"From the University of Florida College of Fine Arts, Charlie Mitchell and distinguished colleagues form across America present an introductory text for theatre and theoretical production. This book seeks to give insight into the people and processes that create theater. It does not strip away the feeling of magic but to add wonder for the artistry that make a production work well." -- Open Textbook Library.

The World of Theatre is an on-the-spot account of current theatre activity across six continents. The year 2000 edition covers the three seasons from 1996-97 to 1998-99, in over sixty countries - more than ever before. The content of the book is as varied as the theatre scene it describes, from magisterial round-ups by leading critics in Europe (Peter Hepple of The Stage) and North America (Jim O'Quinn of American Theatre) to what are sometimes literally war-torn countries such as Iran or Sierra Leone.

This new paperback edition of the The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: Europe covers theatre since World War II in forty-seven European nations, including the nations which re-emerged following the break-up of the former USSR, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Each national article is divided into twelve sections - History, Structure of the National Theatre Community, Artistic profile, Music Theatre, Theatre for Young Audiences, Puppet Theatre, Design, Theatre, Space and Architecture, Training, Criticism, Scholarship and Publishing and Further Reading - allowing the reader to use the book as a source for both area and subject studies. A new preface and further reading sections by the Series Editor brings the Encyclopedia bang up-to-date making it invaluable to anyone interested in European theatre, as well as students and scholars of performance studies, history, anthropology and cultural studies.