Theatre direction and production Books

Book SynopsisIn The Viewpoints Book, first published in the United States, acclaimed theatre directors Anne Bogart and Tina Landau introduce the history, terminology and philosophy of Viewpoints, and offer a step-by-step recipe for using it as both a training tool and a rehearsal technique. Viewpoints is a technique of improvisation that grew out of the post-modern dance world, allowing actors to learn to function spontaneously and intuitively. It was first articulated by choreographer Mary Overlie, whose ideas have been expanded and developed by Anne Bogart and Tina Landau, adapting them for the use of actors. Over the last twenty years, Viewpoints has ignited the imaginations of actors, directors, designers, choreographers, dramaturgs and writers. It is taught all over the world and used by countless theatre-makers in the rehearsal process to develop flexibility, articulation and strength in movement, and to enrich ensemble playing. An invaluable resource for theatre-makers, as well as for anyone with an interest in collaboration and the creative process, whether in art, business or daily life. 'Viewpoints is timeless – a system belonging to the natural principles of movement, time and space. It is a philosophy translated into a technique for training performers, building ensemble, and creating movement for the stage' Anne Bogart and Tina LandauTrade Review'An extremely good book that offers a lot to anyone seeking to create an exciting new unit for their drama curriculum or add more focus to rehearsals' * Drama Research *'The first comprehensive manual for training actors in the Viewpoints system... this isn't just a book of exercises; there is a clearly defined, suggested pattern of training to introduce the principles of Viewpoints and gradually build up the knowledge and skills of the methods it uses... very thorough and clear' * British Theatre Guide *Table of ContentsPREFACE by the authors CHAPTER 1: A History of Viewpoints and Composition CHAPTER 2: Viewpoints and Composition: What Are They? CHAPTER 3: Viewpoints and Composition in Contemporary Theater CHAPTER 4: How to Begin? CHAPTER 5: Introducing the Individual Viewpoints CHAPTER 6: Putting the Individual Viewpoints Together CHAPTER 7: Group Improvisations CHAPTER 8: Working with Music CHAPTER 9: Starting to Speak CHAPTER 10: Viewpoints in Rehearsal CHAPTER 11: Introducing Composition CHAPTER 12: Composition Toward Making Original Work CHAPTER 13: Composition Toward Rehearsing a Play CHAPTER 14: Composition as Practice and Additional Recipes CHAPTER 15: How to Discuss Composition Work in a Group CHAPTER 16: Composition and Related Arts CHAPTER 17: Viewpoints in Unexpected Places AFTERWORD Working with SITI Company By Anne Bogart Working with the Steppenwolf Ensemble, or An Old Dog Learning New Tricks By Tina Landau BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Book SynopsisA revised and updated edition of Declan Donnellan's bestselling book, a fresh and radical approach to acting by a world-famous director. 'Cuts open every generalisation about acting and draws out gleamingly fresh specifics' Peter Brook 'Explains Donnellan's highly practical system and sheds unique light on one of the greatest directors of acting in our time' Le Monde 'Hugely practical and never gets lost in theory' El Pais 'A gripping read, as acute about the psychology of lying as it is about the art of acting' Guardian 'Rooted in modern theatre, modern psychology and, above all, modern reality' Izvestia 'Unpretentious, straightforward, and pierced with acute insight' KommersantTrade Review"'Cuts open every generalisation about acting and draws out gleamingly fresh specifics' Peter Brook 'Explains Donnellan's highly practical system and sheds unique light on one of the greatest directors of acting in our time.' Le Monde 'Hugely practical and never gets lost in theory' El Pais 'A gripping read, as acute about the psychology of lying as it is about the art of acting.' Guardian 'Comes from the heart of his own experience: actors' blocks are dismembered lethally and with infectious relish' Alan Rickman 'Brilliantly direct: exhilarating to read and - more importantly - to put into practice' Joseph Fiennes"

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Book SynopsisA practical guide to creating successful immersive theatre productions, by an experienced theatre-maker and practitioner. Placing the audience at the heart of a production – not as passive bystanders but as active participants – is the impetus behind the hugely varied work of leading immersive theatre companies such as Punchdrunk, OneOhOne and Hobo Theatre. Done well, it can generate powerful, gut-level emotional effects that will long outlast the production itself. Creating Worlds offers a step-by-step breakdown of the entire journey towards making an immersive theatre production, and covers everything you need to consider, including: Deciding what kind of production you want to make, and the ‘mission statement’ for your piece Understanding and anticipating audience behaviour Planning and influencing journeys through the space Balancing interaction with narrative Giving your audience an active role, and navigating the thin line between free will and uncontrolled chaos Managing complex rehearsals, and preparing your cast for the unexpected Extending the audience experience outside of the performance Generating innovative ideas and tactics for marketing your production Throughout the book, Jason Warren draws on his own experiences of creating immersive theatre work in a variety of styles and settings. Also included is a glossary of key terms, and a schedule to help you make the most of your rehearsal period. An essential how-to guide for theatre-makers, artists, students and teachers who want to create their own immersive theatre, Creating Worlds is also a fascinating read for those interested in the inspirations and ideas that fuel the performances they love. ‘The joy of working in this field is that there is so much left to discover… my aim with this book is to help you craft your own beliefs on what makes good immersive theatre – and to create responsive and rich worlds of your own.’ Jason WarrenTrade Review'This book is very much an encourager and enabler of ideas... Jason Warren's writing style is clear, full of vim and often with a light sense of humour. He brilliantly explores and categories the various elements that go into making many forms of immersive work... incredibly useful both for practitioners new to immersive work but also for those who have staged such work in the past... a fantastically insightful and clear exploration of the mechanics of immersive performance and one which bears repeat reading before and during a making process' * Drama Magazine *'A valuable guide… the advice given is judicious and constructive' * Word Matters - Journal of the Society of Teachers of Speech and Drama *'Jason Warren's exceptional introduction to the world of immersive theatre creation is an essential starting point. This book is a must have for any drama library… a brilliant guidebook that simplifies terminology for students and makes the impossible seem possible' * Teaching Drama Magazine *

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Book SynopsisI'm really looking forward to robbing this bank!Mischief's smash-and-grab hit The Comedy About A Bank Robbery is a fast, fabulous comedy caper and the funniest show in the West End! Summer 1958. Minneapolis City Bank has been entrusted with a priceless diamond. An escaped convict is dead set on pocketing the gem with the help of his screwball sidekick, trickster girlfriend and the maintenance man. With mistaken identities, love triangles and hidden agendas, even the most reputable can't be trusted. In a town where everyone's a crook, who will end up bagging the jewel?Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, the creators of the Olivier Award-winning Best New Comedy The Play That Goes Wrong and Peter Pan Goes Wrong, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery opened at the Criterion Theatre in London's West End in April 2016.The best new comedy to open straight into the West End in decades'Time OutThrilling and daringly inveTrade Review‘This is the funniest show in town’ * The Telegraph *Fast and fabulous comedy caper is a joyful night out * The Times *The team behind ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ hit the funnybone again...The best new comedy to open straight into the West End in decades * Time Out *Thrilling and daringly inventive...This lung-bustingly funny play is just what the therapist ordered * The Guardian *

