Theatre studies Books
Rowman & Littlefield Get the Callback
Book SynopsisAll great auditions require preparation and practice, but what's the secret to securing a callback? What are the best ways to prepare for that pivotal moment? And once you're in front of the casting director, what does it take to make the most out of your moment in the spotlight?In this second edition of Get the Callback: The Art of Auditioning for Musical Theatre, Jonathan Flom provides practical advice on the many facets of preparation, including selection of songs and monologues to suit your voice and the audition, organizing and arranging your music, working with the accompanist, and presenting yourself to the casting team. The book gives a detailed description of the actual audition performance and even offers advice on how non-dancers can survive a dance audition. In addition to extensively revised chapters on the audition process and how to build a repertoire book, this guide also features updated chapters on headshots, resumes, and cover letters; voice training techniques froTrade ReviewIn this second edition of Get the Callback, Flom not only updates the first edition but shifts the focus from ‘getting the job’ to ‘getting the callback,’ which is something the prepared actor can actually control. A great guide for young actors in high schools and colleges who are embarking on their careers—but also offering good reminders for those already out in the profession—the book covers all aspects of the audition process: preparation, pulling in new material, the actual audition, how to talk to the accompanist, how to interact with the audition panel, the callback. Flom even covers aspects of the process that are often overlooked—how to read audition announcements properly, the best head-shot styles and résumé layouts—and includes an updated list of repertoire styles and genres. Finally, Flom provides sound advice about how to negotiate a job offer. In other words, this one little volume is an invaluable resource for anyone who plans to audition for a musical theater production—whether in high school, college, or professional theater. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; graduate students; professionals. * CHOICE *
£33.25
Rowman & Littlefield Singing and Dancing to The Book of Mormon
Book SynopsisOne of the most successful shows in Broadway history, The Book of Mormon broke box office records when it debuted in 2011 and received nine Tony awards, including Best Musical. A collaboration between Trey Parker and Matt Stone (creators of the show South Park) and Robert Lopez (Avenue Q), the show was a critical success, cited for both its religious irreverence and sendup of musical traditions. In Singing and Dancing to The Book of Mormon: Critical Essays on the Broadway Musical, Marc Edward Shaw and Holly Welker have assembled a collection that examines this cultural phenomenon from a variety of perspectives. Contributors to this volume address such questions as:What made the musical such a remarkable success?In what ways does the show utilize established musical theatre traditions and comic tropes, but still create something new?What religious and cultural buttons does the work push?What artistic and social boundariesand the transgressions thereofgive the work its edge?Another foc
£72.00
Rowman & Littlefield Theatre
Book SynopsisSuccessful theatre relies on a complex interaction of all theatrical elements: script, direction, acting, and design interact in shifting configurations to offer a new work of art at every performance. Examining these relationships often enriches the theatrical experience.Theatre: Its Art and Craft is an introductory theatre text that focuses on the practitioners and their processes. Using an accessible tone and a focused exploration of how theatre artists work, the book covers every aspect of this art form: from writing, directing, and acting to the designing of sets and costumes, as well as the use of props, lights, sound, and new technology. This book also examines the varying roles of scholars, critics, and dramaturgs. This seventh edition has been thoroughly revised and features new statistics, new photos, and updated references. New sidebars have been added throughout, including one on cultural appropriation, another on lighting technology, and more and better discussions of whatTable of ContentsIntroduction Acknowledgments PART I: ART 1 The Nature of Art 2 The Theatre as a Fine Art 3 The Audience and Critic PART II: THE PLAY 4 The Playwright 5 The Director 6 The Actor PART III: THE DESIGNERS 7 Scenic, Prop, and Costume Designers 8 Lighting, Sound, and Projections Designers PART IV: THEATRE SCHOLARSHIP 9 The Historian, the Theorist, and the Dramaturg Index About the Authors
£68.40
Rowman & Littlefield The Complete Book of 2000s Broadway Musicals
Book SynopsisIn the first decade of the twenty-first century, Broadway was notable for old-fashioned, feel-good shows (Hairspray, Jersey Boys), a number of family-friendly musicals (Little Women, Mary Poppins), plenty of revivals (Follies, Oklahoma!, Wonderful Town), a couple of off-the-wall hits (Avenue Q, Urinetown), several gargantuan flops (Dance of the Vampires, Lestat), and a few serious productions that garnered critical acclaim (The Light in the Piazza, Next to Normal). Unlike earlier decades which were dominated by specific composers, by a new form of musical theatre, or by numerous British imports, the decade is perhaps most notable for the rise of shows which poked fun at the musical comedy form, such as The Producers and Spamalot.In The Complete Book of 2000s Broadway Musicals, Dan Dietz examines in detail every musical that opened on Broadway from 2000 through the end of 2009. This book discusses the era's major successes, notorious failures, and musicals that closed during their pre-BTrade ReviewThe seventh and most recent in a series of 'Complete Books of Broadway Musicals,' which started with the 1940s, this volume is comprehensive in coverage, including summaries and information such as each show's personnel, dates, number of performances, known changes, other productions, etc. In these respects, and with the book's organization, series author Deitz (emeritus, composition, world literature, & modern drama, Western Carolina Univ.) succeeds.... Incorporating quotes from the major reviews of the time is both warranted and valuable.... Verdict...[T]heater buffs with eagerly read this volume cover to cover.... [O]wing to the well-organized information and amount of detail, this offering merits addition to theater collections. * Library Journal *The latest in Dietz’s excellent series covers the 213 musicals that opened on (or were set to open on) Broadway between 2000 and 2009, from the familiar (Avenue Q, Spamalot) to the obscure (Casper, which didn’t make it out of the preview tour). The technical details for each production include opening and closing dates; number of performances; names of the writers, composers, directors, and casts; and a brief description. This is followed by a full listing of the musical numbers and a narrative (ranging from one to three pages) about the show. There are eight appendixes, including a chronology by season; a chronology by classification; and a list of shows by theater. Recommended for medium-sized and large public library reference collections as well as academic libraries supporting performing-arts programs. * Booklist *The 2000s brought in a spate of tongue-in-cheek musicals such as Urinetown and The Drowsy Chaperone that make fun of Broadway conventions and perhaps signal the passing of an era compared to the family-friendly shows of the 1990s. Dietz continues his detailed encyclopedic series of Broadway histories—he has already covered 1940 through 1999—with this volume, which largely chronicles the lack of quality in new scores and book musicals as a genre. The 213 featured revues and musicals (compared to 271 listed in the volume treating the 1960s) include 37 with new music, 15 with preexisting scores, 25 imports, 31 revivals, and 30 pre-Broadway closings. As in the earlier volumes, Dietz gives plot summaries, casts and crews, run dates, critical commentary, musical numbers and performers, source material, awards and nominations, and other pertinent data. Nine useful appendixes conclude the volume. Dietz does not hold back his own opinions, and readers might find themselves disagreeing with his analyses, but his and other critics' comments make for a highly enjoyable, sometimes hilarious complement to the narratives. All musical theater collections and Broadway fans ought to add this new edition to their collections, along with the previous volumes in the series. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. * CHOICE *
