His career has spanned more than half a century, his lyrics have become synonymous with musical theater and popular culture, and in Finishing the Hat—titled after perhaps his most autobiographical song, from Sunday in the Park with George—Sondheim has not only collected his lyrics for the first time, he is giving readers a rare personal look into his life as well as his remarkable productions.Along with the lyrics for all of his musicals from 1954 to 1981—including West Side Story, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd—Sondheim treats us to never-before-published songs from each show, songs that were cut or discarded before seeing the light of day. He discusses his relationship with his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II, and his collaborations with extraordinary talents such as Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, Ethel Merman, Richard Rodgers, Angela Lansbury, Harold Prince and a panoply of others. The anecdotes—filled with history, pointed observations and intimate details—transport us back to a time when theater was a major pillar of American culture. Best of all, Sondheim appraises his work and dissects his lyrics, as well as those of others, offering unparalleled insights into songwriting that will be studied by fans and aspiring songwriters for years to come. Accompanying Sondheim’s sparkling writing are behind-the-scenes photographs from each production, along with handwritten music and lyrics from the songwriter’s personal collection. Penetrating and surprising, poignant, funny and sometimes provocative, Finishing the Hat is not only an informative look at the art and craft of lyric writing, it is a history of the theater that belongs on the same literary shelf as Moss Hart’s Act One and Arthur Miller’s Timebends. It is also a book that will leave you humming the final bars of Merrily We Roll Along, while eagerly anticipating the next volume, which begins with the opening lines of Sunday in the Park with George.

    "A brave and breathtaking musical."--The New York Times

    . . . Lynn Nottage’s beautiful, hideous and unpretentiously important play [is] a shattering, intimate journey into faraway news reports.”—Linda Winer, Newsday“An intense and gripping new drama . . . the kind of new play we desperately need: well-informed and unafraid of the world’s brutalities. Nottage is one of our finest playwrights, a smart, empathetic and daring storyteller who tells a story an audience won’t expect.”—David Cote, Time Out New YorkA rain forest bar and brothel in the brutally war-torn Congo is the setting for Lynn Nottage’s extraordinary new play. The establishment’s shrewd matriarch, Mama Nadi, keeps peace between customers from both sides of the civil war, as government soldiers and rebel forces alike choose from her inventory of women, many already “ruined” by rape and torture when they were pressed into prostitution. Inspired by interviews she conducted in Africa with Congo refugees, Nottage has crafted an engrossing and uncommonly human story with humor and song served alongside its postcolonial and feminist politics in the rich theatrical tradition of Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage.Lynn Nottage’s plays include Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Fabulation, and Intimate Apparel, winner of the American Theatre Critics’ Steinberg New Play Award and the Francesca Primus Prize. Her plays have been widely produced, with Intimate Apparel receiving more productions than any other play in America during the 2005-2006 season.

    "Free for All" is the irresistible oral history of the New York Shakespeare Festival and the Public Theater-two institutions that under the inspired leadership of Joseph Papp have been a premier source of revolutionary and enduring American theater. To tell this fascinating story, Kenneth Turan interviewed some 160 luminaries-including George C. Scott, Meryl Streep, Mike Nichols, Kevin Kline, James Earl Jones, David Rabe, Jerry Stiller, Tommy Lee Jones, and Wallace Shawn-and masterfully weaves their voices into a dizzyingly rich tale of creativity, conflict, and achievement. And at the center of this""incredibly engrossing account of artistic daring and excellence the larger-than-life figure of Joseph Papp reigns supreme.

    . . . A tragic and hilarious vision of life in an English country community. Butterworth’s new work was the most talked about new work of the season."—The London Paper

    His list of Broadway and Hollywood successes—A Streetcar Named Desire (stage and screen), All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, On the Waterfront, East of Eden, Baby Doll, America America, to name only a few—is a testament to his profound impact on the art of directing. Kazan’s insights into these and other classic stage works shaped their subsequent productions—and continue to do so. There is no directorial achievement in America equal to his.This remarkable book, drawn from his notebooks, letters, interviews, and autobiography, reveals Kazan’s method: how he uncovered for himself the “spine” or core of each script and each character; how he analyzed each piece in terms of his own experience; how he determined the specifics of his production, from casting and costuming to set design and cinematography. And we see how he worked with writers on scripts and with actors on interpretation.The final section, “The Pleasures of Directing”—essays Kazan was writing in his last decade—is informal, provocative, candid, and passionate; a wise old pro sharing the secrets of his craft, advising us how to search for ourselves in each project, how to fight the system, and how to have fun doing it.Published in Kazan’s centenary year, this monumental, revelatory book, edited by Robert Cornfield, is essential reading for everyone interested in American movies and theatre.

    The Civil War is over and throughout the south, slaves are being freed, soldiers are returning home and in Jewish homes, the annual celebration of Passover is being celebrated. Into the chaos of war-torn Richmond comes Caleb DeLeon, a young Confederate officer who has been severely wounded. He finds his family's home in ruins and abandoned, save for two former slaves, Simon and John, who wait in the empty house for the family's return. As the three

    A piano/vocal songbook featuring nearly every song from the Tony award-winning musical by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey about a family's struggle to hold itself together while confronting the challenges of mental illness. This book contains 26 emotionally-charged songs, including "Superboy and the Invisible Girl," "I Miss the Mountains," and "You Don't Know."

