writer, best known for her performance as Tim Vine's ditzy girlfriend Daisy, in the critically acclaimed BBC1 sitcom, Not Going Out, and has also been a regular character on the hit BBC One drama Torchwood and the BBC Two comedies Outnumbered and Miranda. She has also starred in many other successful television shows including Absolutely Fabulous, Extras and Time Trumpet (BBC Two). Wix has also co-written and starred in Anna & Katy on Channel 4.Trade Review'If I was ever called to audition, which I am not often despite being largely available and willing to try my hand at most things, I would be most grateful to Miss Wix for this fantastic collection. However most likely I shall keep it by my bed to dip into for laughs. It is a very good read. Well done Miss Wix.' -- Jennifer Saunders
£11.99
Hawthorn Press An A-Z Collection of Behaviour Tales: From Angry
Book SynopsisEach story in this collection begins with an undesirable or out-of-balance situation and, through the use of metaphor and an imaginative story journey, leads to a more desirable resolution. In this way, the stories also have the potential for nurturing positive values.The stories cover many kinds of universal behaviour. Following the alphabet from A to Z, the behaviour is identified in the story title e.g. anxious, bossy, cranky greedy jealous lazy swearing uncooperative ... and more. The stories can be told directly, or adapted. They can be turned into home-made picture books and puppet shows, or used as springboards for the creation of new tales for particular behaviour challenges and situations.
£14.39
Hawthorn Press Healing Storytelling: The Art of Imagination and
Book SynopsisIn this step by step companion guide, Nancy Mellon explores the secrets of what makes a good story and how to become a confident storyteller from scratch. The healing power of stories is a strong antidote to today's electronic screen world. Storytelling is an engaging, meaningful way of sharing our thoughts and feelings. As a path of self-development, storytelling awakens archetypal experiences, symbols and forces within for healing oneself and others
£13.50
The Crowood Press Ltd Mime the Gap: Techniques in Mime and Movement
Book SynopsisMime the Gap: Techniques in Mime and Movement explores the physicality of movement in storytelling, offering new ideas about acting and performance, whilst encouraging a contemporary resurgence of this traditional performance art. With detailed, step-by-step instructions of basic to advanced mime illusions, the book addresses the key areas of physicality, including when to move and when not to move, making the invisible 'visible' and the fundamental principles of physical articulation. Additional topics include how to use the elements of Fire, Earth, Water and Air for physical characterization; techniques for performing classic mime routines, such as the Glass Box and the Moonwalk; how to mime with props and objects, both visible and invisible; using breath, posture and gesture to enhance performance and perceptions, and finally, creating and producing an authentic performance. Offering numerous exercises suitable for solo or group work, this new book will help you to explore and develop your physicality and build an awareness of how to apply it to a performance.
£18.00
Sonicbond Publishing Seinfeld - On Screen...: Seasons 1 to 5 - An
Book SynopsisWhen the final episode of Seinfeld aired on 14th May 1998, an amazing 76.3 million Americans tuned in, making it the most popular situation comedy is US television history. * The first show-by-show episode guide to be written about this iconic television series * Not just a hit in the USA, Seinfeld remains a cult show in the UK and Europe, now available on DVD and on Amazon Prime * Bang up to date, the book includes recent Seinfeld-related activity including the revival episode on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' and Seinfeld's own 'Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee' Co-created by Larry David, this 'comedy about nothing' made celebrities of its four stars: stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld; comedian and actor Michael Richards who played eccentric neighbour Kramer; Julia Louis-Dreyfus who played Seinfeld's former girlfriend Elaine and Jason Alexander as Jerry's volatile best friend George. Completely unique in its outlook and execution, the success of the series lay in its early years, able to develop its own style below the radar as a minor network hit, before reaching a mass public with its fourth season in 1992. Much analyzed during its time on screen, the show has not been re-evaluated for many years. Now, 21 years since the series finished, Stephen Lambe's timely and superbly-crafted new book examines Seinfeld's first five seasons episode by episode, tracing the development of every character, catchphrase and quirk, from the series' embryonic pilot episode in 1989, to its status as an Emmy award-winning show by the time that season five wrapped in 1994. While the series was a huge success in the USA, it was also a cult hit across the globe and its legacy continues into the new millennium.