£110.70
Rowman & Littlefield Theatre
Book SynopsisSuccessful theatre relies on a complex interaction of all theatrical elements: script, direction, acting, and design interact in shifting configurations to offer a new work of art at every performance. Examining these relationships often enriches the theatrical experience.Theatre: Its Art and Craft is an introductory theatre text that focuses on the practitioners and their processes. Using an accessible tone and a focused exploration of how theatre artists work, the book covers every aspect of this art form: from writing, directing, and acting to the designing of sets and costumes, as well as the use of props, lights, sound, and new technology. This book also examines the varying roles of scholars, critics, and dramaturgs. This seventh edition has been thoroughly revised and features new statistics, new photos, and updated references. New sidebars have been added throughout, including one on cultural appropriation, another on lighting technology, and more and better discussions of whatTable of ContentsIntroduction Acknowledgments PART I: ART 1 The Nature of Art 2 The Theatre as a Fine Art 3 The Audience and Critic PART II: THE PLAY 4 The Playwright 5 The Director 6 The Actor PART III: THE DESIGNERS 7 Scenic, Prop, and Costume Designers 8 Lighting, Sound, and Projections Designers PART IV: THEATRE SCHOLARSHIP 9 The Historian, the Theorist, and the Dramaturg Index About the Authors
£114.30
Rowman & Littlefield Performing History
Book SynopsisPerforming History: How to Research, Write, Act, and Coach Historical Performance addresses those areas that are of greatest challenge to novice historical performers. Historical performers must approach the process that is their work with a respect for both subject matter (the people who made the decisions that lead to what we call history) and for audiences, whatever the knowledge level they bring to the subject. That respect requires careful, on going research (to wear the mantle of authority), while also recognizing that none of us will ever know everything there is to know (the mantle is lined with humility). It requires the crafting of stories that will interest targeted audiences, and the skill to tell those stories in a compelling manner.Performing History is crafted for people who want to develop a first person narrative, those who have created a first person narrative but want to make it better, and those who want to help others develop first person narratives--museum and hisTrade ReviewPerforming History: How to Research, Write, Act, and Coach Historical Performances is an excellent follow-up to Telling History. Sorting through many sources of information and deciding what to use and how to use it was difficult for me as a beginner in historic interpretation. I found Chapter 2: ‘Overcoming Fear of Research with Historians’ Powerful Tools’ especially helpful in resolving these issues. Overall, the information contained in this book has given me tools to strengthen my interpreter skills. -- Roberta Perkins, historical interpreterPerforming History is infused with the joyful creativity that Ann and Joyce have consistently brought to historical performance for many decades. Whether you are a beginning performer, a seasoned one, or a presenter, you will find a wealth of helpful tips and inspiration for your work here. -- Bill Adair, director, Exhibitions and Public Interpretation, The Pew Center for Arts & HeritageTable of ContentsChapter 1: What Does It Take to Do a Good Historical Performance? Chapter 2: Overcoming Fear of Research with Historians’ Powerful Tools Chapter 3: Designing Your Performance Chapter 4: Performance: It’s All About the Audience When There’s No Fourth Wall Chapter 5: Sharing the Mantle of Authority: Young People Interpret History Chapter 6: Using Historical Performance Skills to Enhance Other Traditions of Costumed Interpretation Chapter 7: Dreams and Plans
£67.50
University of Toronto Press Bennewitz Goethe Faust
Book SynopsisFritz Bennewitz (1926-1995) was the director-in-chief of East Germany''s Weimar National Theatre. Extraordinary in his capacity for cultural and linguistic adjustment, he directed productions in twelve countries, always adapting shows to make them meaningful to local audiences. Notably, Bennewitz conducted stagings of Goethe''s Faust in four different languages over a series of seven productions three in pre-unification Weimar, one in the reunited Germany, and one each in New York, Manila, and Mumbai.The first comprehensive account of Bennewitz''s remarkable career, Bennewitz, Goethe, Faust is also a pioneering study of intercultural interpretations of Faust. David G. John brings to light previously unknown archival materials including annotated playbooks, correspondence, translations, videos, and reception information as well as unpublished production photos from the stagings discussed in the book. Bennewitz, Goethe, Faust makes a cogentTrade Review'This unique introduction to the work of a pivotal GDR Faust interpreter fills a gap in scholarship and offers stimulus for future research. Highly recommended' -- E. Wickersham Choice Magazine, vol 50:02:2012Table of ContentsAbbreviations Foreword Documentation Part I Bennewitz 1. Persona and Theory * Slim Recognition* Biography* Split Personality* Politics* Dogma and Theory 2. Peers * Erika Stephan* Dieter G rne* Wolfgang Engel Part II The German Fausts: Chronicle of a Society 3. Hooray for Socialism! Weimar 1965/67 * Background* Audience Preparation* The Performance* Essential Features* Critical Reception* The Party Line* Conclusion 4. Hooray for Socialism? Weimar 1975 * Background* Audience Preparation* The Performance* Essential Features* Critical Reception* The Party Line* Conclusion 5. Socialism? Weimar 1981/82 * Background* Audience and Cast Preparation* The Performance* Essential Features* Critical Reception* The Party Line* Conclusion 6. Alles f r die Katz': Meiningen 1995 * Background* The Performance* Critical Reception* Conclusion Part III The Intercultural Fausts 7. The First Black Gretchen: New York 1978 * Background* The Performance* Performance Consciousness* Critical Reception* Conclusion 8. The Hindu Faust: Bombay 1994 * Background* The Performance* Critical Reception* Aftermath* Conclusion 9. The Christian Faust: Manila 1994 * Background* The Performance* Critical Reception* Aftermath* Conclusion 10. From Loyalist to Intercultural Pioneer Part IV Documentation Bibliography Appendices * Highlight Biography* Travels* Plays directed* Holdings of the Fritz Bennewitz Archive in Leipzig: A Treasure Trove for Researchers Index
£47.60
John Murray Press Make Your Show a Success Teach Yourself