    Crafted with that adage in mind, The Dramatic Writer’s Companion is designed to help writers explore their own ideas in order to develop the script in front of them. No ordinary guide to plotting, this handbook starts with the principle that character is key. “The character is not something added to the scene or to the story,” writes author Will Dunne. “Rather, the character is the scene. The character is the story.” Having spent decades working with dramatists to refine and expand their existing plays and screenplays, Dunne effortlessly blends condensed dramatic theory with specific action steps—over sixty workshop-tested exercises that can be adapted to virtually any individual writing process and dramatic script. Dunne’s in-depth method is both instinctual and intellectual, allowing writers to discover new actions for their characters and new directions for their stories. Dunne’s own experience is a crucial element of this guide. His plays have been selected by the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center for three U.S. National Playwrights Conferences and have earned numerous honors, including a Charles MacArthur Fellowship, four Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards, and two Drama-Logue Playwriting Awards. Thousands of individuals have already benefited from his workshops, and The Dramatic Writer’s Companion promises to bring his remarkable creative method to an even wider audience.

    Written by artistic directors Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett, The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre is the first book to reflect on the history and practice of this remarkable company, and includes:practical exercises essays on film, music and physical theatre inspiration for devising, writing and choreographing performance suggestions for scene development an anthology of Frantic Assembly productions an eight page colour section, and illustrations throughout.Accompanied by a companion website featuring clips of rehearsals and performances, this intimate and personal account offers an accessible, educational and indispensable introduction to the evolution and success of Frantic Assembly.

    14 songs from the Broadway musical based on the hit film about sorority girl turned Harvard law student Elle Woods. Includes: Bend and Snap * Find My Way/Finale * Legally Blonde * Omigod You Guys * Take It like a Man * What You Want * and more, in standard piano/vocal format with the melody in the piano part. Also includes guitar chord frames.

    Features 18 piano/vocal selections from this Broadway hit that won both Tony and Drama Desk awards. Includes a plot synopsis, four pages of sensational color photos, and these tunes: The Ballad of Farquaad * Big Bright Beautiful World * Build a Wall * Don't Let Me Go * Donkey Pot Pie * Finale (This Is Our Story) * Freak Flag * I Know It's Today * I Think I Got You Beat * Make a Move * More to the Story * Morning Person * Story of My Life * This Is How a Dream Comes True * Travel Song * What's Up, Duloc? * When Words Fail * Who I'd Be.

    It is a book profoundly enriched by the author s two loves, love for the theater and love for his partner of fifty-two years, Tom Hatcher, who shared and inspired every aspect of his life and his work. Laurents writes about the musicals he directed, I Can Get It for You Wholesale, its producer David Merrick (the Abominable Showman ), and its (very young) stars Barbra Streisand and Elliott Gould . . . He writes about Stephen Sondheim s Anyone Can Whistle, which starred Angela Lansbury and Lee Remick, marking the debut for each in musical theater. He summons up the challenges and surprises that came with the making of La Cage aux Folles, the first big Broadway musical that was gay and glad to be. He writes in rich detail about his most recent production of Gypsy, how it began as an act of love, a love that spread through the entire company and resulted in a Gypsy unlike any other. And about his new bilingual production of West Side Story. And he talks, as well, about the works of other directors Fiddler on the Roof; Kiss Me, Kate; Spring Awakening; Street Scene; The Phantom of the Opera; LoveMusik; Sweeney Todd. Moving, exhilarating, provocative a portrait of an artist working with other artists; a unique close-up look at today s American musical theater by a man who s been at its red-hot center for more than five decades."

    Less expensive than rival anthologies, The Norton Anthology of Drama is also the best value-a book that students will keep long after the class is over.

    All four plays collected here resonant with Ridley's trademarkthemes - East London, storytelling, moments of shocking violence,memories of the past, fantastical monologues, and that strange mix ofthe barbaric and the beautiful he has made all his own. Vincent River: '? a grieving mother and a traumatized teenagermeet as adversaries, rough each other up and eventually bond over abarbaric act of cruelty?Ridley asksquestions, lots of them, about how people respond to the loss ofinnocence in their lives, how they hold onto their sanity in the faceof savagery and how they fight to keep the bonds of humanity intact ina mad, mad world.' Variety Mercury Fur: '?depicts a scary, post-apocalyptic London where, intheir struggle to survive, a group of youths are reduced to organisingparties that cater for the most perverted tastes.' Independent Leaves of Glass: 'There is a different kind of murder going on here:the murder of truth that goes on in all families to a lesser or greaterdegree. As with nations, a family's history is written by the victors.' Guardian Piranha Heights: 'The extravagance of Ridley's dark vision suggests adangerously confused society in which individuals seize on randomgobbets of semi-digested information and use them to construct theirown personal narrative.' TheTimes