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Book SynopsisAs part of the ever-growing, increasingly popular Drama Games series, Jessica Swale returns with another dip-in, flick-through, quick-fire resource book, packed with dozens of drama games that can be used in the process of devising theatre. The games will be invaluable to directors and theatre companies at all levels who are creating new pieces of theatre from scratch and need lively, dynamic games to fire the imagination. They will particularly appeal to school, youth theatre and community groups where devising is a growing trend – and a core element of the drama curriculum. Written with clear instructions on How to Play, notes on the Aim of the Game, and illuminating examples from professional productions, the games cover every aspect of the devising process and develop all the skills required: generating ideas, creating characters and scenarios, using stimuli, structuring the piece, and creating an ensemble. Mike Leigh, the most dedicated and celebrated creator of devised work, hails the book in his foreword as 'highly original and massively useful'. 'A remarkable compendium of games and exercises… a lively starting point for rich invention' Mike Leigh, from his ForewordTrade Review'Very useful' * British Theatre Guide *'This new volume is packed full of activities to help the work of teachers, as well as directors.. Any drama teacher, youth leader or play director seeking to develop skills in text-free environments is likely to find practical inspiration here' * Teaching Drama *'A brilliant collection of starting points and structures that can be used again and again' * DramaResource.com *'A book which fairly fizzes with ideas' * The Stage *

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Book SynopsisWhat is artistic resonance and how can it be linked to one''s life and one''s art? This latest book of essays from legendary theatre director Anne Bogart, considers the creation of resonance in the artistic endeavour, with a focus on the performing arts. The word ''resonance'' comes from the Latin meaning to ''re-sound'' or ''sound together''. From music to physics, resonance is a common thread that evokes a response and, in general, is understood as a quality that makes something personally meaningful and valuable.For Bogart, curiosity is a key personal quality to be nurtured throughout life and that very same curiosity, as an artist, thinker and human being. Creating pathways between performance theory, art history, neuroscience, music, architecture and the visual arts, and consistently forging new thought-paths, the writing draws upon Anne Bogart''s own life and artistic journeys to illuminate potent philosophical ideas. Woven with personal anecdotes, stories and reflections,Trade ReviewThis optimistic and brilliantly erudite book is essential reading for any serious theatre maker emerging from the pandemic in search of a new road map for theatre practice. Beautiful, fierce and inspiring - a love letter to the future. * Katie Mitchell, director *

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Book Synopsis''Even more thrilling than the plot is the atmosphere of shuddering suspense . . . No one brews it better than Agatha Christie'' Daily ExpressFor more than 70 years, Agatha Christie''s The Mousetrap has kept millions of people, from every corner of the globe, on the edge of their seats, and it continues to be a sell-out hit of London theatre. This brand new edition of the world''s longest-running play contains a new introduction by Sophie Hannah, bestselling author of the authorised Agatha Christie Poirot continuation novels, as well as the official play script and a host of exclusive material from the show''s archives. As news spreads of a murder in London, a group of seven strangers find themselves in a remote countryside guesthouse. When a police sergeant arrives, the guests discover - to their horror - that a killer is in their midst. One by one, the suspicious characters reveal their sordid pasts. Which one is the murderer? Who will be th

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Book SynopsisTHE TIMES'' BEST BOOKS OF THE YEARThis book charts the personal and professional journey of Greg Doran, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 2012 until 2022 and one of the great Shakespearians of his generation (Sunday Times). During his illustrious career, Doran has directed or produced all of the plays within Shakespeare''s First Folio -- a milestone reached in the same year that the world celebrates the 400th anniversary of its original publication. Each chapter looks at a different play, considering the choices made and weaving in both autobiographical detail and background on the RSC, as well as giving insights into key collaborations, including those with actors such as Judi Dench, David Tennant, Harriet Walter, Patrick Stewart, Simon Russell Beale, Paterson Joseph and Doran''s husband, the late Antony Sher, as well as seminal practitioners such as Cicely Berry, John Barton and Terry Hands. The book also includes 16 stri

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Book Synopsis'Only what is open and searching is active and alive. You, the actor, must learn to find security in insecurity, certainty in uncertainty, to trust that this will lead to discovery and growth.' In What Actors Do, revered theatre director Mike Alfreds explores the wellspring of the actor's craft, tracing a pathway to creative freedom through the thickets of competing methodologies and confusing paradoxes that you will face throughout your training and career. How do you give life to a character that both is and isn't yourself? How can you be childlike and open in your work without becoming childish? How, when you know what's coming next, can you still be spontaneous? Frank, uncompromising and full of sharply focused insights, this book will help you strip away the inhibitions and habitual thinking that can shackle our imaginations. It will show you how to generate truthful performances by trusting your inner creativity and remaining radically open, responsive and present in every moment. Mike Alfreds has been directing plays for more than seventy years. In the 1970s he founded Shared Experience, and has since worked for the National Theatre, Shakespeare's Globe, the Royal Shakespeare Company and also extensively abroad. He is hugely respected within the profession, and is the author of two previous books, Different Every Night and Then What Happens? 'If I was allowed to train again to be an actor, but I was only allowed one teacher, it would have to be Mike Alfreds. To me he is a genius when it comes to acting and storytelling' Mark Rylance

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Book SynopsisA practical, hands-on guide - for actors, directors, teachers and students - to Brecht's theory and practice of theatre, with a full set of exercises to help put theory into practice. The Complete Brecht Toolkit examines, one by one, Brecht's many, sometimes contradictory ideas about theatre - and how he put them into practice. Here are explanations of all the famous key terms, such as Alienation Effect, Epic Theatre and Gestus, as well as many others which go to make up what we think of as 'Brechtian theatre'. The book also explores the practical application of these theories in Acting, Language, Music, Design and Direction. Also included are fifty exercises contributed by Julian Jones, to help student actors investigate Brecht's ideas for themselves, becoming thoroughly familiar with the tools in the Brecht toolkit.Trade Review'a useful, refreshing, no-nonsense introduction to a practitioner who can be contradictory and is often misunderstood' * The Stage *'[a] major and brilliant achievement... exemplary clarity and concision... honour[s] the complexity of Brecht while providing a valuable addition to the literature aimed at exploring and explaining this key figure. I highly recommend this book to you' * Drama magazine *'a thorough yet crystal clear explanation of Brecht's more complicated techniques and ideas' * Teaching Drama Magazine *'one of the best introductory books on Brecht currently in circulation... Unwin [presents] the theoretical and practical ideas of Bertolt Brecht in a clear, concise and connected way so that students and practitioners may consider the importance of his work in the twenty-first century.' * A Younger Theatre *