Book SynopsisIs this the right book for me?Wherever your theatre interests lies, this is an essential book for you. It covers a wide range of key issues, from tips on coping with first night nerves, to a full section on health and safety, to funding and taxation. Illustrated with handy guides to lighting and staging and containing essential resources, this book will enable you to have a successful show. Make Your Show a Success includes:Part one: Community theatre: getting involvedChapter 1: Community theatreChapter 2: The actorsChapter 3: The directorChapter 4: The stage managerChapter 5: The lighting designer/technicianChapter 6: The sound designer/technicianChapter 7: The set designerChapter 8: WardrobeChapter 9: The props teamChapter 10: Musical societiesChapter 11: FestivalsPart two: Community theatre: from registration to rehearsalChapter 12: Setting up a new community theatre group<Trade ReviewIf you're looking for a book that reveals the rudiments of everything behind the scenes, Make Your Show a Success in the Teach Yourself series is a good start. * whatsonstage.com *Table of Contents 1.: Introduction – providing a background to the subject and outlining the purpose of the guide and who it is aimed at. 2.: Community theatre – providing definitions and statistics. This will provide an examination of what constitutes community theatre: amateur groups; amateur-run theatre buildings; the national and international festivals scene (full-length and one-act) 3.: Joining a drama group – how to audition; the rehearsal process; performances; who to turn to if you have a problem; how to cope with first night nerves etc. (including personal case studies). 4.: Joining a musical theatre group – an explanation of how this makes different demands: auditions; rehearsals; performances etc. (including personal case studies). 5.: 5. The Production Team – who does what; Health & Safety (for the group and the audience); how to do a risk assessment; the production process (scenery, costume, props, make-up, lighting, sound); front of house. 6.: Setting up a new group – how to go about it and the legal obligations: the committee structure; constitution; getting charitable status; incorporation; personal liability; insurance; contracts; copyright; taxation and VAT; child protection; equal op 7.: Engaging professional personnel – eg. directors, musical directors, orchestras: contracts; fees, tax implications. 8.: Scripts – publishers and rightsholders; copyright. 9.: Marketing – how to promote a show to the media; print and publicity, including tips on good presentation. 10.: Fundraising – sources of funds (lottery, local authorities); fundraising toolkit (sponsorship, donations, money-raising ideas). 11.: Jargon-busting – a glossary of commonly used terms, to demystify theatre jargon. 12.: Useful contacts – representative bodies; funding agencies; regional, national and international organizations. 13.: Index
£12.34
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Theatricality in Early Modern Art and
Book SynopsisTheatricality in Early Modern Art and Architecture offers the first systematic investigation of exchanges between the arts, architecture and the theatre. The authors present many new instances of the interaction between the arts, providing a theoretical and historiographical context for these interactions.Table of ContentsNotes on Contributors. 1. The Visual Arts and the Theatre in Early Modern Europe (Caroline Van Eck and Stijn Bussels). 2. 8216;Theatricality’ in Tapestries and Mystery Plays and its Afterlife in Painting (Laura Weigert). 3. Making the Most of Theatre and Painting: The Power of Tableaux Vivants in Joyous Entries from the Southern Netherlands (1458–1635) (Stijn Bussels). 4. Parrhasios and the Stage Curtain: Theatre, Metapainting and the Idea of Representation in the Seventeenth Century (Emmanuelle Hénin). 5. In Front of the Work of Art: The Question of Pictorial Theatricality in Italian Art, 1400–1700 (Marc Bayard). 6. Staging Bianca Capello: Painting and Theatricality in Sixteenth-Century Venice (Elsje van Kessel). 7. The Performing Venue: The Visual Play of Italian Courtly Theatres in the Sixteenth Century (Lex Hermans). 8. Dancing Statues and the Myth of Venice: Ancient Sculpture on the Opera Stage (Wendy Heller). 9. How to Become a Picture: Theatricality as Strategy in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Portraits (Hanneke Grootenboer). 10. Staging Ruins: Paestum and Theatricality (Sigrid de Jong). 11. Oprar sempre come in teatro: The Rome of Alexander VII as the Theatre of Papal Self-Representation (Maarten Delbeke). 12. Ut pictura hortus/ut theatrum hortus: Theatricality and French Picturesque Garden Theory (1771–95) (Bram Van Oostveldt). 13. ‘What do I See?’ The Order of Looking in Lessing's Emilia Galotti (Kati Röttger). Index.
£22.80
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Cleared for TakeOff A Memoir Bloomsbury Reader
Trade ReviewA charming and entertaining read by a born storyteller * Sunday Express *Table of ContentsCome of Age Come to Terms No Laughing Matter OHMS Travelling Two Ingrids A Girl I Knew A Family Matter On Loneliness Touch-Down Author's Note A Note on the Author
£16.98
AuthorHouse The Day the Mermaid Wept
£24.99
Union Square & Co. The Periodic Table of Broadway Musicals
£25.20
Pelican Publishing Company Tennessee Williams 101
Book Synopsis
£15.26
AuthorHouse A New Day And More Tales
£10.36
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd Home Truths
Book Synopsis
£23.75
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform Orson Welles A OnePerson Play in Two Acts 5 The Hollywood Legends
£8.55
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform Clara Bow A OneWoman Play in Two Acts 6 The Hollywood Legends
£8.55
Author Solutions Inc Silly Billys Guide to the Theatre A Kids Guide to the Backstage
£12.72
Arcadia Publishing (SC) Gershwin in Pittsburgh Images of America
Book Synopsis
£19.99
Arcadia Publishing Lakewood Theatre Images of America
Book Synopsis
£23.99
History Press A History of Clevelands Playhouse Square
Book Synopsis
£18.69
History Press The Golden Age of Baltimore Theater
Book Synopsis
£19.99
History Press Historic Theaters of the Tennessee TriCities
Book Synopsis
£17.31
History Press The Infamous Theaters of Virginia City Nevada
Book Synopsis
£17.31
MP-NCA Uni of North Carolina Radical Black Theatre in the New Deal
Book SynopsisExamines what the black performance community - a broad network of actors, dramatists, audiences, critics, and community activists - who made and remade black theatre manuscripts for theatre companies from New York to Seattle.
£73.50
MP-NCA Uni of North Carolina Vaudeville and the Making of Modern Entertainment
Book SynopsisVaudeville was America's most popular commercial amusement from the mid-1890s to the First World War. Telling the story of this pioneering art form's rise and decline, David Monod looks through the apparent carnival of vaudeville performance and asks: what made the theater so popular and transformative?
£73.50
MP-NCA Uni of North Carolina Staging Indigeneity Salvage Tourism and the
Book SynopsisArgues that tourism, nostalgia, and authenticity converge in the creation of ‘salvage tourism’, which blends tourism and history, contestations over citizenship, identity, belonging, and the continued use of Indians and Indianness as a means of escape, entertainment, and economic development.
£23.96
The University of North Carolina Press Oriental Black and White The Formation of Racial
Book SynopsisLooks at the intertwined racial representations of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American theater. Lee shows how blackface types were associated with working-class masculinity and the development of a nativist white racial identity for European immigrants, while the oriental marked what was culturally coded as foreign and feminized.