    Though torn down years ago, the memories of their Residential School still live deep inside the hearts of those who spent their childhoods there. For some, like Floyd, the legacy of that trauma has been passed down through families for generations. But what is the greater story, what lies untold beneath Floyd’s alcoholism, under the pain and isolation of the play’s main character?Loring’s title was inspired by the mistranslation of the N’lakap’mux (Thompson) place name Kumsheen. For years, it was believed to mean “the place where the rivers meet”—the confluence of the muddy Fraser and the brilliant blue Thompson Rivers. A more accurate translation is: “the place inside the heart where the blood mixes.” But Kumsheen also refers to a story: Coyote was disemboweled there, along a great cliff in an epic battle with a giant shape-shifting being that could transform the world with its powers—to this day his intestines can still be seen strewn along the granite walls. In his rage the transformer tore Coyote apart and scattered his body across the nation, his heart landing in the place where the rivers meet.Floyd is a man who has lost everyone he holds most dear. Now after more than two decades, his daughter Christine returns home to confront her father. Set during the salmon run, Where the Blood Mixes takes us to the bottom of the river, to the heart of a People.In 2009 Where the Blood Mixes won the Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Original Script; the Sydney J. Risk Prize for Outstanding Original Script by an Emerging Playwright; and most recently the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama.

    The profound themes and beautiful language speak to us across time and place, and the story of how a boy from rural England became the "soul of the age" continues to intrigue.The Shakespeare Encyclopedia is an authoritative, visually exciting, and entertaining guide to all things Shakespeare, explaining the themes, plots, and contexts of his works, their literary and cultural significance, and uncovering some of the mystery of the man himself.Sumptuously presented reference to all of Shakespeare's plays and poems. Covers both the life and the writings of Shakespeare. Contains plot summaries and character lists for each play. Examines every history, comedy, tragedy, and romance in the Shakespeare canon, including the "lost plays." Explores Shakespeare's poems and sonnets, and the themes, allusions, and imagery he used. Written by an international team of Shakespearean scholars. Illustrated with more than 250 full-color photographs, artworks, illustrations, charts, and diagrams. Includes a comprehensive reference section.In his many plays, poems, and sonnets, William Shakespeare crafted perhaps the most accurate and enduring depictions of relationships, politics, and the human condition written in the English language. His works are read and seen by millions around the world, and the rich language, vividly drawn characters, sparkling poetry, and perceptive insights into human truths continue to have a profound influence on writers, artists, and filmmakers. The Shakespeare Encyclopedia is a stimulating and accessible guide to all of Shakespeare's known works, as well as to the man himself.Part One focuses on Shakespeare's life, placing him firmly in his time, a period of rapid religious, cultural, and economic change, and reveals why his works are so universally appealing.Part Two looks at each of his 38 plays-every history, comedy, tragedy, and romance, from the well known (Hamlet, Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream) to the obscure (King John, Pericles, Cymbeline).Part Three examines Shakespeare's poetry, both the long narrative poems and the sonnets-some of the best-loved verse in the English language.Throughout this volume, text, diagrams, and images combine to enrich our understanding of Shakespeare's timeless literary creations. Each work's themes, imagery, language, and historical context are examined and discussed in accessible language, while sidebars give at-a-glance information on plots, characters, sources, settings, and famous quotations. In addition, detailed diagrams, charts, and tables throw light on the plays' characters and their interrelationships, and illustrate the true history behind the plots. Finally, carefully selected images of stage and film productions, from different cultures and historical periods, convey the drama, pathos, and humor that suffuse Shakespeare's works.

    Anyone looking for a key to understanding more about Michael Chekhov's technique will devour it.' - Jessica Cerullo, Michael Chekhov Association, NYCThe Michael Chekhov technique is today seen as one of the most influential and inspiring methods of actor training in existence. In The Michael Chekhov Handbook, Lenard Petit draws on twenty years of teaching experience to unlock and illuminate this often complex technique.Petit uses four sections to guide those studying, working with or encountering Chekhov's approach for the first time:the aims of the technique - outlining the real aims of the actor the principles - acting with energy, imagination and creative power the tools - the actor's use of the body and sensation the application - bringing the technique into practiceThe Michael Chekhov Handbook's explanations and exercises will provide readers with the essential tools they need to put the rewarding principles of this technique into use.Lenard Petit is the Artistic Director of The Michael Chekhov Acting Studio in New York City. He teaches Chekhov Technique in the MFA and BFA Acting programs at Rutgers University. He was a contributor and co-creator of the DVD, Master Classes in The Michael Chekhov Technique, published by Routledge.

    

    Less expensive than rival anthologies, The Norton Anthology of Drama is also the best value a book that students will keep long after the class is over."

    This unique edition presents a historical overview of Much Ado About Nothing in performance, recommends film versions, takes a detailed look at specific productions and includes interviews with two leading directors and an actor – Nicholas Hytner, Marianne Elliott and Harriet Walter – so that we may get a sense of the extraordinary variety of interpretations that are possible, a variety that gives Shakespeare his unique capacity to be reinvented and made 'our contemporary' four centuries after his death. Ideal for students, theatre-goers, actors and general readers, the RSC Shakespeare editions offer an accessible and contemporary approach to reading and rediscovering Shakespeare's works for the twenty-first century.