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Book SynopsisI can tell the difference between who I am and a side effect.The Effect is a clinical romance. Two young volunteers, Tristan and Connie, agree to take part in a clinical drug trial. Succumbing to the gravitational pull of attraction and love, however, Tristan and Connie manage to throw the trial off-course, much to the frustration of the clinicians involved. This funny, moving and perhaps surprisingly human play explores questions of sanity, neurology and the limits of medicine, alongside ideas of fate, loyalty and the inevitability of physical attraction.Following on from the critical and commercial success of Enron, The Effect offers a vibrant theatrical exploration into the human brain via the heart. It received its world premiere at the National Theatre''s Cottesloe Theatre in November 2012, starring Billie Piper and Jonjo O''Neill. It is published here in the Modern Classics series alongside an introduction by Miriam Gillinson.Trade ReviewLucy Prebble is a playwright blessed with an exceptionally fine mind . . . the play struck me as being both wise and sane, raising more questions than it answers, to be sure, but that seems a sign of integrity in a work dealing with such a complex subject. But what makes The Effect so special, is that as well as being a play of ideas, it is also deeply moving, both in its depiction of the giddy wonder of love, and also in its account of the terrifying wasteland of depression itself . . . The Effect is an astonishingly rich and rewarding play, as intelligent as it is deeply felt. * Daily Telegraph *Lucy Prebble’s follow-up to Enron is a scintillating exploration of the clash between scientific advance and human impulse … it demonstrates the same vivid, provocative intelligence * Financial Times *This four-hander brings the author's agile wit, intellectual penetration and a fresh, deeply affecting empathy to bear on a fundamentally much more complex topic than finance: brain chemistry and what it can – and cannot – tell us about the causes of severe depression and the experience of being in love … This is a provocative and challenging play … it ends in edgy gesture of good sense that made me feel like cheering. * Independent *After her hit with Enron, Lucy Prebble turns to medicine and the mind - to great effect ... The Effect is a four-hander that hopscotches confidently across themes of neurology, psychopharmacology, depression, love and guilt . . . The Effect moves you to thought, sometimes to strong feeling. * Sunday Times *Prebble has written a profound and stirring play. The material is complex but always accessible, the drama serious and informative yet deeply human, with the odd jolt of piercing humour. The Effect confirms her as one of the most intelligent voices in British theatre. * Evening Standard *Incisive dialogue . . . Prebble really researches and the range of her subjects suggests she will have a long theatrical life * Observer *The Effect is a headlong delve into the mysteries of the human brain. And Prebble pulls it off with assurance, tickling our cerebellums in the first half, before tugging on our heartstrings in the second . . . heartbreaking . . . [it has] a heart as well as a brain. * Time Out *Lucy Prebble's absorbing drama, a hit . . . Taut, intelligent * The Times *This is a knotty drama, dealing with scientific objectivity, guilt, the mysteries of the human heart and brain and what makes us who we are, wrapped up in a deceptively simple and constantly entertaining package. * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisMany theatre practitioners think of physical theatre as one thing and text-based theatre as another. In this book, Dymphna Callery, author of Through the Body: A Practical Guide to Physical Theatre, shows how exercises and rehearsal techniques associated with physical and devised theatre can be applied to scripted plays. Working ‘through the body’ enables performers to discover what really makes a play work. Drawing on key practitioners, including Jacques Lecoq, Joan Littlewood, Peter Brook and Simon McBurney, The Active Text offers a complete approach to working with a scripted play, leading the reader through a process of active exploration and experimentation that includes: Uncovering a play’s internal dynamics Using improvisation and theatre games Exploiting the languages of the body Getting inside the words that are spoken (as well as those that aren’t!) Discovering image structures Understanding the impact on the audience Throughout the book, the author draws on a core selection of well-known texts (from Sophocles and Shakespeare to Brecht, Arthur Miller, Steven Berkoff and Sarah Kane), showing how an active approach to text can challenge assumptions about even the most familiar of plays. Packed with theatre games, improvisation exercises and rehearsal techniques, The Active Text is an inspirational guide for performers, directors, students and teachers. It will revitalise work in the rehearsal room, workshop or classroom – anywhere that dramatic text needs to be brought to life.Trade Review'A wealth of ideas... clear and concise... an inspirational and a welcome resource for drama teachers. ... A final word of warning: reading this book can make you itch to start working on directing a play.' * Drama Magazine *'This book will have you dipping into it time and time again for its no-nonsense practical perspective' * DramaResource.com *'Fascinating stuff… thought-provoking… I am very taken with [it]' * The Stage *

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Book SynopsisWithout scenery, costumes, and stage action, an opera would be little more than a concert. Offering a comprehensive history of the behind-the-scenes world of opera production and staging, this book follows the evolution of visual style and set design in continental Europe from its birth in the seventeenth century up to today.

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Book SynopsisIn 1971, Michael Blakemore joined the National Theatre as Associate Director under Laurence Olivier. The National, still based at the Old Vic, was at a moment of transition awaiting the move to its vast new home on the South Bank. Relying on generous subsidy, it would need an extensive network of supporters in high places. Olivier, a scrupulous and brilliant autocrat from a previous generation, was not the man to deal with these political ramifications. His tenure began to unravel and, behind his back, Peter Hall was appointed to replace him in 1973. As in other aspects of British life, the ethos of public service, which Olivier espoused, was in retreat. Having staged eight productions for the National, Blakemore found himself increasingly uncomfortable under Hall''s regime. Stage Blood is the candid and at times painfully funny story of the events that led to his dramatic exit in 1976. He recalls the theatrical triumphs and flops, his volatile relationship with Olivier incl

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Book SynopsisA dip-in, flick-through, quick-fire resource book in the Nick Hern Books Drama Games series, this title is for teachers and workshop leaders working with difficult or reluctant students, youth groups, young offenders, and all those who seem intent on saying 'no' to whatever is offered them. 'This book offers invaluable ways for artists, teachers, workshop leaders and activists to better use the arts to empower young people' Ken Livingstone, from his Foreword. For these groups, drama games and activities need to be robust and engaging, and the dozens that appear in this book have been devised with this in mind - and then tested by their target players. Each page features clear instructions on How to Play, notes on the Benefits of the Game, and advice on age range, number of players and timing. Following the ninety games and exercises aimed at developing core skills, the book offers scenarios for a series of improvisational challenges that test participants' abilities in mediation, communication, negotiation, assertiveness and managing emotions. Also included is a collection of games aimed at preparing teachers and workshop leaders for facilitating challenging sessions. The ultimate aim is to encourage reluctant participants to engage, collaborate and develop not just skills for drama but skills for life.Trade Review'Packed to the brim with bright and breezy ideas - a bargain!' * Total Theatre Magazine *'Each section of the book is well laid out and the games are clearly explained... contains some very interesting exercises' * Youth Drama Ireland *

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling Drama Games series, this dip-in, flick-through, quick-fire resource book – packed with over 200 individual games – is perfect for teachers, playgroup leaders and drama facilitators who want to inspire and entertain children, aged 3 and up, with vibrant and engaging drama experiences. The book includes 40 complete and easy-to-follow lesson plans that can be implemented with little prior preparation – all appropriate for exploring the curriculum or running extra-curricular workshops. The action-packed sessions will transport you and your group to enchanted forests, pirate ships, bustling farmyards or the bottom of the sea, via magic-carpet rides or a journey through outer space. They incorporate vocal exercises, mime and movement, nursery rhymes and fairytales, character development, costumes, songs and music, puppetry, art and text work. Also included is advice on preparing sessions, and a template lesson plan. The most comprehensive and practical drama resource ever published for anyone working with young children (including parents!), the book offers material that will engage any child, from the most reticent to the supremely confident. It is an ideal way to explore and encourage skills of creativity, self-expression, tolerance, mutual respect, problem-solving and communication, in a safe, non-threatening environment. 'Tapping into a child’s ability to play is the way to educate our children and inspire them to learn. Katherine Zachest understands this and her book is a fantastic tool with which to do it.' Sally Cookson, from her ForewordTrade Review'Another winner in the Drama Games series... will be of great value to anyone working with Early Years and KS 1 children, regardless of experience' * DramaResource.com *'Katherine Zachest approaches the teaching of drama with much enthusiasm and understanding... an invaluable practical book for any drama teacher, but especially Primary teachers who want to make drama a vital part of the curriculum' * Word Matters (Journal of the Society of Teachers of Speech & Drama) *

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Book SynopsisGregory Doran's account of his quest to re-discover Cardenio, the lost play written by Shakespeare and John Fletcher. A thrilling act of literary detection that takes him from the Bodleian Library in Oxford, via Cervantes' Spain to the stage of the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford. Fully illustrated throughout, Shakespeare’s Lost Play tells a fascinating story, which, like the play itself, will engross Shakespeare buffs and theatregoers alike. Doran’s much-praised production of Cardenio for the Royal Shakespeare Company marked the culmination of years spent searching for a famously 'lost’ play co-authored by William Shakespeare. In this book, Doran takes us with him on his quest to unearth every extant clue and then into the rehearsal room as he pieces together a play unseen since its first performance in 1613. The result, as the Guardian attested, is ‘an extraordinary and theatrically powerful piece, one that should both please audiences and keep academic scholars in work for years’.Trade Review'Part detective story, part lively summary of the historic research and theatrical processes involved in resurrecting a lost play... It is one of the pleasures of Shakespeare's Lost Play that the reader picks up an education in a whole range of topics' * Around the Globe magazine *'Throughout Doran is a charming and invariably helpful guide... Furthermore, he successfully communicates his passion for the theatre and enables the reader to understand the wealth of labour that lies behind a complicated production' * Times Literary Supplement *'Reading this book is like entering a marvellous emporium... the delight is in the detail.... endlessly entertaining and informative.' * ReviewsGate.com *'Fascinating' * The Stage *