£23.96
Taylor & Francis Ltd Shakespeare and the Power of the Face
Book SynopsisThroughout his plays, Shakespeare placed an extraordinary emphasis on the power of the face to reveal or conceal moral character and emotion, repeatedly inviting the audience to attend carefully to facial features and expressions. The essays collected here disclose that an attention to the power of the face in Shakespeare's England helps explain moments when Shakespeare's language of the self becomes intertwined with his language of the face. As the range of these essays demonstrates, an attention to Shakespeare's treatment of faces has implications for our understanding of the historical and cultural context in which he wrote, as well as the significance of the face for the ongoing interpretation and production of the plays. Engaging with a variety of critical strands that have emerged from the so-called turn to the body, the contributors to this volume argue that Shakespeare's invitation to look to the face for clues to inner character is not an invitation to seek a static text bTrade Review'At once matter and metaphor, inside and outside, nature and art, self and other, the face is a crossroads; in their own facial theory and practice, the early moderns left us a window to their souls and a map of their world. With remarkable depth and methodological range, these essays chart that terrain, revealing the early modern face as a focal point of ideological negotiation, ethical encounter, and theatrical exchange. As unique, rich, and varied as its object of study, Shakespeare and the Power of the Face opens new avenues of thought and research that have been staring, so to speak, right at us.' Richard Preiss, author of Clowning and Authorship in Early Modern Theatre"The collection, complemented by an extensive bibliography, is structured to appeal to both early modern scholars and students in many fields including theatre, literature, and cultural studies." - Bríd Phillips, The University of Western AustraliaTable of ContentsShakespeare and the power of the face. Part 1 Powerful Faces: 'Thy face is mine': faces and fascination in Shakespeare's plays. Fashioning the face: embodiment and desire in early modern poetry. Facing marital cruelty in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and early modern London. Part 2 Signifying Faces: The two faces of Othello. Facing King Lear. Complex complexions: the facial signification of the black other in Lust's Dominion. Part 3 Staged Faces 'I knew by his face there was something in him': buried stage directions and authorial control. The play of looks: audience and the force of the early modern face. 'The counterfeit presentment of two brothers': the power of portraits in Hamlet. 'This painting wherein you see me smeared': Francis Bacon, Coriolanus, and the brutality of facialization.
£128.25
Taylor & Francis Ltd Les Miserables and Its Afterlives
Book SynopsisExploring the enduring popularity of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, this collection offers analysis of both the novel itself and its adaptations. In spite of a mixed response from critics, Les Misérables instantly became a global bestseller. Since its successful publication over 150 years ago, it has traveled across different countries, cultures, and media, giving rise to more than 60 international film and television variations, numerous radio dramatizations, animated versions, comics, and stage plays. Most famously, it has inspired the world''s longest running musical, which itself has generated a wealth of fan-made and online content. Whatever its form, Hugo's tale of social injustice and personal redemption continues to permeate the popular imagination. This volume draws together essays from across a variety of fields, combining readings of Les Misérables with reflections on some of its multimedia afterlives, including musical theater and film from the silent period to today''s digiTable of ContentsTable of contents to come.
£128.25
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC A Life of Galileo
Book SynopsisArguably Brecht''s greatest play, A Life of Galileo charts the seventeenth century scientist''s extraordinary fight with the church over his assertion that the earth orbits the sun.The figure of Galileo, whose heretical' discoveries about the solar system brought him to the attention of the Inquisition, is one of Brecht's more human and complex creations. Temporarily silenced by the Inquisition's threat of torture, and forced to abjure his theories publicly, Galileo continues to work in private, eventually smuggling his work out of the country.Brecht''s beautiful depiction of the explosive struggle between scientific discovery and religious fundamentalism is captured masterfully in this new translation by RSC writer-in-residence, Mark Ravenhill.Trade ReviewRavenhill has more to say, and says it more refreshingly and wittily, than any other playwright of his generation * Time Out *There are few stage authors writing more interestingly than Mark Ravenhill . . . He is . . . a searing, intelligent, disturbing sociologist with a talent for satirical dialogue and a flair for sexual sensationalism. * Financial Times *The real pleasure of ... Mark Ravenhill's slimmed-down translation lies in the absolute clarity with which [he] put[s] Brecht's masterpiece before us ... the real joy lies in seeing Brecht's timeless debate about scientific morality rendered with such pellucid swiftness. -- Michael Billington * Guardian *Lively and ultimately moving ... Ravenhill’s nifty and highly theatrical script, which pares down Brecht’s sometimes interminable speeches while retaining their essence -- Charles Spencer * Telegraph *A sharp new adaptation by Mark Ravenhill that emphasises the dark comedy and diversely rich theatrical inventiveness in a piece that Brecht kept revising -- Paul Taylor * Independent *
£11.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Prison Theatre and the Global Crisis of
Book SynopsisObscured behind concrete and razor wire, the lives of the incarcerated remain hidden from public view. Inside the walls, imprisoned people all over the world stage theatrical productions that enable them to assert their humanity and capabilities. Prison Theatre and the Global Crisis of Incarceration offers a uniquely international account and exploration of prison theatre. By discussing a range of performance practices tied to incarceration, this book examines the ways in which arts practitioners and imprisoned people use theatre as a means to build communities, attain professional skills, create social change, and maintain hope. Ashley Lucas's writing offers a distinctive blend of storytelling, performance analysis, travelogue, and personal experience as the child of an incarcerated father. Distinct examples of theatre performed in prisons are explored throughout the main text and also in a section of Critical Perspectives by international scholars and practitioners.Trade ReviewThis powerful account of theater, both in prison and in the free-world, eloquently reveals that those two worlds—and the people who inhabit them—are not distinct. This is an ethical, moving act of scholarship that matters. * Tressie McMillan Cottom, National Book Award Finalist and author of Thick and Other Essays *Well thought out, masterfully researched and heart wrenchingly honest, Ashley delivers a book for the ages. With heart and soul she reveals to us the power of theater to not only transform stages, she shows us how it transforms lives. * Shaka Senghor, author of Writing My Wrongs:Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison *This is an essential book on prisons in the global age of mass incarceration, the fine-grain deep damage that a crude system inflicts on human beings and their families. This is also one of the great books on theater, the shared and inexplicable