    Taking place only months before the outbreak of World War One (and written during the conflict) it focuses on Hannay’s attempts to warn the government of an unfolding plot to steal Great Britain’s military plans. Throughout the book Hannay must escape from German spies and the British police, who falsely believe that he has murdered the very man who revealed the plot to him. The book would prove incredibly popular upon its release and has been cited as the first “man-on-the-run” style story which has been re-used in films in literature ever since. The novel itself has been adapted for the screen no less than four times.

    This is the theatre for which many of us, directors and leaders of groups, trained for a long time....." - from the IntroductionOn Directing is Eugenio Barba's unprecedented account of his own life and work. This is a major retrospective of Barba's working methods, his practical techniques, and the life experiences which fed directly into his theatre-making.On Directing is an inspirational resource. It is a dramaturgy of dramaturgies, and a professional autobiography, from one of the most significant and influential directors and theorists working today. It provides unique insights into a philosophy and practice of directing for the beginning student, the experienced practitioner, and everyone in between.

    is sheer bliss." Our songbook features vocal lines with piano accompaniment for a dozen songs from the all-teen Broadway show about a bar mitzvah. Includes: Brand New You * Get Me What I Need * Here I Come * I'm a Good Girl * The Lamest Place in the World * A Little More Homework * Tell Her * Thirteen/Becoming a Man * and more. Includes a bio and photos of Brown.

    Fascinating in-depth interviews with more than forty actors, writers, directors and producers in the theatre industry.

    The range of plays in this volume displays a tough sensibility and a courage to confront the more unsettling challenges of our times.One Minute, first produced in 2003 and revived in London in 2008, has an uncomfortable resonance as it follows five characters variously affected by the disappearance of Daisy, an 11-year-old girl, from Seven Dials, Covent Garden. Country Music spotlights four fateful moments in the life of Jamie Carris during and after the prison sentences he has served for glassing one man and for killing another. Motortown, written in response to the War on Terror, is a blistering account of a young soldier's return home from Basra to an England he no longer recognises or connects with. Pornography captures Britain as it crashes from the euphoria and promise of the 2012 Olympics announcement into the devastation of the London bombings of 7/7. The final play, Sea Wall, is a one-act monologue about grief, following the drowning of a young child.

    This book is the first to consider all the papers created by authors and theatres by the time of the opening performance, recovering types of script not previously known to have existed. With chapters on plot-scenarios, arguments, playbills, prologues and epilogues, songs, staged scrolls, backstage-plots and parts, it shows how textually distinct production was from any single unified book. And, as performance documents were easily lost, relegated or reused, the story of a play's patchy creation also becomes the story of its co-authorship, cuts, revisions and additions. Using a large body of fresh evidence, Documents of Performance in Early Modern England brings a wholly new reading to printed and manuscript playbooks of the Shakespearean period, redefining what a play, and what a playwright, actually is.

    Filled with guilt and indecision, he decides there is only one way to straighten this out....Mike Bartlett's punchy new story takes a playful, candid look at one man's sexuality and the difficulties that arise when you realise you have a choice.Cock premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, on November 13, 2009.

    Each volume explains the background to and the work of one of the major influences on twentieth- and twenty-first-century performance.Marina Abramovic is the creator of pioneering performance art which transcends the form's provocative origins. Her visceral and extreme performances have tested the limits of both body and mind, communicating with audiences worldwide on a personal and political level. The book combines:a biography, setting out the contexts of Abramovic's work an examination of the artist through her writings, interviews and influences a detailed analysis of her work, including studies of the Rhythm series, Nightsea Crossing and The House with the Ocean View practical explorations of the performances and their originsAs a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performance Practitioners are unbeatable value for today's student.

    Perfect for study, and equally suitable for the most important auditions and performances, each volume is dedicated to a specific vocal range, and contains dozens of songs from a variety of shows that span decades of theatre history. Multiple volumes are available for each of four vocal ranges: Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano/Alto, Tenor, and Baritone/Bass. Authoritative historical and contextual commentary, audition tips, and 16-bar cut suggestions for each song make it the most useful and relevant song library of its kind. Titles: Green Finch and Linnet Bird (Sweeney Todd) * How Could I Ever Know? (Secret Garden) * The Lady Is a Tramp (Babes in Arms) * Look to the Rainbow (Finian's Rainbow) * Someone to Watch Over Me (Oh, Kay ) * Summertime (Porgy and Bess(R)) and more.

    His survey includes a concise biography, in-depth analysis of Sarah Kane's work, and interviews with Kane and those who helped to put her work on stage. With Kane's reputation still growing, this book is an essential guide for the student and theatregoer.

    In The Russian Play, the flower-shop girl tells the story of her love for the gravedigger. Essay casts a teaching assistant in the shadow of his professor as they argue the merits of a female student’s paper. In USSR, a young woman relates her journey to Canada from Russia, and Mexico City follows Henry and Alice on their vacation in 1960. These four plays bring each character to life in full colour, jumping off the page before you and onto the stage.