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Book Synopsis“This book is a fascinating cri de coeur and made me question everything I think about musicals” Alan Cumming A book for those who can’t stand musicals, those who love them, and every theatregoer, academic, practitioner and student in between. Breaking Into Song explores theatre’s most divisive genre, and asks the fundamental questions: What makes a musical? Why are they so polarising? And why have we allowed a form so full of possibility to become so repetitive and restrictive? Through a series of essays, London-based director, dramaturg and musical theatre specialist Adam Lenson asks what audiences can do to stay open minded and what creatives can do to make new musicals better. Examining both sides of the divide, he explores how those who both love and hate musicals can expand the possibilities of this misunderstood medium. Dive in and discover the political foundations of the form, the difficulties in pinning down exactly what it is, the connections between musicals, video games, opera and comic books, and why a musical is, actually, a lot like a poopy baby. “A passionate and cogently argued call to arms and a very enjoyable read” Lyn Gardner “This book is really brilliant. If you care about/enjoy/work in/struggle with/want to understand/have concerns for the state of musical theatre, it is essential reading. Hugely recommended” Howard Goodall “I would advise anyone who… hates musicals… to read this book” Musical Theatre Review “Bold, inclusive and willing to adapt, Adam Lenson’s blueprint for musical theatre above all looks at sustainability.” The Reviews Hub Contents: Breaking Into Song The Wound On Hating Musicals Cash Machines Musicals and Comic Books Superpowers Musicals are Political Poopy Babies When Words Are No Longer Enough Collaboration Time and Memory Photocopying a Photocopy I’m Not a Genre, Not Yet a Medium Expertise What’s The Point? Definitions Audiences Musicals and Video Games Can Musicals Ever Be Cool? The Triangle Tiny Bowls Musicals and Opera Digging vs Telescopes The Musical Cardboard Cities Musicals Cost Too Much Autobiography Opposites Build it and They Will Come What’s in a Name? Replicas Stacks Making SpaceTrade Review'This book is a fascinating cri de coeur and made me question everything I think about musicals.' Alan Cumming'A passionate and cogently argued call to arms and a very enjoyable read.' Lyn GardnerTable of ContentsBreaking Into Song The Wound On Hating Musicals When Words Are No Longer Enough Cash Machines Musicals Are Political Superpowers Poopy Babies Collaboration Photocopying A Photocopy I’m Not A Genre, Not Yet A Medium What’s The Point? Definitions Can Musicals Ever Be Cool? Audiences Musicals and Video Games Time and Memory The Triangle Tiny Bowls Stacks Musicals and Opera Digging vs Telescopes The Musical Musicals Cost Too Much Build It And They Will Come Autobiography Cardboard Cities Musicals and Comic Books Opposites What’s In A Name? Replicas Making Space

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Book SynopsisIn Stage Directing: A Director''s Itinerary, the student of theatrical directing will find a step-by-step guide to directing a production, from choosing a play to opening night. Unlike other directing textbooks, it provides practical advice on organizing tasks throughout the directorial process, including budgeting, writing casting notices, and auditioning. It moreover includes an abundance of helpful examples and tried-and-true exercises, as well as information on how to organize a director's documents into a production notebook. The second edition builds on the strengths of the first edition by elaborating on key analytical, organizational, and strategic steps in a successful director's itinerary, with special attention to the direction of musicals.

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Book SynopsisSome years ago, Frank Hauser, then a retired freelance director, and writer Russell Reich, his former student, self-published Notes on Directing in hardcover. It was immediately acclaimed as “a gem-witty and full of insight;” “so sensible, so complete, and so right;” and “amazingly illuminating” by the likes of Judi Dench, Edward Albee, and Terry Teachout. Gathered over Frank Hauser's long career, and polished to a sharp edge by Russell Reich, the 130 "Notes" address a wide range of topics, from understanding the script and defining the director's role, to casting, how to handle a first read-through of a script, rules for rehearsal, how to talk to actors, how to get a laugh, and the key elements of staging. Filled with enduring good advice expressed in assertive, no-nonsense language, and supported with explanatory commentary, insightful quotes and examples, and six valuable appendices, this deceptively slim book has the impact of a privileged apprenticeship, providing deep insight into the hidden process of creating a live, shared experience. For the student or professional engaged in a directing or acting career, the executive or manager looking for inspiring new ideas on leadership, or the arts lover wanting insight into the creative process, this book will be an invaluable experience. This new edition includes an interview with the co-author.Trade Review"This book is a gem witty and full of insight. It should be compulsory reading for every aspiring director." Dame Judi Dench"This book is so sensible, so straightforward, so complete, and so 'right' that somebody might think it was not serious. They would be wrong." Playwright Edward Albee, 3X Pulitzer Prize Winner"The next best thing to working with Frank Hauser is to read his book. His wise and pithy observations on acting and rehearsing don't age, reminding me how much I have learned from him." Sir Ian McKellen"Excellent bookI've dipped everywhere, always with profit and pleasure. Very attractive book, too." Sir Tom Stoppard"This book is filled with smart, useful, thoughtful advice, born of years of service to an elusive craft. How rare it is for two of our own to talk so shrewdly, candidly and succinctly about the process of making a production. I learned a lot from this remarkably straightforward book, and I debated with it. It is invaluable." Director Mark Lamos"It's a testament to the value of these modestly titled Notes that they go far beyond their wonderful applicability to the staging of a play or the creation of a film. This book will be a delightful read for nearly anybody, filled as it is with humor and life lessons, and the priceless insight of two keen observers of human behavior." Scenic Designer Robin Wagner, Multiple Tony Award Winner"Blunt, funny, utterly relevant, amazingly illuminating. I've never read anything that taught me more about the theater in so short a space . . . deserves to earn at least a million dollars, if not a Nobel Peace Prize." Terry Teachout, Drama Critic, The Wall Street Journal

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Book SynopsisIn One-Man Band, the third volume in his epic survey of Orson Welles' life and work, Simon Callow again probes in comprehensive and penetrating detail into one of the most complex artists of the twentieth century, looking closely at the triumphs and failures of an ambitious one-man assault on one medium after another theatre, radio, film, television, even, at one point, ballet in each of which his radical and original approach opened up new directions and hitherto unglimpsed possibilities.The book begins with Welles' self-exile from America, and his realisation that he could only function happily as an independent film-maker, a one-man band; by 1964, he had filmed Othello, which took three years to complete, Mr Arkadin, the biggest conundrum in his output, and his masterpiece Chimes at Midnight, as well as Touch of Evil, his sole return to Hollywood and, like all too many of his films, wrested from his grasp and re-edited. Along the way Trade ReviewOne Man Band gathers strength page by page. This is by far the funniest volume of the three, and in some ways the most revelatory. The more vulnerable Welles becomes, the more vivid Callow’s writing. The fear was always that a description of Welles’ later years would be depressing. But this is that rare thing: a book about decline which is actually exhilarating -- David HareOne Man Band gathers strength page by page. This is by far the funniest volume of the three, and in some ways the most revelatory. The more vulnerable Welles becomes, the more vivid Callow’s writing. The fear was always that a description of Welles’ later years would be depressing. But this is that rare thing: a book about decline which is actually exhilarating -- David HareA biography as huge as if it had been fed a Welles-style diet of roasted chicken and foie gras -- Victoria Segal * Sunday Times *Callow continuously strikes to the quick and the essential in Welles -- Michael Coveney * Independent *Impeccably detailed research peppered with anecdotes and […] his witty conversational style -- Kevin Maher * The Times *