£13.49
Oxford University Press Inc Brotherhood in Rhythm The Jazz Tap Dancing of the
Book SynopsisA richly detailed history of jazz music and jazz dance, the 20th-Anniversary Edition of Brotherhood in Rhythm brings the Nicholas Brothers' act to life, explaining their significance through a colourful analysis of their eloquent footwork, their full-bodied expressiveness, and the evolution of their style.Trade ReviewThose with limited dance background will find that the book is accessible and offers plentiful photographs throughout...An invaluable resource for those interested in tap dance from the Harlem Renaissance and swing era to bebop. * M. Goldsmith, CHOICE *The Nicholas Brothers! Legends of the dance and blazers of the trail. Thank you, Constance Valis Hill, for sharing their magnificent story once again. * Dulé Hill, Tap Dancer/Actor *The Nicholas Brothers are otherworldly superheroes to me...Hill's book is not only a masterful telling of who they were, but also a testimony to what is possible with an imagination and a commitment to excellence. * Kevin Powell, Poet, Journalist, and Biographer of Tupac Shakur *A peerless jazz-tap biography and an example of dance history writing at its best. * Mindy Aloff, Dance in America (Library of America) *Table of ContentsDedication Foreword to the First Edition Gregory Hines Foreword to the 20th Anniversary Edition Maurice Hines Preface Introduction Acknowledgements 1. Born into Jazz 2. Brothers (1914-1931) 3. Blackbirds in New York (1932-1934) 4. All-Colored Comedy (1934-1936) 5. Babes on Broadway (1936-1938) 6. Class Act and Challenge (1938-1945) 7. Forties Swing, Hollywood Flash (1940-1945) 8. Converging Styles (1942-1945) 9. Swing to Bop (1945-1958) 10. Nostalgia, and All That Jazz (1964-1989) 11. Resurgence (1980-1989) 12. Legacy Notes Glossary Chronology of Performance Bibliography Index
£27.99
John Wiley and Sons Ltd The Crisis of Narration
Book SynopsisNarratives produce the ties that bind us. They create community, eliminate contingency and anchor us in being. And yet in our contemporary information society, where everything has become arbitrary and random, storytelling becomes storyselling and narratives lose their binding force. Whereas narratives create community, storytelling brings forth only a fleeting community – the community of consumers. No amount of storytelling could recreate the fire around which humans gather to tell each other stories. That fire has long since burnt out. It has been replaced by the digital screen, which separates people rather than bringing them together. Through storytelling, capitalism appropriates narrative: stories sell. They are no longer a medium of shared experience. The inflation of storytelling betrays a need to cope with contingency, but storytelling is unable to transform the information society back into a stable narrative community. Rather, storytelling as storyselling is a pathological phenomenon of our age. Byung-Chul Han, one of the most perceptive cultural theorists of contemporary society, dissects this crisis with exceptional insight and flair.Table of ContentsPreface From Narration to InformationThe Poverty of ExperienceThe Narrated LifeBare LifeThe Disenchantment of the WorldFrom Shocks to LikesTheory as NarrativeNarration as HealingNarrative CommunityStoryselling Notes
£12.99
Oxford University Press Inc Creative Health for Pianists Concepts Exercises
Book SynopsisCreative Health for Pianists: Concepts, Exercises & Compositions is a practical method book for musicians of all abilities. It provides a new way of thinking about the piano, emphasizing the pianist-reader''s innate capacity to respond creatively to a musical and technical stimulus. Author and veteran educator Pedro de Alcantara suggests that every pianist, from a complete beginner to a concert artist, may approach the instrument with the frame of mind of an improviser and composer, in which curiosity, inventiveness, and technical skills are inseparable.Throughout the book, original music snippets that encapsulate one or more aspects of piano playing are presented and explained, then developed through tweaks, variations, and compositions of increasing complexity. Every chapter contains variations suited to a complete beginner, as well as musical challenges that will capture the imagination of advanced players. Most chapters contain improvisational prompts and games with step-by-step rules, leading to the development of new creative skills combining musical depth and technical intelligence. Creative Health for Pianists is supported by a dedicated companion website with 48 pedagogical video clips.Trade ReviewThis method from Pedro de Alcantara forms a fantastic repository of tools to address all kinds of fundamental piano requirements in a playful way. In addition to the interest of his compositions, it is his particular approach that attracts me as a pianist and a teacher, because it stimulates creativity and independence and can be adapted to the study of the entire repertoire. By insisting on the need to take time, to listen, and to feel, this method perfects the skills of the pianist, moving away from a purely mechanical approach to one offering the means to train hands and ears in a healthy and creative way. * Lara Erbès, Professor of Piano, Conservatoire de Strasbourg *Pedro de Alcantara's Creative Health for Pianists presents fundamental musical concepts, using imaginative pedagogical tools with clarity, humor, real-life examples, and boundless creativity. His progression from archetype to variation/improvisation to composition, which underlies each chapter, develops the pianist's creative potential, linking mind, soul, ear, and hand. In the course of the book, the reader absorbs new material through the act of fearless creation and the freedom to curate their own, unique learning experience. A highly recommended text! * Vladimir Valjarević, Piano and Piano Pedagogy Faculty, Mannes School of Music; Steinway Artist *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Preface Introduction 1. Dialogue 2. Heartbreak 3. Seesaw 4. Celeste 5. The Circle 6. Gesture 7. Advanced Seesaw 8. Sonic Play 9. Horn Call 10. Mudra Conclusion Appendix: Practicing the Circle of Fifths Resources
£19.99
White Lion Publishing Planet Drag
Book SynopsisTravel to Planet Drag and explore the styles, influences, artists, and events that have made the art of drag so outrageously popular in 15 countries around the world.Exquisitely styled by top drag artists, and with a foreword by Canada’s Drag Race judge Brooke Lynn Hytes, this is the ultimate guide to drag—a glittering, feathered foray into the past and present of this much-loved art form.Gloriously embellished with historical photos along with stylish contemporary shots of some of the world''s biggest drag stars, this is a deep dive into drag’s meteoric rise to the mainstream.The carnival court of drag has exploded and it now holds a fierce place in popular culture. And while Rupaul''s Drag Race does highlight some nuanced differences between national drag styles, there’s a lot more to the story that you don’t know…In this extravagant exploration
£17.60
Hawthorn Press Storytelling with Children
Book SynopsisTelling stories awakens wonder and creates special occasions with children, whether it is bedtime, around the fire or on rainy days. Encouraging you to spin golden tales, Nancy Mellon shows how you can become a confident storyteller and enrich your family with the power of story.