    Using twenty years of teaching experience, Simon reveals a complete system of clowning that is a must-have for amateurs and experts alike.

    So leaving the comfort and familiarity of his adored Yorkshire home, Alan Titchmarsh still had a lot to prove. A less than distinguished school record meant his new chosen path in life—as a gardener—had a lot to make up for. And it did. Alan’s apprenticeship at Kew Gardens brought him the best training and above all companionship he could want as he began his new southern life. Meanwhile he was also beginning to tread the boards—finding his love of stage and song with a local operatic society. And then of course there was the other love he discovered. From its fumbling beginnings Alan was to begin another journey as confirmed romantic—at last finding the love of his life. In this witty and warm coming of age memoir Alan Titchmarsh proves once again why he is a British national treasure.

    This is just one of the many ancient British folk songs we all know and love. Other tunes and symbols that tug on our memories have similar historical roots, hearkening back to a shared Pagan past. These dances, songs, and theatrical plays in the English folk tradition are now little known to most of the modern Pagan community. Reviving these vital traditions can bring new life to Renaissance festivals, neopagan rituals, and community events.Introducing the lively music and homegrown entertainments of times long past, this descriptive how-to is designed for twenty-first-century joviality. The songs, dances, and plays of old are explained in their mythical, seasonal, and historical significance and outlined for easy reenactment. Simple-to-follow instructions detail six dances including the popular Abbots Bromley Horn dance, six full scripts for dramatic performances of Mummer's Plays (folk plays of death and rebirth), and over thirty songs with lyrics and music. Kick up your heels, hold high your skirts, and make merry the year through.

    However, it is still only used in around 5% of theatres worldwide. In the next 25 years, given current growth patterns, that figure will rise to 30%. This will mean that the majority of theatre personnel, including directors, designers, technical staff, actors and theatre management, will come into contact with automation for the first time at some point in their careers. This book is intended to provide insights and practical advice from those who use automation, to help the first-time user understand the issues and avoid the pitfalls in its implementation. In the past, theatre automation was seen by many as a complex, unreliable and expensive toy, not for general use. The aim of this book is to dispel that myth.

    The book explores their acclaimed productions, from Episodes of an Easter Rising to War Horse, providing insights into their philosophy of puppetry and their technical innovations. It is richly illustrated with images from the Handspring archive and includes essays by theatre practitioners and writers who have collaborated with the company over the years.

    Bushman had a life like no other. He was the screen's first great romantic idol, a bodybuilder, an artist's model, a Broadway and stock company actor, a husband (four times), a father (six times), a dog breeder, a songwriter, a vaudeville headliner, a radio performer, a television personality, a senior citizens' advocate. He lived an exaggerated life, both as a free-spending multi-millionaire star and a bankrupt has-been. After all the accolades and criticisms, he was that rare kind of man who had no regrets. This is his story ...

    Together they wrote over twenty musicals. Their two most successful works, Cabaret and Chicago, had critically acclaimed Broadway revivals and were made into Oscar-winning films.  This book, the first study of Kander and Ebb, examines their artistic accomplishments as individuals and as a team. Drawing on personal papers and on numerous interviews, James Leve analyzes the unique nature of this collaboration. Leve discusses their contribution to the concept musical; he examines some of their most popular works including Cabaret, Chicago, and Kiss of the Spider Woman; and he reassesses their “flops” as well as their incomplete and abandoned projects.  Filled with fascinating information, the book is a resource for students of musical theater and lovers of Kander and Ebb’s songs and shows.

    This is a terric true story of actors at work and Shakespeare in performance.

    Detailing how the power of Center can ground performance, teaching, and learning and offering first-hand examples of how the philosophy is used to prepare for life on the stage, this account reveals the importance of Centering in day-to-day living. Featuring a succinct definition of Center and breathing exercises to help access this unique sense of focus, this tool is a beautifully illustrated and invaluable resource for performers, actors, conductors, and teachers alike.

    It is a vivid account of the vast range of work undertaken in European theatre during this period, situated lucidly in its artistic, cultural and political context. The resulting study is a detailed guide to the generation of directors whose careers were forged and tempered in the changing Europe of the 1980s and 1990s.The featured directors are: Calixto Bieito, Piotr Borowski, Romeo Castellucci, Frank Castorf, Patrice Ch�reau, Lev Dodin, Declan Donnellan, Kristian Fr�dric, Rodrigo Garc�a, Jan Lauwers, Christoph Marthaler, Simon McBurney, Daniel Mesguich, Katie Mitchell, Ariane Mnouchkine, Thomas Ostermeier, Patrice Pavis, Silviu Purcărete and Peter Sellars.Travelling from London and Craiova to St. Petersburg and Madrid, the book examines directors working with classics, new writing, and new collaborative theatre forms. Each chapter is written by a specialist in European theatre and provides a detail critique of production styles. The directors themselves provide contributions and interviews to this multi-authored work, which unites the many and varied voices of European theatre in one coherent volume.