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Book SynopsisOne of Broadway's foremost music directors emerges from the orchestra pit to tell how the music is put into a musical show. Part descriptive account, part instruction manual, this book offers a unique and invaluable look behind the scenes, from the point of view of the musical chief of staff, the music director.Trade ReviewIf you're interested in the world of musical theater I know you'll enjoy and learn from Joe Church's Music Direction For The Stage: A View From the Podium. * Alan Menken *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The View From The Podium ; Part I: The Music Director: A Job Description ; Chapter 1: Music Direction Yesterday And Today ; Chapter 2: Musical Stage Production ; Chapter 3: Job Opportunities For Music Directors ; Part II: Personnel ; Chapter 4: The Production Team ; Chapter 5: The Creative Team ; Chapter 6: The Music Team ; Chapter 7: The Performers ; Part III: Preproduction ; Chapter 8: Mounting A Production ; Chapter 9: The Music: Assessment And Analysis ; Chapter 10: Arranging For Music Directors ; Part IV: Rehearsals 1: Singers And The Stage ; Chapter 11: Overview Of Rehearsal Process ; Chapter 12: Individual Vocal Rehearsals ; Chapter 13: Ensemble Vocal Rehearsals ; Chapter 14: Rehearsals With Directors And Choreographers ; Chapter 15: Adapting Music To The Production ; Part V: Rehearsals 2: Musicians, Technicians, And The Venue ; Chapter 16: Orchestras And Orchestrations ; Chapter 17: Instrumental Conducting For The Stage ; Chapter 18: From The Studio To The Stage ; Part VI: Performance ; Chapter 19: Conducting In Performance ; Chapter 20: Maintaining A Production And Preserving A Show ; Chapter 21: Working As A Music Director ; Appendix A: Putting It Together ; Appendix B: Bibliography, Suggested Reading, And List Of Musical ; Works Cited

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Book SynopsisThe first reference tool to focus on American women directorsTrade ReviewA Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2009. "This is an outstanding volume that will be a crucial purchase for theater collections in academic and public libraries. . . . Essential."--Choice "A compact work that fills a void in the annals of American theater history and scholarship. . . . A welcome addition to any performing arts or women's history collection."--Booklist“A must-have reference work."Feminist Collections

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Book SynopsisA timely collection of Latina performance piecesTrade Review"La Voz Latina makes visible and accessible a panoply of performance texts that show the remarkable range and ability of Latina playwrights. It demonstrates the vibrant diversity, transnational influences, and high volume of activity in Latina theatre in both the past and present."--Theatre Journal"A fine representation of the some of the most vital and important Latina playwrights writing and performing today. Publishing many plays for the first time, this significant collection will be of interest to students and scholars of theatre, Latina studies, and American studies."--Jorge Huerta, author of Chicano Drama: Performance, Society, and Myth"Apart from the performance pieces themselves, the artists' comments about the circumstances under which the works were created makes the collection a very valuable tool for documenting Latina cultural production since the 1980s."--Tamara L. Underiner, author of Contemporary Theatre in Mayan Mexico: Death-Defying ActsTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction: Latinas Take the Stage 11. CREATING A PERFORMANCE VOICE: THEMES OF FAMILY, RELIGION, AND COMMUNITY 25 1. Milcha Sanchez-Scott's Roosters 31 2. Cherrie Moraga's Waiting for Da God 68II. CHICANAS AND CHICANO TEATRO: STAGING IDENTITY 87 3. Diane Rodriguez's The Path to Divadom, Or How to Make Fat-free Tamales in G Minor 93 4. Yareli Arizmendi's Who Buys Your Shoes? 103III. LA INDIGENA/THE INDIGENOUS: STAGING MYTH 119 5. Celia Herrera Rodriguez's Cositas Quebradas: Performance Codex 125 6. The Colorado Sisters' Chicomoztoc: Mimixcoa-Cloud Serpent 140IV. "RACE MATTERS" 165 7. Josefina Baez's Dominicanish 171 8. Evelina Fernandez's Luminarias 188V. WHERE IS HOME AND HOW DO WE GET THERE? 237 9. Carmen Pelaez's El Postre de Estrada Palma and My Cuba 239 10. Carmen Rivera's La Gringa 254 11. Migdalia Cruz's Another Part of the House 305VI. COMMENTARY ON LATINA THEATRE IN THE UNITED STATES 357 12. Contributions by Women of Color - Kathy Perkins 359 13. No Passport: Dreaming the Americas - Caridad Svich 362

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Book SynopsisThe first full-length critical study of lynching plays in American cultureTrade ReviewWinner of the American Theatre and Drama Society (ATDS) Book Award, 2012. Winner of the Society for the Study of American Women Writers (SSAWW) Book Award, 2012."Required reading for understanding the ways in which narrative and performance have been central to challenging white oppression as well as (re)imagining black identity in America. Highly recommended."--Choice "Mitchell expertly brings in critical approaches from literary and performance studies to show how concepts such as 'circulation' and 'impact' held different meaning for citizens trying to survive traumatic events. . . . Her study offers significant new insights into a key historical movement and provides a model of academic scholarship."--American Historical Review "Offers cogent insights into the cultural work of creative expression in a context of racial violence."--The Journal of American History"Impressively researched and powerfully argued, this first full-length critical study of lynching drama shows the ways that these plays galvanized dynamic conversations about the racialized politics of privacy, citizenship, patriotism, and gender roles in American culture. Living with Lynching is a tremendously illuminating work that breaks new ground in theater and performance studies, African American literary history, and women's and gender studies."--Daphne A. Brooks, author of Bodies in Dissent: Spectacular Performances of Race and Freedom, 1850–1910"This vivid book makes a major contribution to the literature on lynching in the U.S. by excavating an under-examined archive of black dramatic responses to it. Offering a new and convincing periodization of lynching drama, Mitchell moves beyond the best known texts to illuminate a range of plays diligently retrieved and scrupulously interpreted. Living with Lynching is a testament to the endurance of black life in the face of social death."--Tavia Nyong'o, author of The Amalgamation Waltz: Race, Performance, and the Ruses of Memory"In addition to unearthing an underexplored archive of black women's writing, Mitchell engages with one of the central problematics of feminist and critical race theories: the ethics of representing atrocity. Essential Reading."--Legacy"Mitchell's Living with Lynching is thoroughly researched and exquisitely written. It is timely and a necessary read for anyone committed to repurposing historical African American strife for reconstruction and celebration."--Spectrum"[Mitchell] shows how performing lynching plays in community spaces allowed African Americans to actualize the various subjectivities . . . that lynchings sought to expunge. This book is required reading for understanding the ways in which narrative and performance have been central to challenging white oppression as well as (re)imagining black identity in America. Highly recommended."--Choice "An emphatic push to change how we understand, write about, and teach the phenomenon of lynching."--H-SHGAPE "Mitchell methodically documents and skillfully interprets lynching drama's important cultural work. . . . She illuminates an overlooked aspect African American literary history."--Arkansas Review "If ever a lynching book could be described as beautiful, it would undoubtedly be Mitchell's for the gracious way she takes care to read, generously and meticulously, all that she sees and hears (as well as what she does not see and hear) when she enters the homes that these characters have struggled to build for themselves."--Signs “Mitchell offers a cogent example of how African Americans deployed theater and performance to engage in quotidian acts of survival, belonging, self-affirmation, and citizenship that were not solely contingent on protesting white violence.”--MELUS “These dramatic works examined by Koritha Mitchell represent a body of literature that spoke directly to the horror of lynching and its immediate and long-term effects on African American families and communities. . . . An intriguing book.”--The Journal of African American HistoryTable of ContentsIntroduction: Whose Evidence? Which Account?; Capital Entertainment, Better Representation Part I: Making Lynching Drama and Its Contributions Legible 1: Scenes and Scenarios: Reading Aright; 2: Re-defining "Black Theatre" Part II: Developing a Genre, Asserting Black Citizenship 3: The Black Soldier: Elevating Community Conversation; 4: The Black Lawyer: Preserving Testimony; 5: The Black Mother/Wife: Blue Blood Safe; 6: The Pimp and Coward: Frances Conclusion: Documenting Black Performance: Key Considerations Bibliography