£15.29
The University of Chicago Press Fools Are Everywhere
Book SynopsisTakes us around the world in search of one of the most colorful characters in history - the court jester. This work includes anecdotes, jokes, quotations, epigraphs, and illustrations that shed light on little-known jesters, highlighting their humanizing influence on the head honchos of history.Trade Review"Through anecdotes, historical details, analyses, and commentary, Otto brilliantly delineates the court jester, and quotations and illustrations do much to enhance this eminently readable text." - Library Journal"
£30.40
Skyhorse Publishing Card Tricks: The Royal Road to Card Magic
Book SynopsisWith more than 120 illustrations to accompany instructions to more than 100 tricks, and a new foreword by Steven Cohen, a master of sleight of hand, this edition of Jean Hugard’s classic is an essential edition to any illustionist’s library.If you practice any sort of magic—or plan on giving it a try—you probably know that for most people, card tricks are often the starting point. If you have a deck of cards readily available, as many common households do, the only things required to wow an audience are a little sleight of hand and a magician’s secrets.In spite of the timeless credo “good magicians never reveal their secrets,” renowned magicians Jean Hugard and Frederick Braué generously divulged theirs in Card Tricks: The Royal Road to Card Magic.Published originally in the 1940s, this classic guide contains more than one hundred spectacular tricks allowing anyone to pick up a deck and dazzle an audience—whether their performance is in a theatre, at a party, or even on the street!
£9.64
Simon & Schuster Is This Anything?
Book Synopsis
£16.14
Transworld Publishers Ltd Paul OGradys Country Life
Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA fascinating and hilarious glimpse into Paul''s life at home in the country with his animalsPaul O''Grady''s Country Life for the first time gives a glimpse into the home life of one of Britain's best loved stars, alongside the animals he adores. Sometimes rural idyll, sometimes hell on earth, Paul's life in rural Kent has been shared over the years with some very vocal pigs, a mad cow, various rescued barn owls, the world's most sadistic geese and Christine the psychotic sheep among many other animal waifs and strays. And of course Paul tells the stories of the dogs in his life including the tiny chihuahua/Jack Russell cross with Napoleonic ambitions, Eddie, Miss Olga, Bullseye, Louis, Boycie and, of course, Buster, the greatest canine star since Lassie. In addition, Paul shares some of his favourite recipes, explores country lore and superstitions, and extols the benefits of growing your own vegetables, herbs aTrade ReviewFor the past decade, O'Grady has lived a quiet life in Kent... and he details the change of pace with typical wit and frankness. * Radio Times *
£10.44
Pan Macmillan I'm Just a Person: My year of death, cancer and
Book SynopsisIn the span of four months in 2012, Tig Notaro was hospitalized for a debilitating intestinal disease called C. diff, her mother unexpectedly died, she went through a breakup, and then she was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer. Hit with this devastating barrage, Tig took her grief onstage. Days after receiving her cancer diagnosis, she broke new comedic ground, opening an unvarnished set with the words: 'Good evening. Hello. I have cancer. How are you? Hi, how are you? Is everybody having a good time? I have cancer.' The set instantly went viral, and was ultimately released as Tig's sophomore album, Live, which sold one hundred thousand units in just six weeks and was later nominated for a Grammy.Now, the wildly popular star takes stock of that no good, very bad year - a difficult yet astonishing period in which tragedy turned into absurdity and despair transformed into joy. An inspired combination of the deadpan silliness of her comedy and the open-hearted vulnerability that has emerged in the wake of that dire time, I'm Just a Person is a moving and often hilarious look at this very brave, very funny woman's journey into the darkness and her thrilling return from it.Trade ReviewThe book is heartbreaking, and brilliant, and funny. . . it’s fantastic. * Ellen Degeneres *Notaro's thrilling, candid, and hilarious memoir is a provocative and convincing rallying cry to seize the day * Booklist *I’m Just a Person will make you laugh, or cry, or both. * Marie Claire *Notaro’s story is funny not because it’s true (although it is), but because it’s told by the world-class stand-up with wit and vulnerability. * O Magazine *Anyone who can write a sharply funny-and bravely optimistic-story about losing her mother, going through a break up, and being diagnosed with breast cancer all in the span of four months is an absolute heroine in our book. All hail, Tig Notaro! -- GlamourComedian Tig Notaro takes pain and successfully converts it into laughs in I’m Just a Person… It’s an intriguing and inspiring look at one woman’s way of pressing on * Bustle *I'm Just a Person is Tig's journey in her own words, taking us through the repeated and unexpected heartaches of loss, the awkwardness and humiliation that comes with being ill, and all the social and personal struggles that come with either of those taxing situations. And yet, she has penned a very funny, deeply moving narrative. This isn't emotional torture porn or blandly uplifting treacle; this is hardcore honesty and sincerity told through a hilarious, sardonic lens.Not only is it a terrific, meaningful read, but it was a wonderful guidebook that helped me be there for a friend who endured a similar loss. Knowing what to say and what not to say is just one worthwhile lesson Tig provided amongst all those laughs and poignant words. * Glen Dallas, Manhattan Book Review *A tragedy turned into a thing of beauty * Elle UK *
£8.54
Oro Editions Wisdom of Place Tarot Deck
Book Synopsis
£14.99
Penguin Putnam Inc Rossuns Universal Robot Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisA visionary work of science fiction that introduced the word robotWritten in 1920, premiered in Prague in 1921, and first performed in New York in 1922—garnered worldwide acclaim for its author and popularized the word robot. Mass-produced as efficient laborers to serve man, Capek’s Robots are an android product—they remember everything but think of nothing new. But the Utopian life they provide ultimately lacks meaning, and the humans they serve stop reproducing. When the Robots revolt, killing all but one of their masters, they must strain to learn the secret of self-duplication. It is not until two Robots fall in love and are christened “Adam” and “Eve” by the last surviving human that Nature emerges triumphant.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best woTable of ContentsR.U.R.Introduction by Ivan KlimaR.U.R.CastPrologueAct OneAct TwoAct Three
£13.30
Cornerstone Dear Me
Book SynopsisSir Peter Ustinov's beautifully crafted autobiography is told with exquisite wit and insight. From his birth in April 1921, it spans his extraordinary career as actor, playwright, film star and director, confirming his early belief that he is 'irrevocably betrothed to laughter'.
