Other performing arts Books

Book SynopsisThe global rise of festival culture and experience has taken over that which used to merely be events. The Cambridge Companion to International Theatre Festivals provides an up-to-date, contextualized account of the worldwide reach and impact of the ''festivalization'' of culture. It introduces new methodologies for the study of the global network of theatre production using digital humanities, raises questions about how alternative origin stories might impact the study of festivals, investigates the festivalized production of space in the world''s ''Festival Cities'', and re-examines the social role and cultural work of twenty-first-century theatre, performance, and multi-arts festivals. With chapters on festivals in Africa, Asia, Australia, the Arab world, the francophone world, Europe, North America, and Latin America it analyses festivals as sites of intercultural negotiation and exchange.Trade Review'… a well-researched and well written Companion that provides a necessary overview of the current landscape of international performing arts festivals within an engaged critical conversation.' Azadeh Sharifi, Performance ResearchTable of ContentsIntroduction Ric Knowles; Part I. Contexts and Methods: 1. From post-war to 'Second Wave': international performing arts festivals Keren Zaiontz; 2. International festivals, the practice of coproduction, and the challenges for documentation in a digital age Alexandra Portmann; 3. City festivals and festival cities Marjana Johansson; 4. Indigenous festivals Ric Knowles; Part II. International Festivals around the Globe: 5. European festivals Erika Fischer-Lichte; 6. International theatre festivals in the United Kingdom: the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as model neoliberal market Jen Harvie; 7. Under the radar festival, New York: experimental, urban, and global Carol Martin; 8. The Australian festival network Sarah Thomasson; 9. Theatre festivals in post-Arab Spring countries Khalid Amine; 10. Staging East Africa through global exchange: the Kampala International Theatre Festival Julia Goldstein; 11. The National Arts Festival in Grahamstown: culture, economics, and race in South Africa Loren Kruger; 12. Reckoning with historical conflicts in East Asian theatre festivals: the BeSeTo Theatre Festival and Gwangju Media Arts Festival Hayana Kim; 13. Festivals in the francophone world as sites of cultural struggle Emily Sahakian; 14. International festivals in Latin America: festival Santiago a Mil and Festival Internacional de Buenos Aires Jean Graham-Jones; 15. RUTAS | ROUTES: a festival commons of hemispheric interculturalidad Natalie Alvarez; Index.

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Book SynopsisThe seeds of irreverent humour that inspired the likes of Wayne and Shuster and Monty Python were sown in the trenches of the First World War, and The Dumbellsâconcert parties made up of fighting soldiersâwere central to this process. Soldiers of Song tells their story. Lucky soldiers who could sing a song, perform a skit, or pass as a "lady," were taken from the line and put onstage for the benefit of their soldier-audiences. The intent was to bolster morale and thereby help soldiers survive the war. The Dumbells' popularity was not limited to troop shows along the trenches. The group also managed a run in London's West End and became the first ever Canadian production to score a hit on Broadway. Touring Canada for some twelve years after the war, the Dumbells became a household name and made more than twenty-five audio recordings. If nationhood was won on the crest of Vimy Ridge, it was the Dumbells who provided the country with its earliest soundtrack. Pioneers of sketch comedy, the Dumbells are as important to the history of Canadian theatre as they are to the cultural history of early-twentieth-century Canada.Trade Review"The Great War is remembered as a terrible and senseless conflict where a generation was put through the sausage-grinder of stalemate and slaughter. Nine million were killed, including more than sixty thousand Canadians. The civilian soldiers who formed the ranks of all armies suffered under terrible strain, but they found coping mechanisms in the midst of destruction. Laughter, humour, pranks, and songs helped them to endure. Meanwhile, behind the lines, concert and theatre groups offered humourous skits and performances to bolster morale. In Soldiers of Song Jason Wilson has produced a groundbreaking study of these concert parties, with a focus on the most successful of them, the Dumbells. Wilson, a scholar and two-time Juno Award nominee, has researched deeply to unearth and reconstruct the popular songs, irreverent jokes, and cutting barbs directed against the war effort, generals, and the enemy. His work reminds us that the more than 450,000 civilian soldiers who served overseas came from all professions, including actors, comics, and musicians, and that they too contributed to winning the war." -- Tim Cook -- Canada's History"Jason Wilson, an accomplished musician who has authored three previous books on Canadian history and culture, has written an outstanding book on the musical entertainment for Canadian soldiers during the First World War. Soldiers of Song discusses the Canadian 'concert parties' that performed during and after the war, with a focus primarily on the most well-known show, the Dumbells.... I was impressed by the author's ability to balance an historical approach with cultural analysis. This is in contrast to earlier works on concert parties, which are more descriptive. The author's extensive use of primary materials also makes the book a useful historical source on early-twentieth-century Canadian popular music.... Soldiers of Song is a valuable and insightful survey of wartime entertainment that also sheds light on Canadian music theatre of the early twentieth century. Reproductions of photographs of performers and performances are interspersed throughout, and there is an extensive list of sources and acknowledgements. Completing the presentation are nine appendices detailing the personalities, performances, and publication histories of the most prominent Canadian concert parties." -- Sean Luyk, University of Alberta -- CAML Review"This rich cultural study details how Canada's long music hall tradition strengthened morale on the Western Front. This isn't always a nostalgic view, for the performances mirrored the racism as well as the moral and gendered ambiguities of the age. But the Dumbells' humour nurtured a style that anticipated The Wayne and Shuster Hour, Monty Python, even Saturday Night Live. From these pages one can almost hear the songs and laughter of a generation at war." -- Geoff Hayes, University of Waterloo, co-editor (with Mike Bechthold and Matt Symes) of Canada and the Second World War: Essays in Honour of Terry Copp"Jason Wilson has written a vivid account of one of the most colourful chapters in Canada's history. He has unearthed a great story, which despite its significance has been almost forgotten. He captures the mixture of song, laughter, bravery, and gallows humour with which the Dumbells buoyed the spirits of Canadian soldiers during the Great War as they struggled with the appalling realities of trench warfare. In their wartime and postwar appearances, the Dumbells contributed notably to the development of a Canadian style and a Canadian national spirit." -- Thomas H.B. Symons, C.C., O.Ont., FRSC, founding president of Trent University and chair of the Ontario Heritage Trust"In this fascinating study ... we are shown how, as the war continued, the traditional content based on the Music Hall led to a growth in the darker side of comedy which arose from the trench experience.... This most enjoyable book is a welcome addition to our knowledge of the everyday life at the Front." -- Bob Wyatt -- The Western Front Association Stand To!Table of ContentsTable of Contents for Soldiers of Song: The Dumbells and Other Canadian Concert Parties of the First World War , by Jason Wilson List of Figures I Introduction II The Music Hall and Beyond III In the Interest of Morale: The Dumbells and the Development of the Canadian Concert Party IV Only a Soldier Knows: The War and Humour V The Canadian Concert-Party Experience VI The Dumbells in Peace Notes on Sources and Acknowledgements Appendices A Dramatis Personae : CEF Concert-Party Entertainers of WWI B Notable Concert Parties of the CEF and BEF C Important Casts of the CEF Concert Parties D Postwar Concert Party Revues E North American Tour Itineraries F Catalogue of Dumbells Sheet Music G Catalogue of Dumbells-Related Music H Miscellaneous Songs I Important British Music-Hall Revues Notes Bibliography Index

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