phenomenon that shifts perceptions, changes lives in real time, and instigates collective reimaginings of moral action, hierarchy, and purpose in the face of unexpected vulnerabilities and difficult truth-telling. Prison theater is perhaps the one place where theater works as it did in early societies, with lives at stake, piercing questions of justice, and the soul of a nation or a community or a family hanging in the balance. Professor Ashley Lucas, herself the daughter of a father who spent more than 20 years in Texas prisons, writes with stunning insight, attentive to the nuance and detail of process within large institutions and informal groups, alert to the circumstances in which emotional life is transfigured and revealed, and the conditions under which it is buried alive. A deeply inspiring book that demonstrates hundreds of positive, healing, and creative ways forward from a misbegotten culture of failure and shame. * Peter Sellars, Director of the Boethius Initiative and Distinguished Professor of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA, USA *Table of ContentsForeword Heather Ann Thompson (University of Michigan, USA) Acknowledgments Part I Prison Theatre: Strategies for a Better Life Introduction: Journeys in Prison Theatre 1 Theatre as a Strategy for Community Building 2 Theatre as a Strategy for Professionalization 3 Theatre as a Strategy for Social Change 4 Theatre as a Strategy for Hope Conclusion: Glorious Beings Live Here Part II Critical Perspectives 5 Dancing in the Wings: Does Prison Theatre Offer a Radical Containment or a Pedagogy of Utopia? Selina Busby (The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama , UK) 6 “The Actors Have All the Power”: Angola’s Life of Jesus Christ Stephanie Gaskill (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA) 7 Citizens Theatre, Scotland, Facilitates Changes in Life Directions through Creative Arts Mediums Neil Packham and Elly Goodman, (Citizens Theatre, UK) 8 Bad Girls, Monsters, and Chicks in Chains: Clean Break Theatre Company’s Disruption of Representations of Women, Crime, and Incarceration Caoimhe McAvinchey, (Queen Mary University of London, UK) Notes Selected Bibliography on Prison Theatre Selected List of Prison Theatre Companies and Programs Notes on Contributors Index
£999.99
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Applied Theatre Research Radical Departures
Book SynopsisMichael Anderson is Associate Professor, Associate Dean and Head of Drama Education at the University of Sydney, Australia. His recent publications explore how aesthetic education is changing in the 21st century. These publications include Masterclass in Drama Education: transforming teaching and learning, Teaching the Screen, Film Education for Generation Next (with Miranda Jefferson), Drama with Digital Technology (with John Carroll and David Cameron, Continuum, 2009) and Real Players: Drama, Education and Technology (with John Carroll and David Cameron Trentham, 2006). Peter O'Connor is Associate Professor and the Director of the Critical Research Unit in Applied Theatre at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. His research interests centre on the application of drama pedagogy within wider social justice or public education actions. His most recent work includes the development of the Teaspoon of Light Theatre Company as a response to theTrade ReviewThe practices discussed [are] radical and indeed vital for a South/African applied theatre research praxis. * South African Theatre Journal *Table of ContentsList of Figures Notes on Contributors Acknowledgements Part One 1. Critical Departures: research in a postnormal world - Peter O’Connor and Michael Anderson Part Two 2. Applied Theatre as Research Working with Looked After Children - Claire McNeil 3. Finding Maximus in fragments of playful intensity - Adrian Schoone 4. Pretending to research: young people at the centre of discovery - Jane Luton 5. Working Together: Collaborative journeys in cross-cultural research and performance - Linden Wilkinson 6. It’s a tricky business: performing poetry with the Ghost - Esther Fitzpatrick 7. Life Drama Applied Theatre in Papua New Guinea: “It may be performative, but is it performative research?” - Brad Haseman 8. Afterword - Peter O’Connor and Michael Anderson Endnotes Index
£25.64
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Edward II Revised
Book SynopsisStephen Guy-Bray is Professor and Head of the Department of English at the University of British Columbia, Canada.Martin Wiggins is a Fellow of The Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK.Table of ContentsIntroduction A Note on the Text Further Reading Edward II
£12.10
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) A Student Handbook to the Plays of Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie A Streetcar Named Desire Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Sweet Bird of Youth
Book SynopsisKatherine Weiss is Associate Professor of English in the Department of Literature and Language, East Tennessee State University, USA.Stephen Bottoms is Professor of Contemporary Theatre and Performance at Manchester University, UK.Philip Kolin is University Distinguished Professor in the College of Arts and Letters and Professor of English at the University of Southern Mississippi, USA.Michael S. D. Hooper is the author of Sexual Politics in the Work of Tennessee Williams: Desire Over Protest, and teaches English and Drama at St Margaret's Bushey, UK.Trade ReviewWhat Weiss has done here is sculpt a text that … provides an in-depth primer to one of the United States’ most decorated playwrights. Ultimately, A Student Handbook to the Plays of Tennessee Williams will be useful for students and professors who are searching for an easily navigable and digestible analysis of Williams and his early work. * Journal of American Drama and Theatre *Working chronologically through his plays, Murphy provides critical commentary for each, her own as well as commentaries from other leading scholars in the field … From start to last, Murphy's summaries are generous without being overwritten; her explications insightful and accessible, the way in fact a really good teacher's are. -- Doug Phillips * Text and Presentation *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements A chronology of Williams' life and work Introduction 1. The Glass Menagerie 2. A Streetcar Named Desire 3. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 4. Sweet Bird of Youth 5. Questions for study 6. Further reading
£26.99
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Private Lives Modern Plays
Book SynopsisNoël Coward (b. 1899) is one of Britain's most celebrated writers. He made his name as a playwright with The Vortex (1924), in which he also appeared. His numerous other successful plays included Fallen Angels (1925), Hay Fever (1925), Private Lives (1933), Design for Living (1933) and Blithe Spirit (1941). He died in 1973.Trade ReviewNoel Coward's glittering gem -- Sam Marlowe * The Times *The brilliance of Coward's conceit . . . is as sparkling as it ever was -- John Nathan * Jewish Chronicle *The play is marriage in three parts, but with better jokes and an interval -- Nina Caplan * Time Out *In a word - go -- Dominic Cavendish * Daily Telegraph *
£16.02
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Barking in Essex Modern Plays
Book SynopsisFreedom finally beckons for Algie Packer, Essex's most notorious gangster. He's done seven years inside and now he's coming home to collect his reward 3,672,000 in untraceable notes. But there's something Algie's family have forgotten to mention . . . The Packers are Essex's lovable, but most dysfunctional family. Witness their desperate attempts to cover their tracks before Algie arrives to collect what is rightfully his.Barking In Essex is a riotously funny comedy by Clive Exton, published and produced for the first time in 2013.Trade ReviewCheerfully crude new black comedy * The Times *Those who like their comedy black, blue, an raucous will have a ball. * Telegraph *Humorous delight to be had * Observer *
