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This book explores the role and centrality of women in the development of collaborative theatre practice, alongside the significance of collective creation and devising in the development of the modern theatre. Tracing a web of women theatremakers in Europe and North America, this book explores the connections between early twentieth century collective theatre practices such as workers theatre and the dramatic play movement, and the subsequent spread of theatrical devising. Chapters investigate the work of the Settlement Houses, total theatre in 1920s’ France, the mid-century avant-garde and New Left collectives, the nomadic performances of Europe’s transnational theatre troupes, street-theatre protests, and contemporary devising. In so doing, the book further elucidates a history of modern theatre begun in A History of Collective Creation (2013) and Collective Creation in Contemporary Performance (2013), in which the seemingly marginal and disparate practices of collective creation and devising are revealed as central—and women theatremakers revealed as progenitors of these practices.
What is dramaturgy? Can you be taught how to do it? 1000 Ways to Ask Why is a practical how-to guide and introduction to dramaturgy and dramaturgical thinking for dramaturgs, directors, playwrights, devised theatre makers, choreographers, and performers. This book introduces The Mosaic Scale process, a five-step system that can be dipped in and out of, as the steps don’t have to be read in a linear way. Akin to a mosaic-building approach, it is designed to help theatre makers refine and develop the bigger picture of a script or a piece of devised performance. Until now, there has been no formal technique for literary or process dramaturgy. This step-by-step process for applying dramaturgical thinking is a series of questions, exercises, and considerations to ask throughout the process of theatre making and rehearsal. The first how-to literary and process dramaturgy guide. Full of practical exercises, questions, and ways to approach dramaturgical thinking. Accessible exploration of a subject that can sometimes be inaccessibly academic. This volume will be of great interest to students and dramaturgs.
"Ichiro Takayoshi's book argues that World War II transformed American literary culture. From the mid-1930s to the American entry into World War II in 1941, pre-eminent figures from Ernest Hemingway to Reinhold Neibuhr responded to the turn of the public's interest from the economic depression at home to the menace of totalitarian systems abroad by producing novels, short stories, plays, poems, and cultural criticism in which they prophesied the coming of a second world war and explored how America could prepare for it. The variety of competing answers offered a rich legacy of idioms, symbols, and standard arguments that were destined to license America's promotion of its values and interests around the world for the rest of the twentieth century. Ambitious in scope and addressing an enormous range of writers, thinkers, and artists, this book is the first to establish the outlines of American culture during this pivotal period."--Provided by publisher.
The impetus for the first edition was violent actions---the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, which was touched off by discussions about removing a statue to Robert E. Lee, and resulted in the death of Heather Heyer. Since the publication of the first edition, both history and democracy are being threatened in ways that we were only seeing small glimpses of in 2018. Today, attempts to elevate new or more complex history has been met with vilification. States across the country have passed legislation to ban critical race theory from being taught in public schools and are seeking ways to limit what teachers are allowed to teach about slavery and race in the United States. These threats are unlikely to abate. As such, our responsibility as historians, community leaders, museum professionals, and citizens is to redouble our efforts to share human stories in relatable ways and to exercise our rights and wield our power whenever and however we can. The revised edition tackles the great issues of our time against the backdrop of monument culture and historical truth.
The Process of Dramaturgy: A Handbook is a guide to dramaturgy for students. Its practical approach is to "committing acts of dramaturgy," and contains exercises, models, and examples of how the dramaturg works to make his or her thoughtful and creative contributions to a theatrical production, from pre-production work through the rehearsal process The book provides specific exercises, examples, and models to assist the student or emerging dramaturg in developing the ability to: 1) apply critical methodologies (among them literary theory) to production; 2) better communicate with directors, designers and playwrights within the context of rehearsal and production. It includes a case study for analysis, Neil Simon’s Biloxi Blues.
Hardworking actor, playwright, and stage manager Harry Watkins (1825–94) was also a prolific diarist. For fifteen years Watkins regularly recorded the plays he saw, the roles he performed, the books he read, and his impressions of current events. Performing across the U.S., Watkins collaborated with preeminent performers and producers, recording his successes and failures as well as his encounters with celebrities such as P. T. Barnum, Junius Brutus Booth, Edwin Forrest, Anna Cora Mowatt, and Lucy Stone. His is the only known diary of substantial length and scope written by a U.S. actor before the Civil War—making Watkins, essentially, the antebellum equivalent of Samuel Pepys. Theater h...
The Decades of Modern American Drama series provides a comprehensive survey and study of the theatre produced in each decade from the 1930s to 2009 in eight volumes. Each volume equips readers with a detailed understanding of the context from which work emerged: an introduction considers life in the decade with a focus on domestic life and conditions, social changes, culture, media, technology, industry and political events; while a chapter on the theatre of the decade offers a wide-ranging and thorough survey of theatres, companies, dramatists, new movements and developments in response to the economic and political conditions of the day. The work of the four most prominent playwrights from...
"Experiencing Theatre completely engages the beginning theatre student in the art of theatre. Students become playwrights, dramaturges, actors, directors, designers, adapters and collaborators though dynamic readings and excercises. This text gives them a great awareness of the work of being a theatre artist. Teachers have long strived towards creating these opportunities for their Intro students--finally a text that will make it happen." --Barbara Burgess-Lefebvre, Robert Morris University
Theatre History Studies is a peer-reviewed journal of theatre history and scholarship published annually since 1981 by the Mid-American Theatre Conference (MATC), a regional body devoted to theatre scholarship and practice. The purpose of MATC is to unite people and organizations in their region with an interest in theatre and to promote the growth and development of all forms of theatre.
Writing Adaptations and Translations for the Stage is a practical guide for writing adapted works for theatrical performance. Broadway translator and dramaturg Allison Horsley and award-winning playwright and educator Jacqueline Goldfinger take readers step-by-step through the brainstorming, writing, revision, and performance processes for translations and adaptations. The book includes lectures, case studies, writing exercises, and advice from top theater professionals on the process of creating, pitching, and producing adaptations and translations, covering a wide range of topics such as jukebox musicals, Shakespeare adaptations, plays from novels, theater for young adults, and theater in ...