£10.44
Random House USA Inc Child Bride
Book Synopsis
£15.30
University of California Press Spectacle of Deformity
Book SynopsisIn 1847, during the great age of the freak show, the British periodical Punch bemoaned the public's 'prevailing taste for deformity'. This work argues that far from being purely exploitative, displays of anomalous bodies served a deeper social purpose as they generated popular and scientific debates over the meanings attached to bodily difference.Trade Review"This is a marvelously researched and engagingly written work of history." Bulletin Of The History Of Medicine "Spectacle of Deformity is a detailed and provocative history of the Victorian freak show in Great Britain." Victorian StudiesTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction: Exhibiting Freaks 1. Monstrosity, Masculinity, and Medicine: Reexamining "the Elephant Man" 2. Two Bodies, Two Selves, Two Sexes: Conjoined Twins and "the Double-Bodied Hindoo Boy 3. The Missing Link and the Hairy Belle: Evolution, Imperialism, and "Primitive" Sexuality 4. Aztecs and Earthmen: Declining Civilizations and Dying Races 5. "When the Cannibal King Began to Talk": Performing Race, Class, and Ethnicity Conclusion / The Decline of the Freak Show Notes Bibliography
£56.80
HarperCollins Publishers The House of Hidden Meanings
Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER From international drag superstar and pop culture icon RuPaul, comes his most revealing to datea brutally honest and deeply intimate memoir of growing up Black, poor, and queer in a broken home to discovering the power of performance and self-acceptance.
£10.44
£14.32
Columbia University Press Rasa
Book SynopsisThe third book in a trilogy that includes Seeing the Divine and Hearing the Divine, this book articulates the religious sensibility underlying the traditional performing arts and examines the relationships between the arts and religion in India today.Trade ReviewThis volume is a gem that deserves wide distribution. It is destined to become a classic contribution to the literature on Hinduism and Indian civilization. Choice It thoughtfully explores an aesthetic of great depth and elegance. Dance Magazine This book is clear and accessible for the introductory reader. -- Mythili Kumar Asian Theatre Journal As a writer on dance, Schwartz really shines. -- Martha Ann Selby, University of Texas at Austin Journal of Asian Studies [Rasa] should prove a valuable classroom tool as well as a necessary addition to college libraries. -- Constantina Rhodes Bailly Hindu Studies Recommended to all those needing a sympathetic and intelligent introduction to the Indian performance arts and their appreciation. -- Edwin Gerow Journal of the American Oriental SocietyTable of ContentsPreface Transliteration and Romanization A Taste of Things to Come RASA in Theory: Text and Context A. Etymological Ingredients B. Sources of Inspiration C. A Written Recipe for the Arts D. Influences and Implications RASA in Practice: Drama, Dance, Music A. All The Stage Is But a World B. Dance As Mystery Bharata Natyam Shringara Rasa: What Love Has to Do With It Kathakali Kathak C. Good Taste In Music Transformations In Time And Space Glossary Bibliography
£19.80
Ivan R Dee, Inc Clown Scenes
Book SynopsisThe intimacy of the one-ring circus produced the classic clown routines that flourished until the mid-twentieth century and then disappeared with the rise of the grand circus. They have been lost until now. By seeking out the little band of surviving clowns who worked in the old tradition and setting down their scenes, Tristan Rémy, the eminent circus historian, has rescued a theatrical treasure. Thanks to Rémy’s persistence, the forty-eight scenes presented here contain not only the spoken words but the manner of line delivery and the physical turns. So they remain superbly suitable for performance. Most of them are written for just three actors—the white-faced clown, August the stooge, and the supercilious ringmaster. Sets are unnecessary. And their combination of the verbal with the physical has timeless appeal. Bernard Sahlins’s translation is masterfully attuned to present-day audiences. In his foreword, Mr. Sahlins notes that these scenes have been continually remounted in Europe, attesting to their fundamental vitality and universality. “Clearly there is a debt, witting and unwitting, owed to the clown of the ring by the great comedians of our century. With this book these scenes and the clowns who invented and played them now take their honored place in our theatrical legacy.”Trade ReviewA welcomed translation...a fascinating perspective on the world of clowns. -- Joel Schechter * Theater Magazine *Admirable and essential. -- Don Stacey * World's Fair *
£18.04
Executive Books Great Comedians Talk about Comedy
Book Synopsis
£31.50
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Judy Garlands Judy at Carnegie Hall
Book SynopsisOn the night of Sunday, April 23, 1961 Judy Garland made history. That's no hyperbole. Surrounded by a throng of ecstatic fans (3,165 to be exact), the legendary performer delivered a concert in Carnegie Hall the live recording of which became, upon release, an unlikely pop cultural phenomenon. Judy at Carnegie Hall, the two-disc set that captured all 25 numbers she performed that night, went on to spend more than 70 weeks on the Billboard charts, win four Grammy Awards--including Album of the Year (making it the first live music album and the first album by a female performer to win the category)--and become, in the process, the fastest-selling two-disc set in history. What the recording highlights, and what's made it an enduring classic in a class of its own, is the palpable connection between the songstress and her fans. Indeed, The New York Times reported in its review of the evening's proceedings, what actually was to have been a concert--and was--also turned into soTable of ContentsOverture Judy at Carnegie Hall Side 1 "When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles with You)" Side 2 "The Man That Got Away" Side 3 "Stormy Weather" Side 4 "Over the Rainbow" Encore "After You’ve Gone" Encore II Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography
£9.49
Orion Publishing Co Lets Do It The Authorised Biography of Victoria