    Its practical approach is to "committing acts of dramaturgy," and contains exercises, models, and examples of how the dramaturg works to make his or her thoughtful and creative contributions to a theatrical production, from pre-production work through the rehearsal processThe book provides specific exercises, examples, and models to assist the student or emerging dramaturg in developing the ability to: 1) apply critical methodologies (among them literary theory) to production; 2) better communicate with directors, designers and playwrights within the context of rehearsal and production. It includes a case study for analysis, Neil Simon’s Biloxi Blues.

    What is globalization? What role is there for the theatre in a globalizing world? Drawing on sources from Aeschylus to The Lion King, Shakespeare to Robert Lepage, tragedy to advertising, this original and provocative book explores the contribution that the theatre has made to our slowly evolving consciousness of our world as a whole.

    Drawing on Gilles Deleuze's philosophy of the body, and on Deleuze-Spinoza's relevant concepts of affect and expression, Elena del R�o examines a kind of cinema that she calls 'affective-performative'. The features of this cinema unfold via detailed and engaging discussions of the movements, gestures and speeds of the body in a variety of films by Douglas Sirk, Rainer W. Fassbinder, Sally Potter, Claire Denis, and David Lynch. Key to the book's engagement with performance is a consistent attention to the body's powers of affection. Grounding her analysis in these powers, del R�o shows the insufficiency of former theoretical approaches in accounting for the transformative and creative capacities of the moving body of performance.Deleuze and the Cinemas of Performance will be of interest to any scholars and students of film concerned with bodily aspects of cinema, whether from a Deleuzian, a phenomenological, or a feminist perspective.Key Features*The first study of the interface between Deleuzian theory and film performance.*A sustained consideration of the links between the body of performance and the body of affect.*A reevaluation of central concepts in earlier film theory-from fetishistic spectacle and performativity to Brechtian distanciation, sadomasochism, and narcissism.*An analysis of the relation of the performative body to a feminist politics.*New readings of classical melodramas as well as contemporary independent cinemas.

    All these directors have developed their own highly individual theatre language and have been influential, nationally and internationally, across a wide range of theatre practices. The length, depth and scope of the discussions distinguishes this collection from others, each director providing a fascinating insight into his/her particular working processes. The book reveals the complex world of directors and their creative relationships with actors, in rehearsal and performance, and playwrights. Each conversation is framed by an introduction to the work of the director, a detailed chronology of productions and an indicative bibliography to inspire further reading and research.

    Included are a trilogy of plays commissioned and produced by the National Theatre in London between 2003  and 2008, and Let There Be Love, first produced at the Tricycle Theatre, London, in 2008.    Elmina's Kitchen won numerous awards as was hailed as "A scorching drama about the black  experience in Britain's inner cities. . . there is no mistaking its raw  power, humanity and urgent concern."—Daily Telegraph   Fix Up explores race and cultural roots and heritage with verve and wit,  setting heritage against the inexorable march of time and change.   Statement of Regret explores tensions within the Black community in Britain amid changes in the team  leading an influential Black policy think-tank.   Let There Be Love  was acclaimed as "a smart and  possibly noble exploration of what it takes to be human and happy."—The Evening Standard    The volume is introduced by the author and features a chronology of his work

    Any actor will find this book invaluable. For any student of Shakespeare it should be essential.' (From the Foreword by Ralph Fiennes)'How can I bring the text alive, make it vivid, how do I make people hear it for the first time? How can I enter into that world and not feel a stranger. How can I not feel clumsy and inept? ... How can I speak it without sounding artificial or "actory"? In other words, how can I make it real ...?'Adrian Noble has worked on Shakespeare with everyone from oscar-nominated actors to groups of schoolchildren. Here he draws on several decades of top-level directing experience to shed new light on how to bring some of theatre's seminal texts to life.He shows you how to approach the perennial issues of performing Shakespeare, including:wordplay - using colour and playing plain, wit and comedy, making language muscular building a character - different strategies, using the text, Stanislavski and Shakespeare shape and structure - headlining a speech, playing soliloquys, determining a speech's purpose and letting the verse empower you dialogue - building tension, sharing responsibility and 'passing the ball'.This guided tour of Shakespeare's complex but unfailingly rewarding work stunningly combines instruction and inspiration.

    You don't need a special talent to move. You don't need to be 'graceful' or especially coordinated. You don't need a body that's 'in shape.' Dancing helps us embrace all this humanity. Dance connects us to the holy of life."--from the IntroductionSeize the joy and healing power of dance! Drawing from her years of experience as a dance and movement teacher, and as cofounder of the international dance organization InterPlay, Cynthia Winton-Henry helps you overcome your embarrassment or anxiety and discover in dance a place of solace and restoration, as well as an energizing spiritual force. She taps into the spirit of dancing throughout history and in many world cultures to provide detailed exercises that will help you learn to trust your body and interpret its physical and spiritual intentions. For both newcomers and seasoned movers alike, she encourages you to embrace dance as a spiritual tool to:Celebrate your unique spirituality and get in touch with your emotionsUnify your body and mind, and push your personal boundariesWork through trauma or crisis and restore spiritual well-beingDeepen your relationships and strengthen your communityFind spiritual direction... and much more!