£11.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Cannibals
Book SynopsisOn a farm, in a village, on the fringe of Europe, life is simple but hard. When the sweeping forces of war and progress pass through, Lizaveta must run for her life. Finding shelter on an old woman's farm, she tries to piece her life back together. But her past catches up with her and she must keep moving.Her journey through a land of mud and blood, icon painters and holy fools, takes her across continents to the other side of the world. Through Lizaveta's eyes familiar places and notions of love, family and identity become distant and strange.Cannibals is a bold and unique play by Manchester playwright, Rory Mullarkey. It is his first full-length play, written while he was Pearson Playwright in Residence at the Royal Exchange in 2011.Trade ReviewThe narrative feels as primal and timeless as an orthodox chant, boldly connecting a mythic world of babushkas, icon-painters and holy fools to the plight of abducted east European brides in modern-day Manchester … Cannibals is not an easy play to watch, or even a particularly easy play to like. But it could be one of the most provocative, original and disturbing debuts since Blasted. -- Alfred Hickling * Guardian *Hard, uncompromising and in its literal sense visceral, there are some truly unappetising moments in this brutal and bloody drama. Yet it is far from being a relentless gore-fest … There is real tension in the play … brilliantly exciting drama. -- Jonathan Brown * Independent *Mullarkey ... has talent, for seeking out a real subject and for translating it into action on stage. -- Susannah Clapp * Observer *
£16.02
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC A Dolls House
Book Synopsis''I think I''m a human being before anything else. I don''t care what other people say. I don''t care what people write in books. I need to think for myself.'' Henrik Ibsen''s A Doll''s House premiered in 1879 in Copenhagen, the second in a series of realist plays by Ibsen, and immediately provoked controversy with its apparently feminist message and exposure of the hypocrisy of Victorian middle-class marriage. In Ibsen''s play, Nora Helmer has secretly (and deceptively) borrowed a large sum of money to pay for her husband, Torvald, to recover from illness on a sabbatical in Italy. Torvald''s perception of Nora is of a silly, naive spendthrift, so it is only when the truth begins to emerge, and Torvald appreciates the initiative behind his wife, that unmendable cracks appear in their marriage. This compelling new version of Ibsen''s masterpiece by playwright Simon Stephens premiered at the Young Vic Theatre, London, on 29 June 2012. It was updated with minor changes in Trade ReviewSimon Stephens's agile new version [is] . . . quick and clear and full of subtle touches * Susannah Clapp, Guardian *A sensible, sensitive and spirited version . . . that chimes with the debt-laden times we’re trapped in and poses still-pressing questions * Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph *The supple new version of the text by Simon Stephens is [a] great plus point . . . in this definitive take on a classic -- Fiona Mountford * Evening Standard *An astute, often savagely funny version by Simon Stephens . . . And as the doll at the play's heart and hearth cracks like porcelain and the woman emerges, it's with a force that's shattering. -- Sam Marlowe * Metro *Simon Stephens's new English-language version of the text . . . makes the characters' anxieties feel contemporary despite the period dress. "Feminism" may not have been in Ibsen's vocabulary, but he was undoubtedly concerned with the roles we all play and why. * Financial Times *
£11.99
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) The Arab Shakespeare Trilogy
£24.99
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Brecht Music and Culture Hanns Eisler in Conversation with Hans Bunge
Book SynopsisHanns Eisler was an Austrian composer. A Schoenberg pupil and committed Marxist, he was one of the great distinctive musical personalities of the twentieth century. Hans Bunge was assistant director and dramaturg at the Berliner Ensemble in Germany in the 1950s and later became first director of the Brecht Archive. He published his conversations with Eisler in Germany under the title Gespräche mit Hans Bunge Fragen Sie mehr über Brecht.Sabine Berendse, the daughter of the late Hans Bunge, is a Librarian and Information Specialist in Berlin, Germany. Paul Clements was Principal of Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London, UK, for twelve years until his retirement in July 2008. He has taught, acted and directed in the UK, Canada and Scandinavia.Trade ReviewTh[is] edition is a labour of love. ... Together with Paul Clements, [Berendse] has crafted not only a readable but a highly engaging rendition of a series of conversations whose length makes them suitable for a sustained read or a more relaxed series of perusals ... [This] edition offers rich anecdotal accounts of Brecht, the German Democratic Republic, and disquisitions on the relationship between politics and music. * New Theatre Quarterly *Eisler’s conversations with Hans Bunge about Brecht focus on their time together in Hollywood as well as on the building of a ‘magnificent’ new social republic. For Eisler, the ‘be-all and end-all’ of their work was to ‘educate the teacher!’ … The most fascinating and perplexing aspect of the conversations turns on the effort to ‘study the effect of art on human beings.’ … The lesson of the great modernists was the lesson of socialism. In other words, ending capitalism was the precondition for making and understanding great art. -- Todd Cronan, Emory University, USA * Radical Philosophy 189 *The important achievement of the translators ... is to have made available to the English-speaking world a landmark volume published almost forty years ago -- Ian Wallace * Eisler-Mitteilungen *As Brecht’s essay on “gestic music” makes clear, the concept of gestic performance emerged from his close collaborations with composers. Bloomsbury’s companion volume, Brecht, Music and Culture, is thus doubly welcome, first for translating Eisler’s thoughtful conversations with Hans Bunge, Fragen Sie mehr über Brecht (1970), and second for explaining rather than mis-translating Verfremdung and so helping to consolidate a Brecht lexicon consistent with the new Brecht on Theatre. This publication also draws attention to the uneven transmission of Brecht’s musical collaborators’ critical commentary, as well as musical compositions. * Theatre Journal *Table of ContentsNotes to the German edition by Hans Bunge Translator’s note Conversation 1 14 Ways of Describing Rain – Meetings between Brecht and Arnold Schoenberg, Charlie Chaplin and Thomas Mann – Brecht and Music Conversation 2 Galileo – Hollywood Elegies – Brecht and Feuchtwanger – Brecht and Music for the Theatre – Schweyk in the Second World War Conversation 3 Brecht on Arnold Schoenberg – Gestic Music – The Caucasian Chalk Circle – Döblin’s 65th Birthday Party Conversation 4 Music for The Private Life of the Master Race – Prologue to Galileo – Eisler and the House Committee on Un-American Activities – The Mother in New York – Brecht and Stefan Zweig – Bajazzo Conversation 5 Brecht’s Hexameters for the Communist Manifesto – Was Brecht a Marxist? – Brecht’s Method of Verfremdung Conversation 6 ‘To Those Born Later’ – Boogie-Woogie – Eisler on Religion – Galileo Conversation 7 ‘Hotel Room 1942’ – Hölderlin Conversation 8 On Stupidity in Music I – Hölderlin Conversation 9 Hans Mayer’s book on Brecht – Brecht and Georg Lukács Conversation 10 The Music to Schweyk in the Second World War – On Stupidity in Music II Conversation 11 Hölderlin Poems – On Stupidity in Music III Conversation 12 Eisler on Classical Literature, on the Function of Art, on Cybernetics and on Napoleon Conversation 13 Serious Songs – Eisler’s Plans for a Symphony Conversation 14 Eisler and Bunge Compare Their Experiences as Soldiers Afterword: For the First Edition of the ‘Conversations’ by Stephan Hermlin Notes Appendix Index