Book SynopsisWritten with approval of the help of her family and closest friends - including Julie Walters, Dawn French, Celia Imrie and many others - this is the definitive authorised biography of one of Britain's most talented and loved entertainers: Victoria Wood.Trade ReviewThis utterly absorbing and beautiful book, written with such insight and kindness, moved me hugely' * Julie Walters *Let's Do It is a biography that feels as unflinching and true as it is entertaining and affectionate. Rees pulls off the trick of writing a brilliant tribute while also - somehow, almost - bringing Victoria Wood back to life in all her complicated glory. -- Viv Groskop * GUARDIAN *When I met Victoria I gushed at her and she told me to stop, which was sweet and kind and saved us both! I won't gush now as per her non gushing desires, except to say that I would love people to read this beautiful book about the woman I will be forever grateful for in leading the way for me and other women in comedy and for making my life a jollier one. * Miranda Hart *There was none like her before and there's been none like her since - she was unique... I contributed to the book because I know that Jasper [Rees], who wrote it was a great friend of hers and she trusted him...and I knew that he would respect that... We weren't sitting down to be soft and fluffy about Vic, because Vic was quite spiky, quite demanding, and utterly hilarious. * Dawn French on BBC RADIO 5 LIVE *I remember first watching Victoria Wood when she was on Look North, when she would simply sing a song and play the piano, and knew then she was someone special. Decades later, I saw her show at the Albert Hall and not long after I bumped into her in our local M&S. I started to cry as I told her how amazing she was that night - I had no words for how wonderful she had been. Thankfully Jasper Rees has found the perfect words to convey Victoria's brilliance, in this meticulously researched, immersive and entertaining biography. It is a wonderful tribute to a pioneering entertainer who we all still miss so keenly. * Alison Steadman *An extraordinary, wonderful, rich biography of Victoria Wood - every bit as fascinating, challenging, and brilliant as she was. It is evident that Jasper Rees loves his subject and has been given unprecedented access to Wood's personal and professional archives. He explores Victoria's inspirations and creative processes, celebrating her genius, and never shying away from the tricky stuff. * Nina Stibbe *I love this book. I adored Victoria, and Jasper Rees has almost brought her back to life, so I highly recommend it to all her admirers who miss her desperately. Which is, of course, all of us. * Dame Esther Rantzen *The authorised biography of Victoria Wood by Jasper Rees is great - wonderfully detailed on her creative process, the graft she put in and the mechanics of how she did what she did, but losing none of the warmth and joy of what ended up on screen. Recommended. * Simon Blackwell, writer of VEEP and THE THICK OF IT *You can almost feel him riffling files, rewinding tapes, so carefully is it pieced together. Yet the reward is a 360-degree biography that transforms a beloved entertainer into a real human being, moving about a recognisable world: unhappy family home, provincial theatre, TV studio, celebrity's Highgate terrace, even, heartbreakingly, hospital room. It's a book for fans, of course, but it also documents 40 years of British entertainment, filtered through a life that stretched so much further than a few knackered bras. -- Victoria Segal * SUNDAY TIMES CULTURE *This biographer is the safest of hands, both for helpless fans like me, and to any outsiders who haven't paid attention... It does not feel intrusive because it is so richly fed with the memories of those who properly loved her, and those memories add to the store of lines to treasure... She kept us happy for years herself. I am thankful, for her and for this good biography. Might cry again now. -- Libby Purves * THE TIMES *A smashing biography. He gives a sense of what the real Victoria was like and conveys the unique qualities of her work - and provides a bridge between the two. At one point he says tactfully that the dreadful statue of Victoria in Bury shows "how hard it is to capture in bronze the bounce of her hair and the glow of her smile". At its best, this book does that in prose. -- Jake Kerridge * SUNDAY EXPRESS S MAGAZINE *Rees's biography is a must-read for her fans... This meticulously researched account of her life shows what a loss she is. -- Emma-Lee Potter * DAILY MIRROR *With meticulous thoroughness ... Let's Do It is nearly 600 pages long and copiously footnoted. Rees interviewed Wood frequently in her lifetime, spent two years on research, using Wood's own audio and written notes, and interviewed more than 200 people (from her children and perennial collaborators to occasional accompanists). It shows - this is an immersive, authoritative book... Do it, I urge you, while the mood is right. -- Emma Beddington * THE SPECTATOR *Joyous and revealing... If you're a diehard Wood fan (as I am) you'll find this account of her life wholly engrossing, and it also stands as a wonderful tribute to a pioneering entertainer and her exacting comic genius. -- Caroline Sanderson * THE BOOKSELLER, Editor's Choice *Packed with enlightening anecdotes and revealing interviews with her family and closest friends. A real treat. -- Martin Chilton * INDEPENDENT *This superb biography ensures we can't forget how revolutionary she was. -- Tanya Gold * THE OLDIE *For anyone who loves Victoria Wood, this biography - authorised by her literary estate - is a joy. It paints a rounded portrait of a genuinely nice and kind woman who could also be difficult, scathing, even ruthless. -- Christopher Stevens * DAILY MAIL *Rees is excellent on Wood's long struggle. -- Roger Lewis * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *With exclusive access to Victoria's archive, Rees has produced this fascinating portrait of a comedy genius who became a national treasure. -- Zoe West * WOMAN & HOME *A joyous read. -- Julia Llewellyn Smith * THE MAIL ON SUNDAY *Written with the approval of family and friends this is a biography more than worthy of its much-missed subject. * THE NEW EUROPEAN *Rees's research is wide-ranging and detailed... his analysis is acute and often beautifully articulated. -- Fiona Sturges * I NEWSPAPER *This profile of the astute observer of domesticity is warm-hearted and full of detail. -- Hannah Jane Parkinson * OBSERVER *Impeccable -- Iona McLaren * THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, Books of the Year *A fascinating portrait of a comedy genius who became a national treasure. * WOMAN'S WEEKLY *Exemplary... Despite the memories of laughter it evoked, I was left saddened by the thought that Wood was really making strides into a brilliant second career as a screenwriter and director when illness took her away from us. * Jonathan Coe *
