What is the history of devised theatre? Why have theatre-makers, since the 1950s, chosen to devise performances? What different sorts of devising practices are there? What are the myths attached to devising, and what are the realities? First published in 2005, Devising Performance remains the only book to offer the reader a history of devising practice. Charting the development of collaboratively created performances from the 1950s to the early 21st century, it presents a range of case studies drawn from Britain, America and Australia. Companies discussed include The Living Theatre, Open Theatre, Australian Performing Group, People Show, Teatro Campesino, Théâtre de Complicité, Legs on the Wall, Forced Entertainment, Goat Island and Graeae. Providing a history of devising practice, Deirdre Heddon and Jane Milling encourage us to look more carefully at the different modes of devising and to consider the implications of our use of these practices in the 21st century.

The twelve essays collected in Pockets of Change locate adaptation within a framework of two overlapping, if not simultaneous, creative processes: on the one hand, adaptation is to be understood as an acknowledged transposition of an existing source-that is, the process of adapting from; on the other hand, adaption is also a process of purposeful shifting and evolving of creative practices in response to external factors, including but not limited to other creative works-in other words, the process of adapting to. This book explores adaptation, then, as an active practice of repetition and as a reactive process of development or evolution. The essays also extend beyond the production, transformation, and interpretation of texts to interrogate the values and practices at work in cultural transition and transformation during periods of social and historical change. Collectively, the papers theorize adaptation by taking on three tasks: first, to examine the conditions under which the two processes of adaptation operate; second, to give an account of the space and moment in which the processes unfold (the 'pockets' of the title); and finally, to examine what emerges from pockets of adaptation. While adapting from and adapting to are both processes that appear to preclude innovation in the way that they acknowledge and depend on external sources, Pockets of Change demonstrates that adaptation is productive. It not only references prior texts, attitudes, practices and media, but it also invites us to re-visit the past and to re-think the present in new ways, potentially giving narrative space to muted or occluded voices. This book therefore brings together an innovative and varied range of approaches to, interpretations and uses of adaptation, challenging the assumption that an adaptation is simply either a 're-make' or the act of turning one medium into another. Adaptation, then, names not only the means by which texts are transformed, but also the space in which that transformation takes place. This anthology highlights the processes of adaptation and transition rather than simply focusing on the relationship between beginning and end products. In identifying these pockets of change this anthology both claims and opens up new spaces in this critical field and mode of textual analysis.

In the two decades since the publication of the second edition, Learning Through Theatre has further established itself as an indispensable resource for scholars, practitioners and educators interested in the complex interrelations between teaching and learning, the performing arts, and society at large. Theatre in Education (TIE) has consistently been at the cutting edge of the ever-growing field of Applied Theatre; this comprehensively revised new edition makes an international case for why, and how, it will continue to shape ways in which the participatory arts contribute to the learning of young people (and increasingly, adults) in the 21st century. Drawing on the experiences and insights of theorists and practitioners from across the world, Learning Through Theatre shows how theatre can, and does, promote: participatory engagement; the use of innovative theatrical form; work with young people and adults in a range of educational settings; and social and personal change. Now transatlantically edited by Anthony Jackson and Chris Vine, Learning Through Theatre offers exhilarating new reflections on the book’s original aim: to define, describe and debate the salient features, and wider political context, of one of the most important – and radical – developments in contemporary theatre.

This ground-breaking study of cross-cultural theatre in the Australasian region focuses on theatrical events and practices in avant-garde and mainstream contexts. It explores the cultural and political dimensions of Australia's engagement with Asia and sheds light on international arts marketing and trends in cross-cultural performance training.

Musical Theatre Education and Training in the 21st Century presents a wide range of viewpoints on the musical theatre profession. It brings together research from the UK, US, Australia, and beyond, providing an essential resource for educators, students, and all those involved in training for musical theatre. The research draws on best practice from creatives, producers, practising artists, and the academy to reveal a multiplicity of approaches and educational pathways for consideration by performers, educators, institutions, and the profession. The book goes beyond the key elements of performance training in singing, dancing, and acting to explore adjacent creative and business skills, along with some of the more recent and challenging aspects of the profession such as diversity of representation both on and off stage, building safe working environments, and managing mental and physical health and wellbeing. The authors incorporate information from over 100 interviews with everyone from emerging performers to leading professionals, and explore the practicalities of pre-professional training, skills development, and curricular design, alongside the broader attributes required in preparation for the profession. This book offers vital insights into how musical theatre practitioners can best be prepared to make their way in the field now and in the future.

AUSTRALIAN THEATRE in the 1990s is a vigorous enterprise displaying the energies and contradictions of a multicultural society. This collection of essays by leading scholars of Australian theatre and drama surveys the emergence and directions of the new theatrical energies which have challenged or redefined the Australian 'mainstream': Aboriginal, multicultural, Asian-Australian, women's, gay and lesbian, community and young people's theatre; and charts the exciting growth of physical theatre. The contributors assess the impact of evolving funding and industrial priorities, and examine the theoretical and cultural debates surrounding Australian playwriting and theatre-making from the 1970s Vietnam dramas to the postmodern present.

Really, we don't have to keep worrying about the time, Gordon. Let's just sit here together. Okay? For a little while. London is sinking, there's constant rain, and everyone is trying to escape. Gordon, an American writer, finds himself holed up in the attic room of a half-way house, awaiting forged papers and safe passage back to the States. He becomes trapped with Stella, a mysterious and seductive woman, and a teenage girl called Iris who, between them, take Gordon on an emotional journey through his past and into the present, forcing him to face the painful truth as to why he is there. David K. O'Hara's The Upstairs Room is a modern take on Sartre's play Huis Clos in which a man and two women find themselves confined together in a drawing room for eternity. First produced at the King's Head Theatre from 13 November to 8 December 2012 by Giddy Notion, The Upstairs Room is a compelling and well-written play.