This Element focuses on the machinery of commercial theatre, on extra-authorial interventions into the creative process and on the people and institutional forces that foster them. Such a process challenges the autonomy of the artwork and authorial integrity. The primary focus of this Element is then on the hybrid genre of theatre where collective esthetics tends to override and so to supersede individual creation. The essay pays special attention to Samuel Beckett's first professionally produced play, Waiting for Godot, primarily its English language premieres in the US, UK, and the Republic of Ireland. Its implications, however, reach far beyond the genetic and production histories of a single theatrical work to deal with the nature of authorship in a monetized culture, the process of realizing dramatic texts in such a culture, and Samuel Beckett's engagement with such machinery of art.

In baseball, as in much poetry, beauty comes from tension. Groundrules and boundaries confine those who would play, but the best find ways to exploit their strictures, and just as the daring base runner takes second on a fly to right, the practiced poet trips the sleepy reader with a surprise rhyme, bold line break, or a jarring reversal of foot. It's no surprise, then, that hardball has a larger body of literature than other sports, or that aficionados are more likely than others to quote lines of verse in support of the game they love. This is Tim Peeler's second book of poems from baseball. It contains some of his most moving and best-crafted poetry. Starting with time-honored themes--fathers and sons, baseball and time, memory and the nation, team and player and loyalty--the poet adapts the universal to the local and personal, proving that baseball, with its easy accommodation of reflection, remains a powerful tool for mining our individual and collective history.

Presents a series of critical essays discussing the structure, themes, and subject matter of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot.

The Sopranos is recognized as the most successful cable series in the history of television. The Washington Post has called the popular series, winner of twenty-one Emmys and five Golden Globes, Òthe television landmark that leaves other landmarks in the dust.Ó In every aspectÑnarrative structure, visual artistry, writing, intertextuality, ensemble acting, controversial themes, dark humor, and unflinching examinations of American lifeÑThe Sopranos has had few equals. Offering a definitive final assessment of the series, The Essential Sopranos Reader aims to comprehensively examine the showÕs themes and enduring cultural significance. Gender and ethnicity, the role of dreams, the rebirth of HBO, the seriesÕ controversial finale, and other topics come under scrutiny in this highly accessible, engaging collection. The book concludes with an interview with Dominic Chianese, who played Uncle Junior in all six seasons of the show.

In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, this guide will help you create great 2D and 3D games for any platform with the 100% free Godot 3.0 game engine. Its straightforward, step-by-step approach guides you from basic scenes, graphics, and game flow through advanced shaders, environments, particle rendering, and networked games. Godot’s co-creator and main contributorwalk you through building three complete games, offering advanced techniques you won’t find anywhere else. Every lesson builds on what you’ve already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success. Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common Godot engine programming tasks and techniques Practical, hands-on examples show you how to apply what you learn Quizzes and exercises help you test your knowledge and stretch your skills Notes and tips point out shortcuts, solutions, and problems to avoid Learn how to... · Install Godot, create projects, and use the visual editor · Master the scene system, and organize games with Scene Trees · Create 2D graphics, 3D graphics, and animations · Use basic and advanced scripting to perform many game tasks · Process player input from any source · Control game flow, configurations, and resources · Maximize realism with Godot’s physics and particle systems · Make the most of 3D shaders, materials, lighting, and shadows · Control effects and post-processing · Build richer, more sophisticated game universes with viewports · Develop networked games, from concepts to communication and input · Export games to the devices you’ve targeted · Integrate native code, third-party APIs, and engine extensions (bonus chapter)

This Element discusses the association between Samuel Beckett, and the Romanian-born philosopher, E. M. Cioran. It draws upon the known biographical detail, but, more substantially, upon the terms of Beckett's engagement with Cioran's writings, from the 1950s to the 1970s. Certain of Cioran's key conceptualisations, such as that of the 'meteque', and his version of philosophical scepticism, resonate with aspects of Beckett's writing as it evolved beyond the 'siege in the room'. More particularly, aspects of Cioran's conclusion about the formal nature that philosophy must assume chime with some of the formal decisions taken by Beckett in the mid-late prose. Through close reading of some of Beckett's key works such as Texts for Nothing and How It Is, and through consideration of Beckett's choices when translating between English and French, the issues of identity and understanding shared by these two settlers in Paris are mutually illuminated.

Level up your Godot 4 networking skills with the only comprehensive multiplayer guide written by experienced game designer and developer, Henrique Campos, featuring dedicated servers and persistent worlds, illustrated with key images in color Key Features Ensure player synchronization and coexistence in a game world Mitigate latency in your multiplayer games to design a seamless shared experience Optimize and debug your games using profilers and monitors to visualize performance Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook Book DescriptionThe Essential Guide to Creating Multiplayer Games with Godot 4.0 guides you in exploring the built-in network API for online multiplayer games, offering practical knowledge through concrete use cases. Throughout the book, you'll assume the role of a network engineer in a fictional indie game studio, tackling real-world requests from your peers and gaining expertise in adding new network features to the studio's games. Following step-by-step instructions, you’ll go from making your first network handshake to optimizing online gameplay. You’ll learn how to sync players and pass data over the internet as you add online multiplayer features to a top-down shooter adventure game. This book puts you in a fictional game project team where you set up your first online server before advancing to creating an online chat system and transitioning local gameplay to go online. With a focus on implementing multiplayer features, you’ll create shared world adventures and learn optimization techniques to allow more players to join your virtual world. By the end of this book, you’ll have learned how to set up a client-server network, implement remote procedure calls (RPCs), sync node properties remotely, and optimize your games to create smooth online multiplayer experiences.What you will learn Understand the fundamentals of networking and remote data exchange between computers Use the Godot game engine's built-in API to set up a network for players Master remote procedure calls and learn how to make function calls on objects remotely Enhance your GDScript proficiency to get the most out of this powerful language Explore industry-standard solutions for common online multiplayer challenges Improve your networking skills and discover how to turn single-player games into multiplayer experiences Who this book is for If you’re involved in game development with Godot and want to add multiplayer capabilities to enrich the shared gaming experience, then this book is for you. You’ll also find this book useful if you’re a network engineer looking to gain hands-on experience with practical projects. To get the most out of this book, a prior understanding of the Godot Engine design philosophy, the GDScript programming language, the SceneTree structure, and how nodes work is essential.