£26.99
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Playwriting
Book SynopsisFraser Grace is a playwright and former actor and performance poet. His first play, Perpetua, was joint winner of the Verity Bargate Award and was produced by Soho Theatre/Birmingham REP. Since then he has written for theatres all over the UK, including Breakfast with Mugabe for the Royal Shakespeare Company, whose production won the John Whiting Award in 2006 and a Silver Sony Award when broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and the World Service. The play has since been revived in the UK, and has enjoyed extended runs in the USA, both off-Broadway and in California, in 2014. Since 2011 Fraser has convened the Master's Playwriting Course at the University of Birmingham, UK. Clare Bayley is an award-winning playwright. Her plays include Blue Sky, The Container, which won a Fringe First and the Amnesty International Award (Udderbelly, Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2007) and has been produced at the Young Vic, London (2009) and in Cardiff, Baltimore US, Toronto Canada and Melbourne Australia. For radio she has written In The Van, a 15 Minute Drama for BBC Radio 4 (2012), Portobello Beach for BBC Radio Scotland (2012), and for BBC Radio 4: The Secret Place, The Bringer of Sweets and Northern Lights. She is a former theatre editor of The Independent and currently teaches creative writing at London South Bank University, UK.Trade ReviewA readable and mostly comprehensive introduction to writing for the stage for new playwrights … For true beginners this book would be an extremely helpful companion on their journey … It will likely be useful to the lone emerging playwright or in conjunction with an introduction to playwriting course. Grace and Bayley update some of the older playwriting texts and earnestly steer away from being overly prescriptive. For these reasons Playwriting is a useful addition to the bookshelf. * Theatre Topics *[In] this comprehensive guide to writing for the stage by award-winning playwrights Fraser Grace and Clare Bayley ... there are illuminating tips from 20 established writers – Frank McGuinness, Tom Stoppard and April De Angelis among them. * Youth Drama Ireland *Table of ContentsForeword Introduction: Scriptwriter, Dramatist, Author, Hack Part I: Playwriting - The View from Above Reflections 1 Reflections 2 A Brief History of the Theatre Part II: Tips and Tales - Guest Contributors Part III: Write On - The View from the Ground Writing The Industry The Production/Rehearsal Process Bibliography Index
£25.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Musical Theatre Song
Book SynopsisMusical Theatre Song is a handbook for musical theatre performers, providing them with the wide-ranging skill set they need for success in today''s competitive musical theatre environment. Breaking down the process into knowing how to select your song material based upon your individuality and how to prepare and perform it in a manner that best highlights your attributes, Stephen Purdy provides a succinct and personalized trajectory toward presentation, taking the reader through a series of challenges that is designed to evoke original, personal and vibrant song performances. Written by renowned Broadway and West End vocal and audition coach Stephen Purdy, Musical Theatre Song is a must-have guide for all performers who are looking to succeed in the musical theatre industry.Trade ReviewPurdy guides the singer/performer through a well-conceived series of chapters, moving from a basic understanding of the history of the genre, to choosing a song repertoire and then performing/acting the song. It is obvious that Purdy’s experiences in professional musical theatre have given him a strong perspective on the art, which he shares with the performer in a logical and well-designed fashion … The journey that Purdy takes the reader on, from song selection, through song preparation, to song performance and audition, is comprehensive and filled with personal anecdotes that bring the ride to life. With the new musical theatre performer in mind, Stephen Purdy has given a guidebook and source for information that will also inform the seasoned performer or instructor moving in a logical timeline approach to the process … The ideas Purdy puts forth in preparing the song move from in-depth table or paper work, through an easy to process performance. And finally, the information he puts forth on the business side is invaluable, stemming from a long personal experience in all aspects of musical theatre. Musical Theatre Song by Stephen Purdy is a book that will aid both the performer and the coach in preparing for the world outside of the studio. * Voice & Speech Review *With its combination of historicity and practicality, Musical Theatre Song … will be of interest to both educators and performers. * Journal of American Drama and Theatre *Dramatic stage singers today are more hard-pressed than ever to deliver original, truthful and personal performances with bravura. Stephen Purdy’s new text contains insightful, invaluable wisdom that gives modern stage performers the tools and the wherewithal to do this in a way that nurtures their individuality and fosters their artistry * Placido Domingo *It's about time that somebody put a real, relevant text out there about theatre song preparation and choice. As a music supervisor, arranger and orchestrator of many "rock" and "pop" Broadway, West End and Internationally produced musicals I'm extremely sensitive in the casting process to a singer's ability to execute story-based song performance and "act" the song. This is in addition to having chosen material that works for them personally. Purdy's knockout book gives modern musical theatre performers the essential ingredients they need to accomplish these things and so much else. * Ethan Popp, Grammy-nominated producer and Tony-nominated orchestrator *Purdy offers Musical Theatre Song as a guide to the singing actor in the selection, preparation, and presentation of audition material … Anyone preparing for an audition in the music theater arena will find this book invaluable. * NATS Journal of Singing *Purdy’s book serves as an excellent companion on the road to success in the audition room … the sections in which he offers practical advice, tricks of the trade, and exercises make the book a useful guide for students of musical theatre, as well as musical theatre practitioners and teachers … an excellent tool for classroom use … Purdy’s unique perspective and experience lend Musical Theatre Song a level of authority and insight that make it an excellent addition to any musical theatre student’s, teacher’s, or practitioner’s library. * Theatre Topics *Table of ContentsPreface Section I: Song Selection Chapter 1: Introduction to Song Selection and Historical Context: What You Should Know and Why You Should Care Chapter 2: Song Selection for Singing Actors: The Philosophical – What to Sing and Where to Find it Chapter 3: The Song is You: Song Selection for Singing Actors – The Practical Section II: Song Preparation Chapter 4: Introduction to Song Preparation Chapter 5: Off the Table and Off the Page: Techniques for Playability Chapter 6: A Music and Musical Theatre Term Lexicon Chapter 7: Coaching Songs Through with Singing Actors Section III: Song Presentation Chapter 8: Your Turn at Bat, Sir.
