Whether you are a theatre major looking forward to a career in the arts, or a non major interested in an overview to help you better appreciate theatre as an audience member, THE ESSENTIAL THEATRE is a welcome and helpful resource. Written by highly respected theatre historians, the text has earned its reputation as one of the most comprehensive, authoritative surveys of the theatre. Its vibrant treatment of theatre practice--past and present--catalogs the origins of theatre through postmodernism and performance art. THE ESSENTIAL THEATRE will encourage you and get you excited about becoming an active theatergoer, while providing the insight and understanding that will enrich your theatre experience throughout your life.

This volume explores the impact of printing on the European theatre in the period 1480-1880 and shows that the printing press played a major part in the birth of modern theatre.

Huerta, a leading exponent of contemporary Chicano theater, has assembled six short, representative plays that not only share the common theme of survival but also have received successful staging. The playsÍ stylistic variety, from the Brechtian Guadalupe and La victima through the realistically domestic Soldierboy to the modern morality play Money, combined with useful introductions both to the collection as a whole and to each of the scripts, enhances the anthologyÍs value. Readers should be informed that some scenes are bilingual and some written entirely in Spanish. Recommended especially for libraries serving Hispanic communities.

This comprehensive guide, from the author of Acting in Musical Theatre, will equip aspiring directors with all of the skills that they will need in order to guide a production from beginning to end. From the very first conception and collaborations with crew and cast, through rehearsals and technical production all the way to the final performance, Joe Deer covers the full range. Deer’s accessible and compellingly practical approach uses proven, repeatable methods for addressing all aspects of a production. The focus at every stage is on working with others, using insights from experienced, successful directors to tackle common problems and devise solutions. Each section uses the same structure, to stimulate creative thinking: Timetables: detailed instructions on what to do and when, to provide a flexible organization template Prompts and Investigations: addressing conceptual questions about style, characterization and design Skills Workshops: Exercises and ‘how-to’ guides to essential skills Essential Forms and Formats: Including staging notation, script annotation and rehearsal checklists Case Studies: Well-known productions show how to apply each chapter’s ideas Directing in Musical Theatre not only provides all of the essential skills, but explains when and how to put them to use; how to think like a director.

World Theatre: The Basics presents a well-rounded introduction to non-Western theatre, exploring the history and current practice of theatrical traditions in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Oceania, the Caribbean, and the non-English-speaking cultures of the Americas. Featuring a selection of case studies and examples from each region, it helps the reader to understand the key issues surrounding world theatre scholarship and global, postcolonial, and transnational performance practices. An essential read for anyone seeking to learn more about world theatre, World Theatre: The Basics provides a clear, accessible roadmap for approaching non-Western theatre.

This introductory text acquaints students with the theatre-its artistic and social functions, its development, and how each of the theatre arts functions as a unit. In the thirty-five years since it was first published, THE ESSENTIAL THEATRE has established a reputation as one of the most comprehensive, authoritative surveys of the theatre in academia. THE ESSENTIAL THEATRE works in tandem with its companion anthology, PLAYS FOR THE THEATRE (7/e), edited by Oscar G. Brockett with Robert Ball. The scripts in PLAYS serve as the foundation for discussion of the various types of theatrical experience explored in THE ESSENTIAL THEATRE.

Why the Theatre is a collection of 26 personal essays by college teachers, actors, directors, and playwrights about the magnetic pull of the theatre and its changing place in society. The book is divided into four parts, examining the creative role of the audience, the life of the actor, director, and playwright in performance, ways the theatre moves beyond the playhouse and into the real world, and theories and thoughts on what the theatre can do when given form onstage. Based on concrete, highly personal examples, experiences, and memories, this collection offers unique perspectives on the meaning of the theatre and the beauty of weaving the world of the play into the fabric of our lives. Covering a range of practices and plays, from the Greeks to Japanese Butoh theatre, from Shakespeare to modern experiments, this book is written by and for the theatre instructor and theatre appreciation student.