£8.49
Lulu.com ICE COLD
£40.47
Taylor Trade Publishing The Tattooed Lady: A History
Book SynopsisLiving in a time when it was scandalous even to show a bit of ankle, a small number of courageous women covered their bodies in tattoos and traveled the country, performing nearly nude on carnival stages. These gutsy women spun amazing stories for captivated audiences about abductions and forced tattooing at the hands of savages, but little has been shared of their real lives. Though they spawned a cultural movement—almost a quarter of Americans now have tattoos—these women have largely faded into history. The Tattooed Lady uncovers the true stories behind these women, bringing them out of the sideshow realm and into their working class realities. Combining thorough research with more than a hundred historical photos, this updated second edition explores tattoo origins, women's history, circus lore, and includes even more personal and professional details from modern tattooed ladies. A fascinating read, The Tattooed Lady pays tribute to a group of unique and amazing women whose legacy lives on.Trade ReviewThe stories here are fascinating, and Osterud connects this history well to the legacy that now lives on the skin of modern women. * BUST *Table of Contents1 Their Place in Tattoo History 2 The Tattooed Lady 3 The Day the circus Came to Town 4 Choices and Control 5 The Legacy
£13.49
Sarabande Books, Incorporated A Twenty Minute Silence Followed by Applause
Book SynopsisAn Indie Next Pick for July 2017 "7 Best Books of July," Men's Journal "10 Titles to Pick Up Now," O, The Oprah Magazine "Most Anticipated Books of 2017," The Millions "A unique, poetic critical appreciation of Marcel Marceau.... A fascinating book.... Readers will marvel not only at Marceau, but at the book itself, which displays such command of the material and such perfect pitch." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review As a fledgling radio producer, Shawn Wen became fascinated by the one subject who seemed impossible to put on air: French mime Marcel Marceau, the internationally acclaimed “artist of silence.” At the height of his fame, Marceau was synonymous with Bip, the red-lipped, white-faced mute in a sailor suit who conjured scenes, stories, and sweeping emotion through the gestures of his body alone. Influenced by Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp, credited with inspiring Michael Jackson’s Moonwalk, Marceau attempted in his performances to “reveal the fundamental essences of humanity.” Beyond Bip, Marceau was a Jewish Holocaust survivor and member of the French resistance; a bombastic iconoclast; a collector of failed marriages, masks, antique knives and doting fans; an impassioned workaholic who performed into his eighties and died deeply in debt soon after leaving the stage. In precise, jewel-like scenes and vignettes, A Twenty Minute Silence Followed by Applause pays homage to the singular genius of a mostly-forgotten art form. Drawing on interviews, archival research, and meticulously observed performances, Wen translates the gestural language of mime into a lyric written portrait by turns whimsical, melancholic, and haunting.Shawn Wen is a writer, radio producer, and multimedia artist. Her writing has appeared in The New Inquiry, The Seneca Review, The Iowa Review, The White Review, and the anthology City by City: Dispatches from the American Metropolis (Faber and Faber, 2015). Her radio work has been broadcast on This American Life, Freakonomics Radio, and Marketplace. She is the recipient of numerous fellowships, including the Ford Foundation Professional Journalism Training Fellowship and the Royce Fellowship. Trade Review"A unique, poetic critical appreciation of Marcel Marceau. . . . A fascinating book. . . . Readers will marvel not only at Marceau, but at the book itself, which displays such command of the material and such perfect pitch." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Effectively pays homage to both the history of mime and its solitary master, Marcel Marceau. . . . Wen crafts diamond-cut paragraphs that place the reader in Marceau’s enthralled audiences. . . . These invaluable descriptions by a writer versed in the tradition of making the nonvisible vibrant should be read slowly and with the same seemingly effortless focus Marceau gave to his art.” —Booklist, starred review "I had no idea how much I would love a small collection of essays about the famous mime Marcel Marceau until I picked it up. What a gem!" —Liberty Hardy for Book Riot “It isn’t easy to turn a biography into poetry. But Shawn Wen does exactly that with her portrait of mime artist Marcel Marceau, who introduced the world to this wordless art form. Wen, a radio producer and multimedia artist, has written her first book with the kind of poetic zeal that suits an artist who practically created silent cinema on stage. . . . Wen’s evocative writing invites us into the audience to watch the powdered face arch into emotional heights, the body sway against unseen wind. . . . With A Twenty Minutes Silence Followed by Applause, Wen offers an invigorating and memorable paean to Marceau’s talent and tragedies, wrapped in a melodic critique that is unafraid to show the pain of an artist who sometimes felt trapped in a box.” —The Washington Post “Shawn Wen’s debut book, the novella-length essay A Twenty Minute Silence Followed by Applause, is a captivating exercise in style and form. It immortalizes the silent man in words. . . . Wen distills Marceau’s life by allowing his eccentricities, words, life, and work to speak for him. Wen’s admiration for Marceau is most evident in her beautifully wrought descriptions of his best-known performances; these careful renderings and thoughtful observations bring Marceau’s movements to life on the page.” —The Los Angeles Review of Books “Marceau was a case study for Wen’s personal queries of selfhood—what it means to be an adult, what it means to be a good person, or an artist, or both. It was also an exercise in form and its limits and capabilities. . . . Her lyric essays observe the life of Marceau from slanted angles: traces of performance scenes, brief excerpts of his views drawn from interviews, lists of Marceau’s gleaming collections