Search results for ""Author Laurence Senelick""

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Book SynopsisIt is a book about dying, or, more accurately, about the representation of dying in the theatre. Its chief concern is how actors undertook to translate words and concepts into forms legible and significant to an audience. It deals with the ways in which playwrights wrote about death and attitudes towards death in their cultures. Nevertheless, the emphasis is on the practice of acting. This “death spectacle” runs the gamut. From the Greek tragic stage which was highly selective in determining which deaths it (re)enacted to the elaborately stylized murders and suicides in the Kabuki to the lavish blood-letting of the Elizabethans to the deathbed visitations of the modern era, what was acceptable and/or enjoyable fluctuates wildly.Trade Review“Audaciously wide in its reach across centuries and cultures and rich in observed detail of innumerable stage performances, Laurence Senelick offers an eloquent and graphic review of the Western theatrical canon seen through enactments of death and that moment’s impact on audiences. And always there are two Professor Senelicks: the scholar-historian and the sharp-eyed (and sometimes bemused and quietly ironic) critic. A brilliant tour de force.” —David Mayer, Emeritus Professor of Drama and Research Professor, University of Manchester, UK“A compendiously learned and thoroughly entertaining account of how the inexorable reality of death is conceived, engaged and enacted through the many phases of Western playmaking and performance, from the Greeks to the era of the AIDS disaster. Senelick as always finds a pearl of interest in every seeming quirk and divagation in theatrical practice while evoking the surrounding cultural attitudes, fixations and avoidances, and brings to bear an encyclopedic knowledge of theater and all that relates to it. Writing with verve and lucidity and a nice balance of irony and humanity, Senelick never loses sight of the serious challenge in the sentient lives of the audience of coming to terms with the inevitable.” —Martin Meisel, Brander Matthews Professor Emeritus of English and Dramatic Literature, Columbia University, USALike Senelick's other works, the present work is well researched and well written, and his sardonic humor shines through. [...] Particularly interesting are Senelick's explorations of the cultural standards and reactions to death in each historical period and the process of critiquing performance and recording immediate audience reaction in each social era. - CHOICETable of ContentsList of Figures; Introduction; 1. Early Stages; 2. Murther Most Foul; 3. Death- Defying Exploits; 4. Sick unto Death; 5. Shadow and Substance; Epilogue: Post- Mortem; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisHighly recommended for all serious drama programs. --Choice 8.75 6 Trade Paper 14.95 CUSA 200 Original y

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Book SynopsisA latecomer continually hampered by government control and interference, the Russian theatre seems an unlikely source of innovation and creativity. Yet, by the middle of the nineteenth century, it had given rise to a number of outstanding playwrights and actors, and by the start of the twentieth century, it was in the vanguard of progressive thinking in the realms of directing and design. Its influence throughout the world was pervasive: Nikolai Gogol'', Anton Chekhov and Maksim Gor''kii remain staples of repertories in every language, the ideas of Konstantin Stanislavskii, Vsevolod Meierkhol''d and Mikhail Chekhov continue to inspire actors and directors, while designers still draw on the graphics of the World of Art group and the Constructivists. What distinguishes Russian theater from almost any other is the way in which these achievements evolved and survived in ongoing conflict or cooperation with the State.This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Russian Theatre covers theTable of ContentsEditor's Foreword Jon Woronoff Preface Transliteration Acronyms Chronology Introduction THE DICTIONARY Original Titles of Works Cited Bibliography About the Author

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Book Synopsis“Senelick’s accomplishment is astounding.”—Library JournalTrade Review"Senelick ... has done his job as scholar and translator nearly to perfection."

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