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Book SynopsisProfiles the most influential women directors practicing today, examining their career paths, artistry, and major achievements.Trade Review "Comprehensive and stimulating, this work gives readers a broader understanding of the challenges that women directors encounter and highlights their impressive achievements. Recommended for theatre practitioners and students, aspiring women directors, and gender studies scholars."--Ann Marie Gardinier Halstead, St. Lawrence University "A unique examination of women in the arts, created as a reference point for students, researchers, and theater practitioners. Recommended."--Booklist "Recommended."--ChoiceTable of ContentsIntroduction Anne Fliotsos 1 Argentina May Summer Farnsworth and Brenda Werth 5 Australia Laura Ginters 18 Brazil Alessandra Vannucci 30 Bulgaria Vessela S. Warner 43 Canada Gordon McCall 56 China Jiangyue Li 70 Cuba Ileana Azor 83 Czech Republic Mirenka Cechova 95 Egypt Dalia Basiouny 109 France Kate Bredeson 122 Germany Ursula Neuerburg-Denzer 136 Great Britain Adam J. Ledger 148 Greece Avra Sidiropoulou 161 India Erin B. Mee 174 Ireland Karin Maresh 187 Kenya Margaretta Swigert-Gacheru 198 Mexico Ileana Azor 211 Pakistan Claire Pamment 223 Poland Magda Romanska 237 Romania Diana Manole 251 Russia Maria Ignatieva 264 South Africa Marie-Heleen Coetzee and Lliane Loots 277 Taiwan Iris Hsin-chun Tuan 291 United States of America Anne Fliotsos and Wendy Vierow 303

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Book SynopsisFor the first time, a distinctive collection of plays by African women published in EnglishTrade Review"[African Women Playwrights] brings together an essential collection of writings by international women."--Feminist Formations“I have long wished there were a collection of the work of African women playwrights. This unique and valuable volume makes a truly significant contribution to the field of both African theatre and black women’s writing. The plays are stimulating and very interesting, dealing with a range of pertinent issues.”--Jane Plastow, coeditor of Theatre and Empowerment: Community Drama on the World Stage“These plays are fascinating to read; the plots and characters are varied, interesting, and well developed. Moreover, as the only collection [in English] of plays written exclusively by African women, this collection will be immensely appealing to students and scholars of theatre, literature, cultural studies, African studies, and women’s studies, as well as general readers who are interested in learning about contemporary African plays and playwrights.”--Judith Stephens-Lorenz, editor of The Plays of Georgia Douglas Johnson: From the New Negro Renaissance to the Civil Rights MovementTable of Contentsix FOREWORD Amandina Lihamba [Dar es Salaam, Tanzania] xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 1 INTRODUCTION Kathy A. Perkins 12 THE DILEMMA OF A GHOST Ama Ata Aidoo [Ghana] 62 OVER MY DEAD BODY Violet Barungi [Uganda] 100 SHE NO LONGER WEEPS Tsitsi Dangarembga [Zimbabwe] 140 BETTER DAYS COME IN BITTER WAYS Nathalie Etoke [Cameroon] 150 HOMECOMING Andiah Kisia (Chika Okigbo) [Kenya] 170 VUKANI! (WAKE UP!) Sindiwe Magona [South Africa] 222 A COLOURED PLACE Malika Ndlovu (Lueen Conning) [South Africa] 248 EDEWEDE (THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY) Julie Okoh [Nigeria] 318 IN THE CONTINUUM Dania Gurira and Nikkole Salter [Zimbabwe and the United States] 363 SELECTED READINGS AND PLAYS 367 CONTRIBUTORS

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Book SynopsisThe first full-length critical study of lynching plays in American cultureTrade ReviewWinner of the American Theatre and Drama Society (ATDS) Book Award, 2012. Winner of the Society for the Study of American Women Writers (SSAWW) Book Award, 2012."Required reading for understanding the ways in which narrative and performance have been central to challenging white oppression as well as (re)imagining black identity in America. Highly recommended."--Choice "Mitchell expertly brings in critical approaches from literary and performance studies to show how concepts such as 'circulation' and 'impact' held different meaning for citizens trying to survive traumatic events. . . . Her study offers significant new insights into a key historical movement and provides a model of academic scholarship."--American Historical Review "Offers cogent insights into the cultural work of creative expression in a context of racial violence."--The Journal of American History"Impressively researched and powerfully argued, this first full-length critical study of lynching drama shows the ways that these plays galvanized dynamic conversations about the racialized politics of privacy, citizenship, patriotism, and gender roles in American culture. Living with Lynching is a tremendously illuminating work that breaks new ground in theater and performance studies, African American literary history, and women's and gender studies."--Daphne A. Brooks, author of Bodies in Dissent: Spectacular Performances of Race and Freedom, 1850–1910"This vivid book makes a major contribution to the literature on lynching in the U.S. by excavating an under-examined archive of black dramatic responses to it. Offering a new and convincing periodization of lynching drama, Mitchell moves beyond the best known texts to illuminate a range of plays diligently retrieved and scrupulously interpreted. Living with Lynching is a testament to the endurance of black life in the face of social death."--Tavia Nyong'o, author of The Amalgamation Waltz: Race, Performance, and the Ruses of Memory"In addition to unearthing an underexplored archive of black women's writing, Mitchell engages with one of the central problematics of feminist and critical race theories: the ethics of representing atrocity. Essential Reading."--Legacy"Mitchell's Living with Lynching is thoroughly researched and exquisitely written. It is timely and a necessary read for anyone committed to repurposing historical African American strife for reconstruction and celebration."--Spectrum"[Mitchell] shows how performing lynching plays in community spaces allowed African Americans to actualize the various subjectivities . . . that lynchings sought to expunge. This book is required reading for understanding the ways in which narrative and performance have been central to challenging white oppression as well as (re)imagining black identity in America. Highly recommended."--Choice "An emphatic push to change how we understand, write about, and teach the phenomenon of lynching."--H-SHGAPE "Mitchell methodically documents and skillfully interprets lynching drama's important cultural work. . . . She illuminates an overlooked aspect African American literary history."--Arkansas Review "If ever a lynching book could be described as beautiful, it would undoubtedly be Mitchell's for the gracious way she takes care to read, generously and meticulously, all that she sees and hears (as well as what she does not see and hear) when she enters the homes that these characters have struggled to build for themselves."--Signs “Mitchell offers a cogent example of how African Americans deployed theater and performance to engage in quotidian acts of survival, belonging, self-affirmation, and citizenship that were not solely contingent on protesting white violence.”--MELUS “These dramatic works examined by Koritha Mitchell represent a body of literature that spoke directly to the horror of lynching and its immediate and long-term effects on African American families and communities. . . . An intriguing book.”--The Journal of African American HistoryTable of ContentsIntroduction: Whose Evidence? Which Account?; Capital Entertainment, Better Representation Part I: Making Lynching Drama and Its Contributions Legible 1: Scenes and Scenarios: Reading Aright; 2: Re-defining "Black Theatre" Part II: Developing a Genre, Asserting Black Citizenship 3: The Black Soldier: Elevating Community Conversation; 4: The Black Lawyer: Preserving Testimony; 5: The Black Mother/Wife: Blue Blood Safe; 6: The Pimp and Coward: Frances Conclusion: Documenting Black Performance: Key Considerations Bibliography