    This book introduces the reader to the purpose, identity and scope of scenography and its theories and concepts. Settings and structures, light, projected images, sound, costumes and props are considered in relation to performing bodies, text, space and the role of the audience. Concentrating on scenographic developments in the twentieth century, the Introduction examines how these continue to evolve in the twenty-first century. Scenographic principles are clearly explained through practical examples and their theoretical context. Although acknowledging the many different ways in which design shapes the creation of scenography, the book is not exclusively concerned with the role of the theatre designer. In order to map out the wider territory and potential of scenography, the theories of pioneering scenographers are discussed alongside the work of directors, writers and visual artists.

    The book features interviews with over thirty maverick artists/faculty from colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain, whose pedagogy is drawn from and informs activist arts practice.The issues these teaching artists address are provocative and diverse. Some came to this work through personal healing from injustice and trauma or by witnessing oppressions that became intolerable. Many have taught for decades, deeply influenced by social movements of the 1960s and 1970s, yet because the work is controversial, tenured positions are rare.

    This has led to an astonishing range of performance styles, ways of working and modes of intervention in varied sites of theatrical production. The essays in this collection place this work in context, exploring historical and contemporary examples of documentary and 'verbatim' theatre, and applying a range of critical perspectives that elaborate its impact and significance today. Focusing on examples from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa and the Middle East, this collection, now in paperback for the first time and with a new Preface, raises provocative questions about documentary theatre's relationship to new technology, media, the body, the archive, memory, autobiography, and national identity. It examines the viability and resonance of documentary theatre in an era of infotainment, globalisation and postmodernity, and explores its past and potential contribution within the public sphere.

    Designed with the working actor in mind, the volume lists every song from over 300 Broadway shows, including at least 90 more than the first edition. Organized by show, each song is annotated with the name of the character(s) who sing(s) the song, the vocal range, and a style category, such as uptempo, narrative ballad, swing ballad, moderate character piece, etc. Several indexes are supplied, organizing the songs by voice type (soprano, baritone, etc.) and song style, vocal arrangement (duets, trios, chorus, etc.), and composer and lyricist, allowing increased access to the repertoire. For instance, a soprano looking for a ballad to sing will find every song in that category in the index. All solos, duets, and trios are indexed in this manner, with quartets and larger ensembles listed by voice type. Furthermore, the instant breakdowns (how many lead characters, who sings what song, and the range requirements of each character) will be a valuable resource to directors and producers.

    

    By going back to these primary sources, Gordon cuts through the myths and misapprehensions which have built up over time.Part memoir and part practical guide, Stanislavsky in America is an essential resource for anyone wanting to understand Stanislavski's work and his relationship with American theatre.

    As writers seek to exploit new opportunities to produce their work internationally, audiences are seeing the world – and the stage – differently. And, as national borders became more fluid, the barriers between economics and culture are also becoming weaker. In this groundbreaking study, Patrick Lonergan explores these developments, placing them in the context of the transformation of Ireland – the ‘most globalized country in the world’ – since the early 1990s. Drawing on archival material that has never before been published, this study sheds new light on the culture of Celtic Tiger Ireland, focusing on such writers as Brian Friel, Sean O’Casey, Marie Jones, Martin McDonagh, Marina Carr and Conor McPherson. In doing so, it shows how globalization poses difficult questions for authors and audiences – and reveals how we can begin to come to terms with these new developments.

    A Kindle collection of over 50 plays in one giant anthology.Plays include:Oscar WildeEugene O'NeillHenrik IbsenJames BarrieGeorge Bernard ShawIf you enjoyed this collection look for other books in the "Greatest Hits Series."

    Fugard’s work retains an insistent influence, and is studied and performed the world over.A playwright whose work is appreciated on a global scale, Athol Fugard’s plays have done more to document and provide a cultural commentary on Apartheid-era South Africa than any other writer in the last century.Using mostly migrant workers and township dwellers, and staging guerrilla-raid productions in black areas, Fugard frequently came into conflict with the government, forcing him to take his work overseas. Consequently, powerful plays such as The Blood Knot, Sizwe Banzi is Dead, and Master Harold... and the boys came to broadcast the inequities of the Apartheid-era to the world. Fugard’s work retains an insistent influence, and is studied and performed the world over.

    The finished drawings are then scanned, and the color is added digitally. The result is spectacular, similar to traditional woodcutting but in full color.Scott McKowen is a renowned and prolific scratchboard artist and illustrator whose art has been featured in hundreds of books, magazines, theater posters and comic books. He may be best known for illustrating Neil Gamain's Marvel Comics series 1602 and the Unabridged Classics series. A Fine Line is the artist's personal selection of 203 full-color and black-and-white reproductions. In a revealing twist on the traditional art book, McKowen gives a detailed analysis of each piece and describes what influenced his design. He even includes images of the reference works he consulted during the conceptual process and talks about the struggles he had arriving at a design solution.