of worldly possessions whose accumulation reflects an emptiness. The terse, often poetic vignettes leave a quality of hauntedness appropriate to someone like Marceau.” —San Francisco Chronicle “[Shawn] Wen’s whimsical ode to Marcel Marceau showcases the performer’s determination to ‘fill the blank spaces’ with a silence that stirs.” —O, The Oprah Magazine, “10 Titles to Pick Up Now” “The book is by turns a journalistic endeavor, an imaginative inroad into the artist’s world, and a history. Like Leslie Jamison, Wen is a rigorous investigator. And like Maggie Nelson, her prose is artful without being precious or gaudy. Throughout, Wen carefully pulls her subject into focus for the reader, even as she acknowledges the contradictions and complications inherent to Marceau’s legacy.” —American Short Fiction “Rare is the book about which one can say, in earnest, ‘I’ve never read anything like this before,’ yet with A Twenty Minute Silence Followed by Applause, Shawn Wen has written such a book. From its idiosyncratic area of interest to its chameleonic formal modalities, Applause resists easy categorization at every turn, and this is one of its many strengths. What begins as an inviting and imaginative gesture toward a biography of the mime Marcel Marceau branches out into a broader consideration, at turns lyrical and philosophical, of the conflict that exists between silence and language. . . . a truly magnificent debut.” —Kirkus Reviews, feature profile “Wen . . . provides powerful words to fill in for all the silences [Marceau] nevertheless left behind. A standard biography would have crushed the subtlety of his performances. Instead, Wen’s range of approaches mirror performance pieces that call for their own applause.” —Signature "Wen offers us an experimental book-length essay on the renowned mime Marcel Marceau, playing with form much as Marceau played with human expression." —The International Examiner "With great rigor and a feeling patience, [Wen] writes into the empty space created by Marceau’s wheeling arms, his gesturing eyes, his open and soundless mouth." —Jezebel “Artist and radio producer Wen’s first book is about one of the most fascinating performance artists of the last century: French mime Marcel Marceau, known for his ‘Bip the Clown’ persona. Wen uses videos of Marceau’s performances, as well as interviews with him, to pay tribute to the enigmatic actor and Holocaust survivor.” —Men’s Journal, “The Seven Best Books of July” “Amazing . . . Sarabande knew I wanted a book about Marcel Marceau before I did.” —Liberty Hardy, BookRiot editor and judge for Book of the Month Club “Wen...unfold[s] the mime's most powerful revelations about humanity. She may redefine mime for you, just as this little volume redefines terms like poetry, prose, biography, and book...Wen is infusing every word with as much power as Marceau used in each muscle to mime.” —Indy Week, online, "Shawn Wen's Unorthodox Book About Mime Somehow Gives Voice to the Eloquent Silence of Marcel Marceau" "As in the work of Marcel Marceau, Shawn Wen crafts a language of silence and absence around the life of her subject to give a much richer picture of a true and unusual talent. These are essays as pantomime, drawing readers in to reveal work of simple and delicate elegance, executed with the utmost precision.” —Jarrod Annis, Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY “Wen uses the omnivorous form of the essay to full effect in this elegant, winsome biography of the iconic mime Marcel Marceau. Through an intricately structured series of scenes, lists, quotes, and breathy meditations on the body and voice, Marceau comes alive on the page: dancing with an unseen woman, ducking bullets on a silent battlefield. ‘He is not exactly a comedian,’ Wen writes. ‘Not a tragedian. He swings between these two poles.’ Between those poles, and between the covers of this deceptively slim volume, the full range of human emotion is splayed and felt.” —Mairead Stead, Literati Bookstore, Ann Arbor, MI “If you’re into elliptical meditations on silence, performance, the weirdness of bodies, and loss, this is the book for you.” —Stephen Sparks, Point Reyes Books, Point Reyes Station, CA “A Twenty Minute Silence Followed by Applause is as mesmerizing as a performance from Marceau himself. With perfect concision and vivid prose, Wen depicts a legend with humor, empathy, and keen observation. I loved this book.” —Katie Eelman, Papercuts J.P., Boston, MA “Shawn Wen’s book isn’t just an exploration of the unique genius of Marcel Marceau, but also of how performers, writers, and other artists shape the space of our thoughts. Wen dives through one of the most misunderstood forms of performance to reach for more fundamental ideas of how and why we try to communicate with each other. A strange and beguiling book.” —Josh Cook, Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA "Shawn Wen’s A Twenty Minute Silence Followed By Applause is a loving tribute to a most untranslatable figure: Marcel Marceau, the mime who defined his art for the 20th century. A connoisseur of silence who could out-talk Studs Terkel, a world-famous performer who felt like a failure, Marceau presents contradictions that make him hard to grasp, but these nimble essays rise to the task beautifully. You don’t need to know anything about mime, or Marceau, to appreciate Wen’s lyrical and innovative take on biography." —Travis Smith, Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, NC "A Twenty Minute Silence Followed by Applause is the sort of book that makes every line feel like a revelation. A meditation on the French mime Marcel Marceau, Wen weaves a mixture of poetry and journalism to create a beautiful look at a misunderstood art. Reminiscent of Maggie Nelson and Sarah Manguso, Shawn Wen is a an exciting and talented new voice." —Emily Baillaine, Green Apple Books on the Park, San Francisco, CA "If writing about music is like dancing about architecture, then what is writing about mime like? In Shawn Wen's capable hands, it can be descriptive and fresh, aphoristically wise, and artfully somber. Whether Wen's animating, with her precise words, the motions of Marcel Marceau's famous stage persona ("Bip the Clown"), or spotlighting his private life through lists of his holdings, or revealing scraps of speech (interview answers, commercial transcripts, his advocacy for fencing as a "school of humility," or his belief that Michael Jackson had "the soul of a mime"), A Twenty Minute Silence Followed by