£24.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
Book SynopsisDescribed by Brecht as ''a gangster play that would recall certain events familiar to us all'', The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui is a witty and savage satire of the rise of Hitler recast by Brecht into a small-time Chicago gangster''s takeover of the city''s greengrocery trade. Using a wide range of parody and pastiche from Al Capone to Shakespeare''s Richard III and Goethe''s Faust Brecht''s compelling parable continues to have relevance wherever totalitarianism appears today.Written during the Second World War in 1941, the play was one of the Berliner Ensemble''s most outstanding box-office successes in 1959, and has continued to attract a succession of major actors, including Leonard Rossiter, Christopher Plummer, Antony Sher and Al Pacino.This version, originally translated by George Tabori, has been revised by leading Scottish playwright Alistair Beaton.Trade ReviewThe 1964 translation by George Tabori, souped up by Alistair Beaton, fizzes with verbal pep and clever couplets . . . there’s never a dull minute . . . We are wooed by relentless spectacle and our enjoyment is integral to the play’s chilling kick. * Daily Telegraph *Alistair Beaton’s revised version of the text is pleasingly sparky ... The West End is a better place for such challenging, intelligent fare. * Standard *Alistair Beaton's shrewd tweaking of George Tabori's translation . . . * Guardian *Hitler's rise to power is parodied in Brecht's allegorical satire with the Führer as scary as a tea cosy ... The American gangster movie meets Richard III * Gaurdian *... comedian Alistair Beaton's revision of the translation by George Tabori keeps the sprightly blank verse of the original, with multiple Shakespearean and other literary echoes. * Sunday Times *
£13.93
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Modern American Drama Playwriting in the 1980s
Book SynopsisTable of ContentsBiographical Note and Notes on Contributors General Preface: Brenda Murphy and Julia Listengarten 1. Introduction to the 1980s by Sandra G. Shannon, Howard University, USA. 2. American Theatre in the 1980s by Sandra G. Shannon, Howard University, USA. 3. David Mamet: Edmond (1982), Glengarry Glen Ross (1984), Speed-the-Plow (1988), Oleanna (1992) by Nelson Pressley 4. David Henry Hwang: FOB (1980), The Dance and the Railroad (1981), Family Devotions (1981), M. Butterfly (1988) by William C. Boles, Rollins College, USA. 5. Maria Irene Fornès: The Danube (1982), Mud (1983), The Conduct of Life (1985) by Gwendolyn Alker, Tisch School of the Arts, USA. 6. August Wilson: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1984), Fences (1987), Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1984) by Sandra G. Shannon, Howard University, USA. Afterword Documents Notes Bibliography Index
£90.00
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Modern American Drama Playwriting in the 1990s
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThe story has been greatly helped by the efforts of superb joint editors. Not only have they managed to encapsulate the decade in their own writing but also selected impressively qualified experts to enthuse about the four chosen playwrights. * British Theatre Guide *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Biographical Note and Notes on Contributors General Preface: Brenda Murphy and Julia Listengarten 1. Introduction to the 1990s by Cherly Black, University of Missouri, USA; and Sharon Friedman, New York University, USA. 2. American theatre in the 1990s by Cherly Black, University of Missouri, USA; and Sharon Friedman, New York University, USA. 3. Terrence McNally by John M. Clum, Duke University, USA. 4. Paula Vogel by Joanna Mansbridge, Billkent University, Ankara, Turkey. 5. Tony Kushner by James Fisher, University of North Carolina, USA. 6. Suzan-Lori Parks by Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr, Loyola Marymount University, USA. Afterword Documents Notes Bibliography Index
£90.00
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Alices Adventures in Wonderland
Book SynopsisWhen Alice falls down a mysterious rabbit hole she stumbles upon a magical fantasy world where anything can happen . . . Take tea with the Mad Hatter, meet the White Rabbit, grin with the Cheshire Cat, and play croquet with the Queen of Hearts, but whatever you do . . . don't lose your head!Lewis Carroll's classic characters spring to life in an enchanting show for the whole family, bursting with music, madness and mystery.Simon Reade''s adaptation of Lewis Carroll's much-loved fantasy classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a witty and brilliantly inventive re-working, which won the TMA Award for Best Show for Young People.Trade Review[Former director/designer Melly] Still and Reade boldly resist temptations to create a cute, fluffy, Disneyfied landscape, instead embracing the physical limitations of theatre as a catalyst for the audience's collective imagination . . . It's a fresh, idiosyncratic pleasure. * Daily Telegraph on the original production *
£13.67
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Actors Business Plan
Book SynopsisThe Actor's Business Plan is a self-directed practical guide for actors graduating from formal training programs, as well as for those already in the business whose careers need to move ahead more successfully. Using the familiar language of acting training, the book offers a method for the achievement of dreams through a five-year life and career plan giving positive steps to develop a happy life as an actor and as a person. It assists performers to flourish using the same kind of business/career planning that is a necessary part of life for entrepreneurs and business people. This introduction to the acting industry provides essential knowledge not only for how the business actually works, but also describes what casting directors, agents, and managers do, demystifies the role of unions, discusses how much things cost, and offers advice on branding and marketing strategies. It differs from other such handbooks in that it addresses the everyday issues of life, money, and jobs thTrade ReviewSince actors spend much more time seeking and preparing for roles than actually acting, a career in acting should be viewed as a business. An actor, like any other professional, needs career plans, which pretty much sums up the main message of this work by veteran actor, director/producer, and agent Brody. Individual chapters cover the development of a five-year plan to achieve one's goals, getting an agent, and trying to land a job in a desired theater. Also covered are topics such as taking coaching classes, trying out for roles, handling life-plan obstacles (e.g., student debt), and dealing with business expenses (e.g., headshots, union fees, relocation expenses, or health insurance), along with tips on how to make contacts and write query letters or resumés. There is a section on what casting directors, agents, and managers actually do. The second half of the book focuses on the major acting centers of the country: Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and the Washington, DC-Baltimore area. For each of these areas, the author provides a selection of agents, casting directors, photographers, drama schools, management, and theater companies with contact information. Summing Up: Recommended. All audiences. -- C. E. King, Iowa State University * CHOICE *The book promises to be an extremely practical and helpful guide for the young actor embarking on a professional acting career . . . I wish such a book existed when I was graduating -- Lucien Douglas, Head of Acting, University of Texas, Austina smart approach, and one that I think will make the information very accessible to young professionals in the industry * Melia Bensussen, Chair, Performing Arts Department, Emerson College, Boston *Since actors spend much more time seeking and preparing for roles than actually acting, a career in acting should be viewed as a business. An actor, like any other professional, needs career plans, which pretty much sums up the main message of this work by veteran actor, director/producer, and agent Brody. Individual chapters cover the development of a five-year plan to achieve one's goals, getting an agent, and trying to land a job in a desired theater. Also covered are topics such as taking coaching classes, trying out for roles, handling life-plan obstacles (e.g., student debt), and dealing with business expenses (e.g., headshots, union fees, relocation expenses, or health insurance), along with tips on how to make contacts and write query letters or resumés. There is a section on what casting directors, agents, and managers actually do. The second half of the book focuses on the major acting centers of the country: Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and the Washington, DC-Baltimore area. For each of these areas, the author provides a selection of agents, casting directors, photographers, drama schools, management, and theater companies with contact information. Summing Up: Recommended. All audiences. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Chapter 1: Dreams for Your Life Play Chapter 2: Given Circumstances of Your Life Play: Obstacles Chapter 3: Your Life Play’s Five Year Plan: Objectives, Events, Tactics, Beats, and Tasks Chapter 4: Making Your Five Act Life Plan Happen Chapter 5: Handling the Obstacles in your Life Play Chapter 6: Access to the Fulfillment of your Life Plan Chapter 7: The Cast of your Life Play: Casting Directors, Agents, and Managers; Who They Are and What They Do Chapter 8: Building a Character: Type versus Brand Chapter 9: Doing Your Life’s Play, Action! Chapter 10: Your Life Play’s Experience: Resumes Chapter 11: The Album of Your Life Play: Pictures, Reels, and Websites Chapter 12: Learning Your Lines and Showing up for Your Life Play: Auditions Chapter 13: The Location of Your Life Play: Markets Appendix: Resources and Recommended Reading
£18.99