    It also coaches the actor through the ins and outs of pursuing a career in musical theatre. Through his professional and teaching experience, Jonathan Flom presents the material in an easily accessible way. Get the Callback proceeds chronologically through the audition process, beginning with finding auditions and reading and interpreting casting calls. Flom discusses many facets of preparation, including selecting songs and monologues to suit your voice and the audition, organizing and arranging your music, working with the accompanist, and presenting yourself to the directors. He gives a detailed description of the actual audition performance and even offers advice on how non-dancers can survive a dance audition. The book includes valuable information on callbacks and how to field job offers, providing advice on contracts and negotiations. Further information on getting professional headshots, designing a quality resume, and writing winning cover letters is also included, each with examples. Unique to this volume is a chapter on auditioning for college training programs. The book concludes with three appendixes: a list of recommended dos and don'ts, and two lists of appropriate audition repertoire by genre and by actor type, as well as a glossary of terms.

    Even today, his plays challenge celebrated actors to hone their skills and electrify audiences. Imagine the process actors undergo to recreate these spellbinding roles on stage. In an interview with the author, Kevin Kline declared that playing Shakespeare "uses a different muscle group in your head." Actors Talk About Shakespeare features personal interviews with a stellar collection of prominent American, Canadian, and British performers of Shakespeare onstage, including Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Stacy Keach, Zoe Caldwell, Martha Henry, William Hutt, Tony Church, Nicholas Pennell, and Geoff Hutchings. In conversations equivalent to a magician telling his secrets, Mary Z. Maher uncovers the actors' process. The book speaks to theater patrons, to actors both novice and experienced, and to educators who teach Shakespeare. Each chapter profiles a career in context, using the actor's words along with supporting research material. The result is a treasury of talents, tactics, and tales from veteran performers who return often to Shakespeare from careers in film and television.

    The history of stagecraft, safety precautions, lighting, costumes, scenery, career planning tips, and more are discussed with modern, color examples that display both step-by-step procedures and the finished product. From the student beginning in theatre to the practiced, Rita Kogler Carver assembles her vast experience into a one-stop guide for theatrical production. Instructor's manual, additional exercises that coincide with chapters from the book, CAD drawings, color theory, manufacturing information, and other resources can be found at www.StageCraftFundamentals.com.Praise for the Book: Beautifully written! The author has succeeded in relaying technical theatre information without being too technical and putting the reader to sleep. I read three sentences and instantly knew this book was for me and the way I teach. When I think back on the insufferable intro to tech theatre books I had to read, I feel cheated I didn't have this one as a student. I will be using this text in my class! -- Rob Napoli, Designer and Technical Director at Penn State University, Berks CampusThis text has temped me to return to teaching with a textbook for the first time in seven years. The language is both accessible and informal yet the text goes a long way in debunking some of the typical jargon that may alienate students just getting into the field, or trying it out for the first time. The illustrations (the text is full of them) coupled with the stories reinforce the fundamental information being conveyed. -- John Paul Devlin, Associate Professor of Theatre at Saint Michael's CollegeWhat a great idea! Thank heavens someone is doing this for students at that impressionable age. That has been one of my mantras - education of teachers and students on the use of scenic materials. The teachers don't have enough time in college to learn and do everything they have to teach. Most get thrown into the theatre area by default and struggle with designing/building/painting the scenery. -- Jenny Knott, RoscoStagecraft Fundamentals is beautifully illustrated throughout, and the pofusion of color on every page gives this textbook the appearance of a coffee table book. The writing is clear and personal, which should be very appealing to students. Rita Carver covers all aspects of theatre production from scenery, to lighting, to an actor's makeup. Her close ties to the New York theatre scene gives this book a special insight into the professional world, one that goes well beyond what is found in most college textbooks. -- John Holloway, Professor in the Theatre Department at the University of Kentucky and President of the International Association of Theatrical stage Employees (IATSE) Local 346.I can't thank you enough for Stagecraft Fundamentals. I have been teaching stagecraft since 1976 and you have saved me from the nightmare of writing a text to suit my class needs..After two semesters with your text, I have found that I had more time to develop the skills necessary within the classroom than before. The humor that you have infused in the book has enticed my students to read on. That alone makes this text invaluable.--Meta Lasch, Assistant Professor, West Liberty University

    Accessing primary sources such as magazines and extant programs, Ann Ommen van der Merwe has carefully researched the Follies, reconstructing the songs, dances, and content of each annual production from 1907 to 1931, providing detailed descriptions of song performances. In so doing, the book demonstrates the important role of song in facilitating the comedy and spectacle for which the Follies are better known. Ommen van der Merwe takes a broad, chronological approach to the material, addressing such issues as musical style, lyrics, and staging of individual songs. In the process, she identifies the historical trajectory of the Ziegfeld Follies, delineating periods within its history like the development of the production values Ziegfeld was famous for, the success of his spectacles, his adaptation to changing times, and his legacy. She also considers the cultural and performance history of the Follies and its reflection of the society in which it developed. An appendix lists the composer, lyricist, publisher, and performer of each Follies song, as well as a library collection or archive where a copy may be found. The book also includes a collection of photographs, a select discography, bibliography, and two indexes, by song title and general subject.