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Book SynopsisAn introduction to the mysterious theater role of a dramaturg by a legend in the fieldTrade ReviewReceived Honor Mention for the 2022 Callaway Prize for the Best Book on Drama and TheatreHonorable Mention for the 2021 Outstanding Book Award from the Association for Theatre in Higher EducationCHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2022“Anne Cattaneo creates a toolbox for dramaturgs, producers, and emerging arts leaders on how to be an exemplar in dramaturgy. This incredible work will be a fixture for this generation and future ones.”—Kristin Leahey, Boston University“Anne Cattaneo has had a very distinguished career, and this wise book will be in print for years and years.”—Adrienne Kennedy“Anne Cattaneo has written a fascinating and invaluable book on the theater from the dramaturg’s perspective. Whether you are a would-be dramaturg, a theater professional, or just a theater aficionado you will learn first-hand how productions come together from the page to the stage.”—James Lapine, winner of Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize“Cattaneo demystifies dramaturgy with the mastery of a great storyteller. This inspiring work reminds us why we need theater now more than ever. A must read for all thinkers, makers, and lovers of art.”—Rubén Polendo, New York University Tisch School of the Arts/Theater Mitu“Cattaneo’s love—and wide-ranging knowledge—of her subject shines through on every page. This is a book not just for dramaturgs, but for all makers and lovers of theater.”—Evan Yionoulis, Juilliard School

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Book SynopsisThe true story of a self-taught sleuth's quest to prove his eye-opening theory about the source of the world's most famous plays, taking readers inside the vibrant era of Elizabethan England as well as the contemporary scene of Shakespeare scholars and obsessives.What if Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare . . . but someone else wrote him first? Acclaimed author of The Map Thief, Michael Blanding presents the twinning narratives of renegade scholar Dennis McCarthy and Elizabethan courtier Sir Thomas North. Unlike those who believe someone else secretly wrote Shakespeare, McCarthy argues that Shakespeare wrote the plays, but he adapted them from source plays written by North decades before.In Shakespeare's Shadow alternates between the enigmatic life of North, the intrigues of the Tudor court, the rivalries of English Renaissance theater, and academic outsider McCarthy's attempts to air his provocative ideas in the clubby world of Shakespearean scholarship. Through it all, Blanding employs his keen journalistic eye to craft a captivating drama, upending our understanding of the beloved playwright and his 'singular genius.'Winner of the 2021 International Book Award in Narrative Non-Fiction

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Book SynopsisThe One-Hour Shakespeare series is a collection of abridged versions of Shakespeare’s plays, designed specifically to accommodate both small and large casts. This volume, The Tragedies, includes the following plays: Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Othello and Romeo and Juliet.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. One-Hour projects in performance: money-saving suggestions to consider with a minimal budget 3. Lesson Plan and Editing Exercise 4. Cross-gender casting suggestions 5. Hamlet 6. Hamlet: suggested cast list and character assignments for a small cast 7. Julius Caesar 8. Julius Caesar: suggested cast list and character assignments for a small cast 9. Macbeth 10. Macbeth: suggested cast list and character assignments for a small cast 11. Othello 12. Othello: suggested cast list and character assignments for a small cast 13. Romeo and Juliet 14. Romeo and Juliet: suggested cast list and character assignments for a small cast

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Book SynopsisThe One-Hour Shakespeare series is a collection of abridged versions of Shakespeare’s plays, designed specifically to accommodate both small and large casts. This volume, The Tragicomedies, includes the following plays: All’s Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure and The Merchant of Venice.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. One-Hour projects in performance: money-saving suggestions to consider with a minimal budget 3. Lesson Plan and Editing Exercise 4. Cross-gender casting suggestions 5. All's Well That Ends Well 6. All's Well That Ends Well: suggested cast list and character assignments for a small cast 7. Measure for Measure 8. Measure for Measure: suggested cast list and character assignments for a small cast 9. The Merchant of Venice 10. The Merchant of Venice: suggested cast list and character assignments for a small cast

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Book SynopsisIn this collection, the author focuses on several contemporary Romanian female playwrights with residencies in Europe and the U.S.: Alexandra Badea, Carmen-Francesca Banciu, Alexa Bacanu, Ana Sorina Corneanu, Mihaela Dragan, Dr. Catalina Florina Florescu, Dr. Mihaela Michailov, Dr. Domnica Radulescu, Saviana Stanescu, and Dr. Elise Wilk.In their bold works, written by female playwrights who are academics, activists, and performers, we are invited to discover variations in the modus operandi of the dramatic language itself from metaphorical to matter-of-fact approaches. Furthermore, while all these playwrights speak Romanian, they also think and operate in various other languages, such as Romani, German, French, Italian, and American English.This book facilitates scholars and students to discover contemporary issues related to Romanian society as presented heavily from a feminine angle and to reveal intersectional issues as seen and applied to dramatic characters in a pTrade Review''Dr. Florescu’s focus on intersectionality in plays written by Romanian female playwrights is an admirable endeavor given both the scarcity of materials on Romanian cultural intersectionality and theater in general in the United States curricula. Not only are the ten plays included for discussion in this book a splendid sample of Romanian theater, but also the carefully structured analyses and activities, prefaced by photographs from performances, make this book a labor of love'' – Dr. Adriana Cordali author of Visual Rhetorics of Communist Romania: Life Under the Totalitarian Gaze''Designed as multilingual and multidimensional, this volume presents a series of plays by female artists who are deeply connected to Romania, Dr. Cătălina Florina Florescu’s native country. Their engagement with intersectionality becomes evident not only when discussed by Florescu, but also when the playwrights are given a selfless chance to reflect on their own works. Shining a bright light on the urgent political issues and innovatory theatrical strategies at the heart of these contemporary productions will definitely stir interest and debate, proving the timeliness of the current project.'' – Dr. Ludmila Martanovschi, Secretary of the Society for Multi-Ethnic Studies: Europe and the Americas (MESEA)''A compassionate and intimate exploration of female playwrights in Romanian theater presented to the global public through the lens of intersectionality as a tool for discernment of how the invisible power relations create inequality. Catalina Florescu masterfully uses her multifaceted roles as a woman, immigrant, mother, partner, author, and professor to examine the still vastly unexamined role female artists have in making intellectually stimulating art and leaving their beautifully diverse legacy on heteropatriarchy.'' – Mihaela Campion, Clinical licensed psychotherapist and ARCHER Founder (American Romanian Coalition of Human and Equal Rights)Table of ContentsForewordA Note Before Reading This VolumeChapter 1. Feminin (Feminine)Chapter 2. Pisica Lui Schrödinger (Schrödinger’s Cat)Chapter 3. Ein Land Voller Helden (A Land Full of Heroes)Chapter 4. Romacen: Vremea Vrăjitoarei (Romacene: The Age of the Witch)Chapter 5. Pulvérisés (The Pulverised)Chapter 6. Moss (Verde Crud)Chapter 7. Hai să vorbim despre viaţă! (Let’s Talk about Life!)Chapter 8. Familia Offline (Offline Family)Chapter 9. Exile Is My Home (Exilul este casa mea)Chapter 10. Aliens with Extraordinary Skills (Extratereştii cu puteri supraomeneşti)Post ScriptumMiscellaneaAbout The PlaywrightsIndex

