A Primer in Theatre History covers productions, personalities, theories, innovations, and plays from ancient Greece to the Spanish Golden Age. Grange discusses theatre from 534 BC in Athens to 1681 AD in Madrid. The book contains highly informative chapters on theatre culture in the ancient classical world, the medieval period, the Italian Renaissance, classical Asia, German-speaking Europe, France to 1658, and England to 1642. Following a wide-ranging introduction, chapters allow the uninitiated reader straightforward access to well-researched material, often presented in a humorous and approachable fashion. Descriptions of films augment discussions of theatre, while an extended bibliography and comprehensive index assist the reader in making further inquiries. Each chapter features illustrations by Mallory Prucha, a designer and graphic illustrator who has received several awards at theatre conferences around the US. A Primer in Theatre History does not read like a scholarly tome. Its whimsical wrinkles offer readers a more contemporaneous view of theatre than is customary. It employs, for example, frequent references to movies germane to topics and time periods under discussion. Such use of film promotes familiarity among younger readers, who can then appropriate analogies to theatre performance.

A rich resource for students of theater and theater historians, this volume features an annotated collection of more than 300 unusually interesting and detailed articles. Passages by contemporary observers from ancient Greece to modern times include notes on acting, directing, make-up, costuming, stage props, machinery, scene design, and much more.

This comprehensive guide to the theatre's history covers theatre arts around the globe, including ancient Eastern arts like Kabuki and more modern ones such as Bollywood. This book goes back to what we know from our earliest ancestors by examining ancient artifacts and ancient texts to find out how theatre was influenced by life and how it in turn influenced the culture of the people who came to enjoy it. The book concludes with a look at modern theatre and its current heyday as entertainment for the masses, especially in places like Broadway in New York City.

This book introduces readers to the world of children's theater by highlighting one specific model, The Oyster River Players, a small children's theater company in New Hampshire. By exploring the history and dynamics of their own theater company, authors Kelly and Walter Eggers apply broader implications, expanding their focus to include children's theaters of other kinds and in different cultural settings. Throughout the book, the Eggers show how children's theater succeeds in helping young people learn in ways that would be otherwise inaccessible. Through forays into philosophy and history, as well as personal testimonies, the authors present a coherent argument for the need for children's theaters in nearly every community.

Theater history has often been interpreted in ways which highlight and omit key elements. Jacky Bratton explores this dilemma by examining how theater history has been chronicled and interpreted. Analyzing case studies from nineteenth-century British theater, Bratton reveals the difference between the existence of "the drama" (plays and play literature) and "the stage" (performance, theater building, and attendance).