Applause rivets and rewards its reader. Read it to learn a new kind of body language, from an exciting writer worth watching." —John Francisconi, Bank Square Books, Mystic, CT “Intellectually agile and tenderly imagined, Shawn Wen’s incandescent essay reminds readers that writing is gesture, that movement is a language of thought, and that the union of the two is a thing of beauty.” —Alexandra Kleeman, author of You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine “Like pulling a ghost from a dark room, this is an accomplished work of historical portraiture: precise in its objects, complex in its melancholy, and insightful in its humor.” —Thalia Field, author of Experimental Animals “In A Twenty Minute Silence Followed By Applause, Shawn Wen draws a portrait of Marcel Marceau that is equal parts heart breaking and delightful. Her poetic and tender prose gorgeously captures the man whose body and life were inextricable from his art, an art written by silence. The play of the mime through Wen’s loving gaze becomes the play of us all as we live, and love, and like him, eventually pass off the stage into our own ultimate quiet.” —Hannah Lillith Assadi, author of Sonora “Shawn Wen has written a surprising, impressionistic portrait of a man who was among the best-known artists of his day.” —Nancy Updike, producer, This American Life "A Twenty Minute Silence Followed by Applause. . . establishes critic Shawn Wen as [a] strong new voice in literature." —FanzineTable of ContentsTable of Contents Why this black box? Young Marceau Mangel Pedagogy Bip is born Scene 1 Bip the soldier Genealogy Scene 2 Bip, great star of the traveling circus M. on speech M. on Marceau The empty stage is a universe! Bip at a society party Collections: Work-related reading M. on America, 1955 Scene 4 Bip plays David and Goliath M. on the connective tissues M. on his own Scene 5 Bip attempts suicide M. on boundaries and borders Scene 6 Bip, the Bullfighter M. on man's modern problems M. on Chaplin Marceau's show returns in fragments? Scene 7 Bip as skater and spectator M. on Chaplin II Collections: Reading for a well-rounded education Scene 8 Scene 9 Scene 10 Time passes? M. interacts with fans M. on mastering one's feelings Collections: items from Japan Collections: knives Collections: miscellaneous Collections: icons Pierre Verry But remember? M. on failure M. on technology Bip as sleek creature of the deep Scene 11 Collections: masks Collections: zoomorphe M. on video Scene 12 Camille on M. Collections: ancient dolls Collections: paintings M. versus M. Collections: Japanese dolls Scene 13 An interview "Marcel Marceau has no private life." Scene 14 A twenty minute silence followed by applause Other works Clive Barnes on materialism Scene 15 Seeing is a way? M. writes about M. Bip the stoic Scene 16 Collections: clocks You are ever the beholder? M. on most mimes Collections: performing dolls Collections: sacred dolls M. on the king of pop "It was the winter of-" M. on Theriensenstadt From Marcel and Me... Collections: the furniture Collections: the boxes Critics on aging Scene 17 Bip hunting butterflies Bip gets left behind M. on aging Pere Lachaise Cemetery Collections: pleasure reading Collections: silverware Collections: Roman tableware from the 2nd century After M. M. on the truth Scene 18
£12.34
The Squeeze Press Every Trick in the Book
Book Synopsis
£12.34
Transworld Publishers Ltd Tricks Of The Mind
Book SynopsisDerren Brown's television and stage performances have entranced and dumbfounded millions. His baffling illusions and stunning set pieces - such as The Seance, Russian Roulette and The Heist - have set new standards of what's possible, as well as causing more than their fair share of controversy. Now, for the first time, he reveals the secrets behind his craft, what makes him tick and just why he grew that beard. Tricks of the Mind takes you on a journey into the structure and pyschology of magic. Derren teaches you how to read clues in people's behaviour and spot liars. He discusses the whys and wherefores of hypnosis and shows how to do it. And he investigates the power of suggestion and how you can massively improve your memory. He also takes a long hard look at the paranormal industry and why some of us feel the need to believe in it in the first place. Alternately hilarious, controversial and challenging, Tricks of the Mind is essential reading for Derren's legions of fans, and pretty bloody irresistible even if you don't like him that much...HIS NEW BOOK, A LITTLE HAPPIER: NOTES FOR REASSURANCE IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW.Trade ReviewTricks of the Mind exposes Derren Brown as a master manipulator, with not a cauldron or genie in sight * New Statesman *Clearly the best dinner party guest in history - he's either a balls-out con artist or the scariest man in Britain -- Charlie Brooker * Guardian *If you see anybody with this book, go the other way -- Hilary Mantel * Guardian *Lifting the lid on some of the darkests secrets from the world of magic, Derren reveals with brutal honesty how some tricks work, how to perfect particular techniques and how to spot lies through people's behaviour. You'll be reading minds in no time! **** * OK! *Will delight anyone with an interest in the weirder things people think and they they think them * Independent on Sunday *
£10.44
Rethink Press The Serious Guide to Joke Writing: How To Say
Book SynopsisYou hold in your hands the key to unlocking your inner comedy genius. This comprehensive joke writing masterclass has been devised for beginners and experienced joke writers alike. The techniques you will learn can be used again and again to write funny and original material for stand-up comedy, speeches, political satire, monologues, TV, stage & radio, witty articles and blogs, comedy sketches, sitcom scripts, cartoons & comic-strips and business presentations. When you read this book you will discover: Simple yet powerful ways to write hilarious material on any subject Insider tricks professionals use to get going and keep going Where jokes really come from and why this makes writing easier Techniques for creating simple puns and wordplay for laughs How to tap into a continuous stream of comedy consciousness Creative tools such as Joke-Webbing and the Hadron Joke Collider How to mine newspapers and headlines for topical comedy gold Ways to take jokes in weird and wonderful directions with surrealism How to hone your jokes to maximise laughs and minimise memorisation
£10.80