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Directing Actors: A Practical Aesthetics Approach is the first book to apply the Practical Aesthetics acting technique to the craft of directing.Lee Cohn lays out a step-by-step, no-nonsense methodology for the director that includes a deep dive into the mechanics of storytelling, the rehearsal process, working with writers, and the practical realities of the director's job. Featuring end-of-chapter exercises, this book provides a clear and e?ective means of breaking down a script in order to tell a story with clarity, simplicity, and dramatic force and gives directors a clear working vocabulary that will allow e?ective communication with actors. The techniques in this book are applicable to any theatrical style and any media platform in which a director might work. Written in an accessible, conversational style, this book strips the process of directing down to its most essential components to explain how to become an actor's director.A must-rea

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Book SynopsisThis is a concise survey of new play projects that bring together the worlds of science and performance, and the benefits that dramaturgical praxis can bring to both disciplines.Three approaches common to both performance and science collaboration, experimentation, and interpretation are reflected in a series of case studies that demonstrate the ways in which dramaturgical tools can inform the wider public about scientific knowledge and practice, provide a truly reciprocal model of co-operation in collaboration that happens early on in the research process, and inspire the creation of new dramatic forms that enact, rather than translate, the dynamics of scientific research.Part of the Routledge Focus on Dramaturgy series, this is a vital account of collaborative work for scholars and practitioners of theatre and performance, as well as readers across the sciences.

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Book SynopsisDramaturgy of Sex on Stage in Contemporary Theatre explores the dramaturgy of sex in contemporary works for the stage in the social, cultural and historical context of the time and place during which they were written and performed.Comprising chapters by writers from across North America and Europe, the book covers an expansive range of plays, musicals and dance performances, from Broadway to the Fringe, from post-AIDS epidemic to post-COVID-19 pandemic. Analysing these intimate momentsboth textually and as stagedthrough an intersectional and critical lens illuminates the way power structures are maintained and codified, and how they can be queered and dismantled onstage and off. This examination of depictions of sex on stage attempts to understand from a dramaturgical and sociological perspective how these depictions have developed over time, and how the rise of intimacy directors has responded to the changes within the contemporary theatrical landscape and in the worTable of ContentsIntroductionKate MulleyPart I: Depicting Sexual Discovery and Identity1. (Still) Shopping and (Still) Fucking: The Stylistics of Queer Desire on StageGeorge Sampatakakis2. Respectable Queer Sex: Criteria for Permissible Representations in Contemporary Mainstream TheatreJoey Baseil Massa3. Depicting Queer Sexual Discovery in Contemporary British Fringe TheatreAlexander Millington4. All Tomorrow’s Parties: Structures of Feeling in Verbatim TheatreShane KinghornPart II: Depicting Stylized Sex5. Disability and Desire: Multimodal Exploration in Deaf West’s Spring AwakeningLindsey R. Barr6. Dancing on a Knife’s Edge: Performing Violent Co-Dependency in Bryony Lavery and Frantic Assembly’s StockholmKaren Morash7. A Dramaturgy of Precariousness: The Real, Realness, and Spectatorship of Sex in Dead Centre’s Good SexHuayu Yang8. Mette Ingvartsen’s “The Red Pieces” Series: Sex, Dance, Erasing Power Structures and Ungendered BodiesAnne LempickiPart III: Depicting Transactional Sex9. Commodification of Women’s Bodies: Staging the ConsequencesSophie Bastien10. Masculinity and Commercial Sex from the Perspective of Giuliana Musso’s SexmachineStefania Lodi RizziniPart IV: Depicting Female Desire11. Context, Cliche, and Other Considerations for Staging Female DesireCristina (Cha) Ramos and Claire Warden12. Monstrous Desires: Writings of Sexuality in Contemporary Feminist Dramatic Writings in FranceLeïla CassarPart V: Depicting Sexual Violence13. Patriarchy Structures and Depictions of Patriarchal Sex in Contemporary TheatreKate Mulley14. Interrogating Racialized Sexual Violence in Slave PlayJessica Ellison15. Sexual Assault and the Criminal Justice System: The Naked Female Body in Breach Theatre’s It’s True, It’s True, It’s TrueHannah Simpson16. Sex Between Macabre Lust and Clinical Dissection in Dea Loher’s DramaturgyYoun Le Guern-Herry17. Applications of Dramaturgy in the Physical Creation of Sexual Violence on StageMeron Langsner and Cristina (Cha) Ramos

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Book SynopsisThe Stage Director's Prompt Book is a step-by-step, detailed guide on how to create a practical and powerful rehearsal and performance toolthe director's prompt book.A prompt book is a coordinating and organizational tool for the stage director. This book systematizes the creative process the director uses to analyze and interpret a play and coordinates all director-related rehearsal and production activities into a single, self-contained interpretive and organizational system. This book guides the director through the necessary steps and stages of creating and using a prompt bookfrom play analysis and interpretation, through the formation of a dynamic and theatrical director's vision, to a unique method of physicalizing a play in production. A prompt book of a one-act play is included in the book as a complete example of the system. Such techniques as redlining, color coding and creating a three-column left-hand page are vividly illustrated for readers, allowing theTrade Review"If only this wonderful book were available when I was teaching directing. Great for the beginner, and a perfect refresher course in all the fundamentals for the experienced director. An invaluable guide for the journey from ‘play to stage.’"Gregory Lehane, Professor Emeritus, and former Head of Directing at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama"This indispensable guide to building an effective stage director's prompt book enables a director to approach production with a thorough understanding of the structure and detail of the play. It is a powerful template for creativity and collaboration."Marc Masterson, Former Artistic Director of Actors Theatre of Louisville and South Coast Repertory"Leslie Ferreira opens up the treasure chest of his knowledge, skill and experience as a stage director by sharing the playbook of his extraordinary craft. The Stage Director’s Prompt Book is a pièce de résistance that brings everything together and takes your directing craft to the next level. Any director who seeks to up-their-game will immediately benefit from Leslie Ferreira’s meticulous and creative approach to directing. This rare insight into directing is a gift of a lifetime that will keep on giving."Eric Bishop, Chair, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region 8"Leslie Ferreira’s The Stage Director’s Prompt Book is the perfect companion for any director’s journey. It offers encouragement, inspiration, and concrete advice—challenging us along the way to ‘direct better.’"Tina Kronis, Artistic Director, Theatre Movement Bazaar"Why hasn’t the The Stage Director's Prompt Book been written years ago? It clearly establishes the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How to effectively direct a play using the road map of a prompt book. Leslie Ferreira demystifies how to approach directing—all through the importance of the Three-Column Left-Hand Page. An excellent guide for anyone brave enough to call themselves, director."Daniel T. Green, Ph.D., Director: Entertainment Industry Management, Carnegie Mellon University"A great guide for assembling and organizing all the essential elements for a production, The Stage Director’s Prompt Book is an excellent step-by-step method for investigating a play and developing a sound directorial approach to it."Tom Bryant, Dramaturg, Professor Emeritus, Crafton Hills College"A thoroughly entertaining, insightful and straightforward account of the steps needed to bring a play to life on stage. Not only directors but everyone else involved in the creation of theatre will benefit immeasurably from reading this book."Anthony Maggio, Chair, Theatre Academy, Los Angeles City CollegeTable of Contents1. Introduction 2. A Director’s Glossary: In Order of Appearance 3. The Mechanics of it All: Constructing the Prompt Book 4. Redlining the Script: Finding the Important, Distilling the Essence 5. Director’s Units 6. Color Coding 7. The Three Column Left-Hand Page 8. The Right-Hand Page 9. Using the Prompt Book to Schedule and Organize for Artistic Success 10. The Director and the Stage Manager 11. Four One-Hundredths: A Model One Act 12. Final Thoughts Index

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